AGRICULTURE REPORT - Popcorn

AGRICULTURE REPORT -July 9, 2002: Popcorn¹

By George Grow
This is the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.

Americans love popcorn. They eat it at home, at sports events, and in movie theaters.
Popcorn has smaller pieces or kernels² than other kinds of corn. The kernels have a hard
outside shell and a soft center. When the kernels are heated, the outside shells burst. The soft
centers expand and become filled with air. The resulting popcorn looks like small, white
balls of cotton.

Corn grows on the parts of the plant commonly called
“
ears.
”
Corn, including popcorn,

was developed in North and South America thousands of years ago.The oldest ears of
popcorn were discovered in the American state of New Mexico. They were reported to be more than five thousand
years old. In Peru, scientists discovered one-thousand-year-old popcorn kernels in a human burial area.

Early explorers to the Americas were the first Europeans to see popcorn. Four hundred years ago, French
explorers saw members of the Iroquois native American tribe³ make popcorn with heated sand in a clay container.
They said the Iroquois used popcorn to make a liquid food, or soup.

The Europeans who settled in North America loved popcorn. Some colonial⁴ families ate popcorn with sugar and
milk for their first meal of the day.

In the United States, popcorn became very popular during the first part of the twentieth century. Large and small
businesses sold popcorn wherever crowds gathered.

Today, the United States produces almost all of the world’s popcorn. Farmers must choose the right time to
harvest popcorn. It is best to delay harvesting until the corn is fully⁵ developed. However, farmers also must guard
against corn plants falling down or becoming too wet.

American farmers use machines to pick the ears of corn from the plants. After picking, the corn must be dried.
There are different ways to dry and store popcorn for future use. Some growers like natural air-drying. Others use
large machines.

After drying, the corn is taken to a processing center. Machines remove the kernels from the ears. Separators and
other equipment remove damaged kernels or other material. Then, the kernels are sent through machines that
clean them. After that, the popcorn is prepared to be sent to stores.

This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by George Grow.

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1 popcorn   

n.爆米花

参考例句：

• I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。
• He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

2 kernels   

谷粒( kernel的名词复数 )； 仁； 核； 要点

参考例句：

• These stones contain kernels. 这些核中有仁。
• Resolving kernels and standard errors can also be computed for each block. 还可以计算每个块体的分辨核和标准误差。

3 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

4 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。