美国小学英语教材3:第38课 食物工厂(2)

 "Why, the food must be like mud¹ pies, Grandmother!" cried Mary Jane. 咦，奶奶，那食物一定就像泥土馅饼一样了！玛丽·简大声说道。

"Don't you remember when I used to make beautiful pies from the dirt in your back yard?" 您不记得我过去常常用您后院里的泥土制作漂亮馅饼了吗？

"Oh, but, Mary Jane," answered Grandmother, "it is only some things in the ground that help the plant to grow." 嗯，是这样的，但玛丽·简啊，只有土壤中的一些东西能够帮助植物成长，奶奶回答。

"How does the plant get these things from the ground?" asked Mary Jane. 那植物是怎么从土壤中获得这些东西的呢？玛丽·简问道。

Grandmother said, "The rain water that soaks² into the earth helps. 奶奶回答说，渗入地里的雨水起了作用。

It mixes with the things in the ground that the plant needs. 它混合了土壤中植物生长所需要的东西。

This water soaks into the roots of the plant and is carried into the leaves, where the food is made. 这样的水渗入植物的根部，再被送到植物的叶子里，食物就在那里被制造了出来。

"When rain does not fall for many days, the ground gets so dry that we have to put water wherever plants are growing. 几天不下雨的话，土壤就会变干，我们就必须给植物生长的地方浇水。

"But there is something else a plant must have before it can make food. "A plant must have sunlight³." 但在植物制作食物之前，还需要其他的一些东西。植物需要阳光。

"Oh!" cried Mary Jane. "The sun is hot. 哦，我知道了，太阳是热的，玛丽大声说道。

Does it cook the plant's food, just as fire cooks our food?" 它就像我们用火烧熟食物一样，将植物的食物给烧熟，是不是？

"No," said Grandmother. "Plants need heat, but the heat does not cook the food. 不是的，奶奶说。植物需要热量，但这热量不是用来烧熟食物的。

We do not know just how the food is made. 现在我们还不清楚植物的食物是怎么被制造出来的。

"We only know that a plant cannot make food without sunlight, even though it has air and water." 我们只知道，即便有空气和水但没有阳光的话，植物也是无法生产出食物来的。

"I wish I knew how plant food tastes," said Mary Jane. 我想知道植物的食物尝起来怎么样，玛丽·简说。

"Oh, Mary Jane!" laughed Grandmother. "You eat plant food almost every day of your life. 哦，玛丽·简啊！奶奶笑到。你生活中的每一天都在吃植物的食物。

"Plants do not use all the food they make. They store some of it in their leaves and stems⁴ and seeds. 植物是不会吃掉所生产出来的全部食物。它们会把一部分食物储存在叶子、茎和种子里。

"Some plants, like the potato plant, the turnip⁵, and the carrot, store extra food under the ground. This extra food is what we eat." 一些植物像土豆、萝卜和胡萝卜会把多出来的食物存放在地下。这些多出来的食物就是我们吃的食物。

Mary Jane thought about all the things her grandmother had told her. 玛丽·简想了想奶奶告诉她的所有的这些事。

Then she ran off to look at the growing things in the garden. 然后便跑到了花园研究花园中生长的食物去了。

1 mud   

n.泥，泥浆

参考例句：

• The swimming pool is filled up with mud.游泳池里全是泥。
• A car ran past,spotting my coat with mud.一辆汽车驶过，给我的外衣溅上了泥点。

2 soaks   

v.浸( soak的第三人称单数 )；泡；浸透；湿透

参考例句：

• Sponge soaks up water. 海绵吸水。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• That child soaks up new facts like a sponge! 那孩子吸收新知识像海绵似的！ 来自辞典例句

3 sunlight   

n.日光，阳光，日照

参考例句：

• The room was flooded with warm and golden sunlight.房间充满着温暖、金色的阳光。
• In the bright sunlight she had to narrow her eyes.在强烈阳光下她必须眯着双眼。

4 stems   

n.（花草的）茎( stem的名词复数 )；词干；（高脚酒杯的）脚；烟斗柄v.遏制[阻止]（液体的流动等）( stem的第三人称单数 )；封堵；遏止

参考例句：

• The present wave of strikes stems from discontent among the lower-paid. 当前的罢工浪潮起因于低工资雇员们的不满情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her interest in flowers stems from her childhood in the country. 她对花卉的兴趣产生于她在乡下度过的童年时代。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 turnip   

n.萝卜，芜菁

参考例句：

• The turnip provides nutrition for you.芜菁为你提供营养。
• A turnip is a root vegetable.芜菁是根茎类植物。