英国学生科学读本 Lesson 78 紫罗兰与三色堇(1)
第78课 紫罗兰与三色堇
How pleasant it is to stroll along the lanes in early spring-time, and to find the lovely blue or white violets hiding in the grass by the roadside! Wild pansies, too, which are of the same family of plants, can be found in the fields and on the moors during most of the summer.
早春时分, 漫步在乡间小路上, 看向路边的草丛, 当你发现藏身其中的蓝色或白色紫罗兰时, 那些惹人喜爱的美丽花朵一定会让你感到欣喜万分!几乎整个夏季, 无论是在田间还是在荒野之中, 你都可以看到与紫罗兰同属一个家族的野生三色堇。
The "sweet violet, " so famous for its delightful smell, grows wild in the south of England chiefly; but the wild pansy can be found almost everywhere in the British Isles. In some places the pansy is better known under the name of "heart's-ease. " In shape its flowers are very much like those of the violet, but they are purple and yellow in colour.
以醉人的香味儿而大名鼎鼎的“香堇菜”主要野生在英格兰南部;但是大不列颠群岛各地几乎都能看到野生三色堇的身影。在有些地方, 人们更习惯于把三色堇称为“心安草”。从形状上来说, 它的花朵与紫罗兰非常相似, 只是颜色呈紫色与黄色。
There is also a kind of violet called the "dog violet, "which has large blue flowers, but no perfume like that of the sweet violet. The dog violet is common all over the British Isles, and its flowers may be found all through the summer.
还有一种紫罗兰名字叫做“犬堇菜”, 它能够开出蓝色的大花, 不过与香堇菜不同的是, 它的花朵没有香味。犬堇菜在大不列颠群岛随处可见, 整个夏季都绽放着美丽的花朵。
Now, just as there are wild animals and tame animals, so there are wild flowers and tame or cultivated flowers. Both the violet and the pansy have been "tamed" or cultivated for many years in our gardens. And these plants have repaid us for our care of them, by producing larger and more beautiful flowers than the wild plants ever had.
动物分为野生和驯养两类, 同样, 植物也有野生及栽培之分。许多年前, 我们已经开始在自家的花园中栽培紫罗兰和三色堇了。而人们的精心照料也收获了不错的回报：与野生的同类植物相比, 它们的花朵更大、更美丽。
Let us dig up one of these violet or pansy plants. If we wash the earth off the roots, we shall see that, like the roots of most plants, they are pale brown in colour, or nearly white.
让我们挖起一株紫罗兰或三色堇并仔细观察。把根部清洗干净, 就会发现, 与大多数植物一样, 其根部为浅褐色或者近乎于白色。
英语美文
