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Lesson 61 The Snow-drop
第61課 雪花蓮
When the new year comes, the snow-drop is the first of all the flowers to put forth its lovely white blossoms. We call it the "snow-drop," not only because its flowers are "white as snow," but also because they are often seen in early spring pushing their way through the snow which then covers the ground. Look at the way in which the flower droops or hangs down its head, and you will see the reason for calling it a drop or droop.
每當新年來臨的時候，雪花蓮總是第一個綻放出美麗動人的白色花朵。我們之所以稱它為“雪花蓮”，不僅僅是因為這種植物的花朵“潔白如雪”，還在于它經常在早春時便破土而出，穿過地面上的積雪，展現自己婀娜的身姿。看看花朵那垂首思索或低頭不語的姿態，你便能夠明白花名中“水滴”或“垂下”的由來。
The snow-drop was brought to this country from abroad many years ago. It is quite at home with us now, and in a few places it may even be found growing wild. But its usual home is in our gardens and orchards.
許多年以前，雪花蓮從海外來到英國。如今，它已經很適應英國的水土了，在有些地方，甚至在野外安家落戶。不過，一般還是種在我們的花園及果園之中。
Let us pull up a snow-drop, roots and all, and see what the entire plant is like. We notice at once that it has a little, egg-shaped bulb, about half an inch in thickness. White, thread-like roots hang down from this bulb, while from its upper end there rise two narrow green leaves, six or eight inches in length.
讓我們連根拔起一株雪花蓮，仔細觀察這種植物的結構。大家首先看到的就是一個厚度約為半英寸的蛋形鱗莖，而線狀的白色根部就是從這里向下延伸，鱗莖頂端則長出兩片狹窄的綠葉，長度為六到八英寸不等。
Between these two leaves the flower-stalk grows up, surrounded by a green, folding leaf. Near its top the flower-stalk bends over, so that the single white flower at its end hangs downwards.
位于這兩片葉子中間的花柄向上生長并且被包裹在一片綠葉中間。葉柄從靠近頂部的位置開始彎曲，因此，每一株雪花蓮都會呈現出低頭思索的樣子。
Let us look very closely at this pretty white flower. It is made of three large and three small white leaves. Inside these are six dust-spikes or stamens, which grow on the top of the seed-vessel. You can see the lower part of this seed-vessel outside the flower. It looks like a small green swelling at the top of the flower-stalk.
讓我們仔細看看它那漂亮的白色花朵。花瓣共分六片，三大三小。生在種皮頂部的是六根粉穗或雄蕊，你可以看到花朵外面的種皮下半部分。它看起來就像一塊很小的綠色隆起，生長在花柄頂部。
