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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Globe Trotting1 Tropicals Plants were world travelers, long before tourists like you and me, were able to fly off to vacation around the world. When Columbus sailed west, he was seeking precious spices of the Indies. He missed his original destination, but because he and other navigators ended up in the Americas, corn, sweet potatoes, and many other plants found their way abroad. It was Vasco da Gama who succeeded in bringing the treasured spices to Europe and most of the ancient mariners2 took seeds to plant on distant shores. Many seeds were actually stowaways3 in the ballast of ships, and grew wherever the ballast was unloaded. When we vacation in the tropics, to escape cold winters, we are warmed by the sight of bright flowers basking4 in the sun. Bougainvillea, native to parts of South America and named after the 18th century French navigator, Louis Bougainville, seems to be everywhere. I saw it recently on a trip to my native state of Queensland, in Australia and despite severe drought it was blooming with its characteristic exuberance5. Originally from Madagascar, the Poinciana trees were also aflame with orange-scarlet blooms, also hibiscus. Versatile6 hibiscus shrubs7, have migrated from parts of South East Asia to become the world’s signature tropical flower. The globalization of so many flowering plants is awe-inspiring and they now act as if they are natives in their adopted lands.
1 trotting | |
小跑,急走( trot的现在分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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2 mariners | |
海员,水手(mariner的复数形式) | |
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3 stowaways | |
n.偷乘船[飞机]者( stowaway的名词复数 ) | |
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4 basking | |
v.晒太阳,取暖( bask的现在分词 );对…感到乐趣;因他人的功绩而出名;仰仗…的余泽 | |
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5 exuberance | |
n.丰富;繁荣 | |
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6 versatile | |
adj.通用的,万用的;多才多艺的,多方面的 | |
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7 shrubs | |
灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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