商业周刊:怀抱绿色梦想,经营私有温室(3)

“Can there be anything more agreeable in the Winter, ”wrote the botanist¹ Richard Bradley in his 1718 book The Gentleman and Gardener’s Kalendar,

植物学家理查德·布拉德利在1718年的作品《绅士与园丁的日历》一书中写道：

“than to have a view from aparlour or study through ranges of orange-trees, and curious plants of foreign countries,

“冬天时，在门廊或书房看风景，看那一排排的橘子树、来自异国的珍奇植物，看着它们开花结果。

blossoming and bearing fruit, when our gardens without doors are, as it were, in a state of death?”

而此时，室外的花园却都一片死气沉沉，还有比这更惬意的事吗。

Modern greenhouses, on the other hand, only came about with the ability to mass produce

另一方面，建造现代温室只有在大量生产薄玻璃板和铁质结构的能力下才能实现，

thin glass panes² and iron structures durable³ enough to hold everything in place.

这些构建物的耐久性足以将所有东西固定在适当的位置。

In Germany an “iron hot house” was built as early as 1789,

在德国，早在1789年就建造出了一座“铁质暖房”。

and by 1824 the Earl of Shrewsbury had created a splendid conservatory⁴ on his estate.

到1824年，什鲁斯伯里伯爵在他的庄园里建造了一座华丽的温室。

Its “seven domes⁶ still sparkle as new, the centre dome⁵ topped with the Earl’s coronet, the others with pineapples,”

梅·伍兹和阿雷特·沃伦在其1988年出版的综合性著作《玻璃屋》一书中写道：

wrote May Woods and Arete Warren in their comprehensive 1988 book Glass Houses.

“温室的七个圆顶仍然像新建时那样闪耀着光芒，中央圆顶上面是伯爵的冠冕，其他圆顶上则是菠萝。”

Even though greenhouses are a form of agriculture, they’re fundamentally an industrial phenomenon.

尽管温室是农业的一种形式，但从根本上说，它们是一种工业现象。

“It’s really a machine that you’re building, but the machine happens to produce a product called a plant,”

“温室是建造出来的一台机器，不过这台机器恰好生产一种叫做植物的产品。”

says Dale Rahn, U.S. director for Deforche, a Belgian company that specializes in large-scale projects such as the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

比利时一家专注于威尔士国家植物园（National Botanic Garden of Wales）等大型项目的公司Deforche的美国主管戴尔·拉恩说道。

In the 150 years since the greenhouse’s Victorian heyday⁷, the mechanical systems that sustain them

温室从维多利亚时代的全盛时期发展的150年里，支撑温室的机械系统已经大大改进，

have advanced considerably⁸ from the stoves and shades once used to control temperature.

不再是过去用来控制温度的炉灶和遮阳板。

Somewhat astonishingly, though, their construction has barely evolved.

然而，令人惊讶的是，温室的结构几乎没有改进。

“Many of the things we do today, even the nomenclature, goes back to the 1800s,” says Turkewitsch, the consultant⁹.

“我们今天做的很多事情，甚至连命名的方法，都可以追溯到19世纪，”顾问特克维奇说。

“The techniques of installing relatively¹⁰ small pieces of glass remain the same.”

“安装相对较小的玻璃片的技术一直没变。”

1 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

2 panes   

窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sun caught the panes and flashed back at him. 阳光照到窗玻璃上，又反射到他身上。
• The window-panes are dim with steam. 玻璃窗上蒙上了一层蒸汽。

3 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

4 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

5 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

6 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

7 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

9 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。