英國(guó)學(xué)生科學(xué)讀本 Lesson 65 洋蔥(2)

An onion can be easily pulled to pieces, for its bulb is made of a great many thick juicy leaves, all growing closely together.

我們可以輕而易舉地將洋蔥剝開(kāi), 分成很多片, 因?yàn)樗那蚯o由許多厚厚的多汁葉片構(gòu)成, 彼此之間緊密相連。

The onion plant has no stem or trunk that you can see at first; but when you pull one to pieces, or split it up with a knife, you notice a thin white plate at the bottom of the bulb, from which the white, thread-like roots grow downward. This is really the stem of the onion.

乍一看, 洋蔥似乎沒(méi)有莖或干;不過(guò), 當(dāng)你掰開(kāi)洋蔥或者用刀子切碎就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn), 球莖底部有一個(gè)白色的薄片, 線狀的根須從那里向下生長(zhǎng)。這實(shí)際上就是洋蔥的莖。

You will be sure to notice the strong smell of the onion, which will cling to your fingers for a time, even after you have washed them. If you eat some of the onion raw, you will find that it has a strong and rather burning taste. When it is cooked, its flavour is much improved.

毫無(wú)疑問(wèn), 你一定會(huì)注意到洋蔥那濃烈的味道, 即便洗過(guò)手之后, 你的手上還是會(huì)留有這種味道, 需要一段時(shí)間才能散去。如果你生吃洋蔥, 那么就能夠立刻體驗(yàn)到那種強(qiáng)烈的辛辣味道。烹飪之后, 洋蔥的味道會(huì)可口很多。

Very large onions, of a mild flavour, are sent to us from Spain, and are therefore called Spanish onions. These onions have been left to grow for a very long time, and so we need not be surprised that they are so large.

味道溫和的巨型洋蔥從西班牙傳入英國(guó), 所以它們被稱之為西班牙洋蔥。這些洋蔥的生長(zhǎng)時(shí)間很長(zhǎng), 因此, 長(zhǎng)得這么大也就不足為奇了。

In Spain the onion seed is sown in August, and the bulbs are not gathered until the following August. As a rule, we do not usually follow this plan in our country, for the frosts of our cold winters are apt to kill the young onion plants.

在西班牙, 人們?cè)诎嗽碌臅r(shí)候播下洋蔥的種子, 直到第二年的八月才會(huì)采摘果實(shí)。不過(guò), 這種做法在英國(guó)通常并不適用, 因?yàn)檫@里寒冷的冬季很可能會(huì)讓洋蔥幼苗夭折。

Do you know any plants which are of the same family as the onion? If you carefully examine the parts of the flower, and the leaves with their straight veins , you will find that the onion has a family likeness to the leek, the tulip, and the lily.

你知道還有哪些植物與洋蔥同屬一類呢? 如果你仔細(xì)觀察, 那么就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn), 芹菜、郁金香、百合它們的花朵和直直的葉脈都與洋蔥非常相似。

英語(yǔ)美文