第71課 櫻桃樹及其果實
The cherry-tree is a small tree which grows to a height of about twenty feet. Its stem is covered with a smooth brown bark, and its green leaves have saw-like edges, somewhat like the leaves of a rose-bush.
櫻桃樹是一種可以生長到20英尺左右高的小樹。其莖干被一層光滑的棕色樹皮包裹, 綠色的葉子則長有鋸齒狀邊緣, 其外形與薔薇的葉子相似。
A cherry-orchard in spring, say in the month of May, is a beautiful sight. The trees are then covered with white blossoms, which make the branches look as if a shower of snow had fallen on them. Soon the grass below is also white with the falling blossoms. The perfume of the cherry-blossom is very delightful, and it attracts many insects looking for honey.
春季——比如五月——的櫻桃園美不勝收。那時, 櫻花怒放, 樹枝上銀裝素裹。很快, 飄落的櫻花掉在樹下的草地上, 好像一層美麗的白雪。櫻花的香味沁人心脾, 能吸引許多昆蟲飛來收集花蜜。
Let us pluck one of the pretty white flowers with which each cherry-tree is covered. Once this flower was only a bud, and then it looked like a little green ball. Now that the bud has opened, we see its green covering or cup turned back, and we notice that this cup is made of five small green leaves which have partly grown together.
讓我們從櫻桃樹上摘下一株美麗的櫻花。曾幾何時, 這株櫻花還只是一個綠色小球般的花蕾。現(xiàn)在, 花蕾綻開了。我們能夠看到, 綠色的包裹物或者說杯形結(jié)構(gòu)已經(jīng)向后彎曲。此時, 我們會注意到, 這種杯形結(jié)構(gòu)實際上由五片部分連接的綠色萼片組成。
What we call the "flower" of the cherry-tree consists of five white leaves or petals. Inside these petals are fifteen or twenty little dust-spikes or stamens, with yellow heads which are full of tiny yellow grains of pollen. In the centre of the cherry-flower is the seed-vessel, which looks like a little green bag, with a long point called the style rising from it.
櫻桃樹的“花朵”有五個白色的花瓣?;ò曛袆t長有15或20個小的粉穗或雄蕊, 頂部為黃色, 包含很多細(xì)小的黃色花粉顆粒。櫻花的中部就是種皮, 外形像一個綠色小囊, 花柱從這里向外生長。
If you look at the flowers of the wild rose, of the strawberry, and of the apple, you will find that they are all very much like the flower of the cherry.
觀察一下野生玫瑰、草莓以及蘋果的花朵, 就會發(fā)現(xiàn), 它們的結(jié)構(gòu)與櫻花非常相似。
英語美文