商业周刊:怀抱绿色梦想,经营私有温室(4)

The starting point for anyone planning to build a serious greenhouse is deciding what to grow.

任何计划建造温室的人，其出发点都是确定要种植什么。

Many people initially¹ have a romantic idea of what owning a greenhouse entails²

许多人最初对拥有一个温室都有着浪漫的想法，

—strolling amid flowering plants with a watering can during winter months

那就是冬天时，拿着喷壶在花草丛中漫步，

or reading the newspaper in an orchid³ house with a cup of coffee.

或者在兰花盛开的屋里，喝着咖啡看报纸。

The reality is that an owner’s physical comfort and a greenhouse’s effectiveness are not necessarily compatible.

事实上，温室所有者的生理舒适度和温室的有效性并不一定相容。

“If it’s a tropical greenhouse, it can get quite steamy,” Turkewitsch says.

特克维奇说：“如果是一个热带温室，它会变得相当潮湿。

“An orchid house is not a good place for a library.

兰花屋不是当图书馆的好地方。

If your purpose is to grow bedding plants and you want them to thrive when they’re ready to be planted outside, constraints⁴ apply.”

如果你的目的是种植被褥植物，并希望它们在准备好可在室外种植时能茁壮成长，那么就会受到限制。”

For those who do like the idea of sitting in a chair underneath⁵ a palm tree in December,

对于那些喜欢在12月时，坐在棕榈树下的椅子上的人来说，

a conservatory⁶—the modern version of an orangery, a glass room usually attached to a house—is the obvious answer.

现代版橘子园式的温室，即一座通常与房子相连的玻璃房，是显而易见的选择。

“If you’re using it to grow plants it’s really a greenhouse,” Rahn says,

“如果你用它来种植植物，那真的就是个花房，” 拉恩说，

“but if you’re putting plant displays in it, or art, then it’s a conservatory.”

“但如果你用它来展示植物或艺术品，那它就是个温室。”

If you’re trying to grow actual produce, things can get expensive—fast.

如果你想种植农产品，费用很快会变得昂贵。

In a larger greenhouse, there are partitions and mechanical systems

规模更大的温室里，安装有隔板和机械系统

(automated shades and vents⁷, fans, heaters, water pumps) that break the structure into zones.

（自动遮阳和通风口、风扇、加热器、水泵），它们将温室分成若干区域。

One is usually “frost-free” (40F), the other is temperate⁸ (50F), and the other is warm (60F).

一个区域通常是“无霜区”（40℉，约4.4℃），另一个是温区（50℉，10℃），还有一个是暖区（60℉，约15.6℃）。

Virtually any plant can be grown year-round in a greenhouse;

几乎所有的植物都能全年在温室里生长；

the most common are often what you’d expect: tomatoes, lettuces⁹, and peppers.

最常见的通常是些你能想到的植物：西红柿、莴苣和辣椒。

Rahn says his company does fewer residential¹⁰ projects annually¹¹

拉恩说，他的公司每年实施的住宅项目比较少，

—they average just two or three—but they’re larger in scope.

平均只有两三个，但规模都较大。

The $400,000 he quotes is the starting price.

他报出的40万美元是起价。

“We did one greenhouse in Florida,” he says.

“我们在佛罗里达建造了一座温室，”他说。

“It cost millions of dollars and was set on a private island.”

“它耗资数百万美元，安置在一个私人岛屿上。

1 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

2 entails   

使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The job entails a lot of hard work. 这工作需要十分艰苦的努力。
• This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。

3 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

4 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

6 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。

7 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

8 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。

9 lettuces   

n.莴苣，生菜（ lettuce的名词复数 ）；生菜叶

参考例句：

• My lettuces have gone to seed. 我种的莴苣已结子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Are these lettuces home-grown or did you buy them in the market? 这些生菜是自家种的呢，还是你在市场上买的？ 来自辞典例句

10 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

11 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。