外國人最想和你聊的文化話題：風車與郁金香的國度

     Tulips are Holland's national flower, and when in season you can view vast fields of them in certain parts of the country.
     郁金香是荷蘭的國花，每到花季，在荷蘭的某些地方，你總可以看到大片大片盛開的郁金香。
     You see, the flowers are not native to Holland, and the only reason they even have them in the first place is because Dutch marauders stole them from Turkey in the 17th century.
     要知道，荷蘭并非郁金香的原產(chǎn)地，郁金香最初之所以能夠傳到荷蘭，是因為17世紀荷蘭的掠奪者將它們從土耳其偷竊了過來。
     The Turks resent this, and in recent years have tried to reclaim the tulip as their own national symbol.
     土耳其人對此耿耿于懷，最近幾年一直試圖將郁金香奪回來，將其變成自己國家的象征。
     The farmers grow these beautiful crops of flowers and then, in the harvest time, usually in the late spring, they chop off the tops of the flowers and sell them to gardeners around the world.
     花農(nóng)種植這些漂亮的花卉，到了豐收時節(jié)，通常在晚春，他們就會剪下這些鮮花的上端，把它們賣給世界各地的園丁。
     The farmers here were wearing the most famous part of Dutch costume-wooden shoes!
     這里的花農(nóng)穿著荷蘭民族服飾中名氣最大的木鞋！
     Some people still wear wooden shoes today-usually just farmers and other people who spend a lot of time wading through dirt.
     現(xiàn)在有些荷蘭人仍然喜歡穿木鞋--通常是農(nóng)民和其他一些需要長期在泥土里勞作的人們。
     The clogs that you can buy in most stores are intended more for decorative purposes. Real clogs intended for wearing are usually far less attractive.
     在大多數(shù)商店里所買到的那些木鞋都是用來作裝飾的，一般來說，真正用來穿的木鞋可遠遠沒有那么漂亮。
     Anyone who loves spring flowers, especially tulips, should visit the Keukenhof Gardens near Amsterdam, the capital city of Holland.
     任何喜愛春天的鮮花--尤其是郁金香的人，都應該到離荷蘭首都阿姆斯特丹不遠的庫肯霍夫公園游覽。
     Keukenhof Gardens are reputed to be the world's largest flower gardens.
     庫肯霍夫公園被譽為世界上最大的花園。
     It has over 7 million spring flowers planted; many types of brilliant bulbs are in bloom for the entire season!
     這里種植著超過七百萬種在春天盛開的鮮花，當中許多燦爛的鱗莖類花卉在整個春季都開花！
     The best time to see the tulips is around mid-April, but it varies somewhat with the weather.
     觀賞郁金香的最好時機大約是四月中旬，但也會因天氣而稍有變化。
     A short distance outside of Amsterdam is the Flower Auction Aalsmeer, which is the world's largest flower auction.
     在阿姆斯特丹市郊不遠的地方便是世界上最大的花卉拍賣點--阿斯米爾鮮花拍賣市場。
     Aalsmeer is the "flower" capital of the country.
     阿斯米爾是荷蘭的"花都"。
     In addition, the spectacular flower parades can be seen throughout Holland from April through September.
     從四月到九月你都可以在荷蘭各地看到精彩絕倫的鮮花巡游。
     The first and biggest parade is a huge attraction drawing tourists from home and abroad, is held at the end of April every year.
     最早而且規(guī)模最大的花卉巡游在每年四月底舉行，它吸引著國內(nèi)外大批游客前來觀賞。
     The floats in the parade are all made of flower petals. That is really an amazing sight!
     巡游中的彩車都是用花瓣做成的，這真是讓人嘆為觀止的景象啊！
     Another former staple of Dutch agricultural life, mills were originally used for all sorts of practical purposes such as grinding flour, sawing wood, or pumping water.
     荷蘭農(nóng)業(yè)社會遺留下來的另一特色物品是風車。風車最早是用于各種實用目的，如磨制面粉、鋸木材或者抽水。
     Today they've mostly been rendered obsolete by modern machinery, but some can still be seen operating in the Dutch countryside.
     如今，大多數(shù)風車因現(xiàn)代化機械的使用都已被淘汰，但在荷蘭鄉(xiāng)村仍然可以看到一些風車在運轉(zhuǎn)。
     Because they're such treasured national symbols, there is a windmill conservation movement in Holland that seeks to preserve the remaining survivors.
     由于風車已成為寶貴的民族象征，荷蘭就發(fā)起了風車保護運動，旨在保護這些現(xiàn)存的風車。
     Though windmills may be disappearing, wind turbines are plentiful.
     盡管風車可能會逐漸消失，但風力渦輪機還大量存在。
     Because Holland is so flat and windy, wind power remains a popular source of energy.
     由于荷蘭地勢平坦，風力充足，風能依然是一種常見的能源。
     When you're driving across long stretches of flat farmland, collections of tall, white wind turbines are a common sight.
     當你驅(qū)車穿過狹長、平坦的鄉(xiāng)間農(nóng)田時，高大的白色風輪機組是一道隨處可見的亮麗風景。
     Windmills have always played a great part in the life of Holland and its inhabitants.
     風車在荷蘭人的生活中扮演著重要的角色。
     It is only in Holland that so many windmills are present in so small an area.
     只有在荷蘭，才可以見到數(shù)量眾多的風車集中在一片狹小疆域的景象。
     These windmills moreover are in very reasonable, many of them even in excellent, condition and a considerable number of them are working regularly.
     這些風車仍然運轉(zhuǎn)正常，有些甚至狀態(tài)非常出色。大量風車都定期運轉(zhuǎn)。
     There are windmills of the most varied types：drainage mills, corn mills, and industrial mills for all sorts of purposes.
     風車種類各不相同，主要有排水風車、玉米風車和用于各種用途的工業(yè)風車。