英國(guó)學(xué)生科學(xué)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(kāi), 分成很多片, 因?yàn)樗那蚯o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(méi)有莖或干;不過(guò), 當(dāng)你掰開(kāi)洋蔥或者用刀子切碎就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn), 球莖底部有一個(gè)白色的薄片, 線(xiàn)狀的根須從那里向下生長(zhǎng)。這實(shí)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(wú)疑問(wèn), 你一定會(huì)注意到洋蔥那濃烈的味道, 即便洗過(guò)手之后, 你的手上還是會(huì)留有這種味道, 需要一段時(shí)間才能散去。如果你生吃洋蔥, 那么就能夠立刻體驗(yàn)到那種強(qiáng)烈的辛辣味道。烹飪之后, 洋蔥的味道會(huì)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(guó), 所以它們被稱(chēng)之為西班牙洋蔥。這些洋蔥的生長(zhǎng)時(shí)間很長(zhǎng), 因此, 長(zhǎng)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?cè)诎嗽碌臅r(shí)候播下洋蔥的種子, 直到第二年的八月才會(huì)采摘果實(shí)。不過(guò), 這種做法在英國(guó)通常并不適用, 因?yàn)檫@里寒冷的冬季很可能會(huì)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(lèi)呢? 如果你仔細(xì)觀察, 那么就會(huì)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(yǔ)美文