英國(guó)學(xué)生科學(xué)讀本 Lesson 85 可可與巧克力(1)
第85課 可可與巧克力
You have all, no doubt, drunk a cup of cocoa, and you have also eaten part of a cocoanut. Perhaps you thought that cocoa was made from the cocoa-nut, but the two things are really quite different from each other.
毫無(wú)疑問, 你們肯定都喝過可可并且吃過巧克力。也許你會(huì)認(rèn)為, 可可就是由椰子制成, 實(shí)際上, 它們有著很大區(qū)別。
The cocoa-nut is the fruit of a tall palm-tree; but the cocoa which we drink is prepared from the seeds of an evergreen tree whose proper name is the cacao-tree. We ought to speak of "cacao" and not cocoa; but the former name has been changed into the latter, because this is easier to pronounce, I suppose.
椰子是一種高大的棕櫚科樹木結(jié)出的果實(shí), 而我們平常喝的可可則來(lái)自名為可可樹的常綠樹, 也許是出于發(fā)音的方便, 我們現(xiàn)在都叫它c(diǎn)ocoa(可可)。
The cacao-tree needs a warm climate, and grows best in the West Indies and in Central and South America. It is about the size of a cherry-tree, and the leaves are of much the same shape. The flowers are white, and grow in clusters.
可可樹喜歡溫暖的環(huán)境, 西印度群島、中美及南美是它們的理想居所。可可樹的高度及葉子形狀都與櫻桃樹相仿, 花朵為白色, 成簇生長(zhǎng)。
As each flower drops off, its place is taken by a brown pod, which grows to the size of a short thick cucumber. When ripe, the pods are gathered and broken open. Each pod contains about fifty brown seeds, or "cocoa-beans, " as they are called.
花朵凋謝之后, 原來(lái)的位置上就會(huì)長(zhǎng)出一個(gè)棕色的果莢, 隨后繼續(xù)發(fā)育, 直到大小跟一個(gè)粗短的黃瓜相似。成熟之后, 人們把所有的果莢都收集起來(lái)敲碎。每個(gè)果莢里面大概含有五十個(gè)棕色種子, 也就是人們所說的“可可豆”。
In preparing cocoa, these seeds are first dried, and then roasted and crushed. Each seed has a thin, hard husk, which is removed after the crushing. The crushed kernels are called cocoa-nibs.
在制作可可時(shí), 人們首先將這些種子曬干, 然后烘烤并碾碎。每顆種子都帶有一個(gè)很薄的硬殼, 種子被碾碎之后, 這層硬殼也就脫落了下來(lái), 而粉碎的果仁則被稱作可可粒。
About one-half of the kernel is made of a kind of oil or fat, called "cocoa-butter, " which is often used for making candles and soap.
果仁中有一半成分都是油脂, 即“可可脂”, 它們經(jīng)常用于制造蠟燭與香皂。
英語(yǔ)美文
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