英语博客(A cup of English):Morning Glories（在线收听）

Beginners.

This time of year the summer flowers are fully in bloom. In most gardens you can see different kinds of lillies, daisies, roses, and bulb plants. It's great! I am quite choosy about the kind of flowers I have in my garden. One which I have grown for many years is the Morning Glory. It is a climbing summer flower. It needs plenty of sun and growing space. It is perfect if you want to cover a fence, trellis, or an ugly wall. I grow them every year. Last year I grew some in a large pot that had a metal trellis in it. This year, I decided to grow a variety of them up one of our fences, and it worked beautifully. You can get several different colors and sizes of Morning Glory. The most common kind are bright pink, but they also come in blues. They are also quite strong, though they don't look like they are. They have curly, sticky stems that climb all over the place. When it is windy they manage to hang on and not break. The best thing about them, of course, is the flower. True to it's name, it gives new flowers each morning that only last for that morning. However, it gives many of them, and they are quite spectacular. Often people buy the shocking pink variety, but this year, I  have blue. If you check out the photo on my blog page, you will see just how blue. It is really quite a treat to see a new set of flowers each morning, especially if you are not quite sure exactly what you will get.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: plenty, common, trelllis, sticky, a treat.

Exs:

Last year we didn't make enough money; this year we made plenty.

Those shoes are very common; you can find them in every store.

The climbing rose grew and became very heavy. Luckily it was supported by a strong, metal trellis.

Those candies are so sticky! After eating them, you have to wash your hands and your face.

I bought myself a piece of cheesecake. I deserved a treat.

Advanced.

Morning Glories, Morning Glories, ah, so beautiful. However, you have to be careful with them too. Early this summer, when I was planning on planting some, I bought several packets of seeds, and read the instructions. They recommended that seeds are soaked over night before planting. Why? Well, that helps the hard exterior to pop open and allow the seed to root. I followed the instructions, put them in a little tea cup half full of water, and put it on the kitchen window sill until the next morning. Sometime during the following day, I managed to plant them in two different places in the garden. I came in, washed my hands, and sat down and had a cookie. About an hour later, my throat started to feel very sore. About an hour after that, I found it difficult to swallow. I went to the bathroom and had a look at my tongue and throat in the mirror. To my horror, I saw that the inside of my mouth was covered in sore lumps. What on earth had I done? I tried to think back to the food I had eaten during the day, wondering if I had eaten anything unusual that perhaps had caused an allergic reaction. But, I hadn't eaten anything out of the normal. I suddenly remembered reading, however, that the seeds of Morning Glory have a toxic natural oil, and that you have to make sure that children don't swallow any. Well, that was it. After planting the seeds, I hadn't washed my hands properly before eating. It was a good reminder for me to be extra careful when dealing with seeds, no matter how beautiful the flowers are.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: to swallow, sore, toxic, to soak, an allergic reaction.

Exs:

Jello is so easy to swallow.

Yesterday my throat and my eyes felt sore.

There is a toxic chemical spill in our town.

I will soak this blouse to see if the stain will come out.

She had an allergic reaction to the medicine.