郁金香有著怎樣的歷史，花葉病毒都是哪來的

今天的這段對話，在討論郁金香，

郁金香有著怎樣的歷史，花葉病毒都是哪來的

來聽今天的講解:

A: I want to get some flowers for my girlfriend’s birthday but she absolutely hates roses.

我想買些花為我女朋友慶祝生日，可是她一點也不喜歡玫瑰。

B: Have you thought about tulips?

你有沒有想過買郁金香呢？

A: They’re from Holland, aren’t they?

郁金香產(chǎn)自荷蘭，是吧？

B: They are grown in Holland, yes. But originally they came from Central Asia where they grew wild.

是的，它們是長在荷蘭。但它們原本是長在中亞地區(qū)的野生植物。

A: Really?

真的嗎？

B: The flower was introduced in Western Europe and the Netherlands in the 17th century by Carolus Clusius, a famous biologist from Vienna.

17世紀時，一位著名的維也納生物學家卡羅拉斯•克魯休斯把郁金香引入西歐和荷蘭。

A: Oh, I see. Sounds like a good choice, they were very different to roses.

哦，我知道了。這樣聽起來買郁金香是個不錯的選擇，畢竟跟玫瑰很不一樣。

B: Very different, some people believed they had medicinal powers.

區(qū)別是很大，有些人認為郁金香還有藥效。

A: Well, I just need them to look pretty. They were very popular as a trading product, especially in Holland. Are your tulips very expensive?

哦，我只要它們看起來漂亮就行。郁金香以前作為一種商品還是很受歡迎的，尤其在荷蘭。你這兒的這種花很貴嗎？

B: That was years ago. Nowadays they are very reasonably priced. We have many different kinds, because botanists in the 1500s found ways to make the tulip even more decorative and tempting. Hybrids and mutations of the flower were seen as rarities and a sign of high status.

幾年前是很貴。現(xiàn)在價格相當合理了。我們的郁金香有很多品種。16世紀時植物學家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了使郁金香變得更漂亮動人的方法。雜交和變異的郁金香被認為是稀有品種，也是高貴身份的標志。

A: OK, so that must have marked the beginning of “Tulipmania”, I think they are probably still as popular today. My parents love to go to Holland to see all of the different types growing there. I had never really considered buying them before, though.

所以，那肯定標志著“郁金香狂潮”的開端。我想這樣的郁金香現(xiàn)在仍然很受歡迎。我父母喜歡去荷蘭欣賞那里種植的所有種類的郁金香。不過我以前真的從來沒想過買它。

B: In those days tulips looked very different from the ones we can see today. The tulip became so popular because of its bright colours, dramatic flames and frilly petals.

那時候的郁金香跟我們現(xiàn)在所看到的大不一樣。人們那么喜歡它是因為它亮麗的色彩、驚人的光芒和褶皺的花瓣。

A: Frilly petals? But these are totally smooth, I thought all tulips had smooth petals.

褶皺的花瓣？但這些郁金香的花瓣都很平滑啊，我一直以為所有郁金香的花瓣都是平滑的。

B: In the 20th century it was discovered that the frilly petals and dramatic flames that gave the flower its stunning look were, in fact, the symptoms of an infection by the mosaic virus.

20世紀時人們發(fā)現(xiàn)褶皺花瓣和驚人的光芒使郁金香看起來更加漂亮動人，但實際上這是它們感染了花葉病毒而引起的一種病癥。

A: A virus? So that’s why today we think tulips should be solid, smooth and monotone. Where did the virus come from?

一種病毒？這就是為什么我們今天認為郁金香應該是花瓣厚實、平滑和單色的原因。這些病毒都是哪兒來的？

B: The virus came to the tulip from a louse living on peaches and potatoes. We can still find some varieties with frilly petals today, but they are hybrids. The diseased varieties are no longer sold.

這些病毒來自于桃子和土豆上的一種寄生蟲。今天我們?nèi)匀豢梢钥吹胶芏鄮я薨櫥ò甑挠艚鹣阕兎N，但它們都是雜交的。那些帶病的郁金香變種不再出售了。

A: Good, because I don’t think my girlfriend would be too happy with sick flowers!

很好，我想我女朋友也不會太喜歡帶病的花兒。