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Lesson 49 Chestnuts
第49課 栗子
How nice it is to go for a country walk in the spring, when everything looks fresh and green, and the air is not too hot! Probably we shall not have to go very far before we see the fine large shady tree called the horse-chestnut.
春天，天氣還不太熱的時(shí)候，去鄉(xiāng)間散散步，看著周圍的一切都是新鮮青翠的，多愜意啊！可能沒走多遠(yuǎn)我們就能看到長得欣欣向榮、枝繁葉茂的“馬栗樹。”
If we go to the horse-chestnut tree in March, we shall find all the leaves in bud. Each bud is covered over with a sticky stuff like glue, which keeps it dry and warm. When the leaves come out, they are like large green hands, as you can see in the picture.
走近三月的“馬栗樹”，就能發(fā)現(xiàn)，所有的葉子都剛剛萌芽。每片剛萌芽的葉子，都被一種類似膠水的粘稠的東西覆蓋著，能讓葉子干燥溫暖。葉子長出來的時(shí)候，像一只只綠色的大手，就像圖片里看到的這樣。
How beautiful the white flowers of the horse-chestnut look! They grow in upright spikes, and stand like candles on a Christmas tree. After they have all withered and fallen to the ground, we find the green prickly fruit. By August the fruit has become ripe, and then it too drops to the ground.
歐洲七葉樹的白花好美！白花長在尖尖的花穗上，花穗是直立的，像圣誕樹上的蠟燭一樣。葉子在枯萎落地之后，我們就能看見綠色的帶刺果實(shí)了。八月，果實(shí)成熟了，也會(huì)落到地上。
When the fruit dries it splits open, and then out roll one, two, or sometimes even three smooth brown seeds—chestnuts or "cheggies, " as some children call them. These seeds or nuts. used to be ground down and given to horses for food. That is why they are called horse-chestnuts.
果實(shí)干燥之后會(huì)裂開，從里面滾出一顆、兩顆，有時(shí)候甚至三顆光滑的棕色種子，看上去很像栗子，英國有些小朋友叫它c(diǎn)heggies。以前曾經(jīng)有人把這些種子，或者“堅(jiān)果”磨碎給馬吃，所以在英語里叫“馬栗”。
But there is another kind of chestnut—the sweet or Spanish chestnut—which you can buy at the shops, and which is good to eat, especially when cooked. It has not a bitter taste like the horse-chestnut. This sweet chestnut is the fruit of quite a different kind of tree.
但還有另一種栗子——“甜栗子”或“西班牙栗子”，在商店里可以買到，非常好吃，尤其在煮熟了之后。它的味道可不像馬栗那么苦。甜栗子是一種很不一樣的樹結(jié)出來的果實(shí)。
The Spanish chestnut tree grows to a very great size. One of these trees, growing on the side of Mount Etna in Sicily, measures one hundred and ninety feet round the trunk. It would take more than thirty men holding each other's hands to reach round it.
西班牙栗子樹可以長得非常高大。在意大利的西西里地區(qū)，有一座名叫“埃特納”的火山，山上有一棵栗子樹，樹干周長足有190英尺，要30多個(gè)男人手拉手，才能合抱過來呢！
Hang a horse-chestnut in a glass half full of water, with its point touching the water, and keep it in the dark for a few days. It will soon sprout, and a little horse-chestnut tree will begin to grow out of it.
把一顆馬栗掛在玻璃杯里，盛上半杯水，讓馬栗的尖兒碰到水面，在暗處放上幾天。馬栗會(huì)很快發(fā)芽，從里面長出一棵小小的馬栗樹！
