英國學生科學讀本 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, 分成很多片, 因為它的球莖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, 洋蔥似乎沒有莖或干;不過, 當你掰開洋蔥或者用刀子切碎就會發(fā)現(xiàn), 球莖底部有一個白色的薄片, 線狀的根須從那里向下生長。這實際上就是洋蔥的莖。

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.

毫無疑問, 你一定會注意到洋蔥那濃烈的味道, 即便洗過手之后, 你的手上還是會留有這種味道, 需要一段時間才能散去。如果你生吃洋蔥, 那么就能夠立刻體驗到那種強烈的辛辣味道。烹飪之后, 洋蔥的味道會可口很多。

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, 所以它們被稱之為西班牙洋蔥。這些洋蔥的生長時間很長, 因此, 長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, 人們在八月的時候播下洋蔥的種子, 直到第二年的八月才會采摘果實。不過, 這種做法在英國通常并不適用, 因為這里寒冷的冬季很可能會讓洋蔥幼苗夭折。

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? 如果你仔細觀察, 那么就會發(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。

英語美文