VOA慢速英语20061024a

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Pumpkins² for All SeasonsBy Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Tuesday, October 24, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Conditions for growing pumpkins were poor in some areas of the United States this year. The East and parts of the Midwest suffered heavy rains and extreme heat. So the supply for sale has decreased, making prices higher than last year.


Carved Pumpkins

Still, many people are buying the large, round fruit. Pumpkins are an important part of the American celebration of Halloween on October thirty-first. Many families visit farms or farmers markets so their children can pick out the pumpkins they want. They remove the insides of the pumpkin¹ and cut pieces from the outside to make a face. Sometimes they place and light candles inside their carved pumpkin faces. People place the pumpkins outside their homes or in their windows.

Americans also use pumpkins for cooking, especially during the American holiday of Thanksgiving in late November. Tradition says early settlers ate pumpkin pie, or something similar to it. Pumpkins belong to the gourd³ family. They are related⁴ to melons, cucumbers⁵ and squashes⁶. Some people call pumpkins vegetables. But others, including scientists, call them fruit. Pumpkins have hard skins and seeds in the center. And they contain more Vitamin A than almost any other fruit.

People have grown pumpkins in North and Central America for thousands of years. Pumpkins grow on vines⁷ or bushes. Most weigh only a few kilograms. But some pumpkins grow to be huge.

A farmer from the state of Rhode Island recently won a competition with a pumpkin that weighed six hundred eighty-one kilograms. It could be the largest in the world. Such super pumpkins are often shown at agricultural fairs.

Pumpkins get their start when bees fertilize⁸ their flowers. The insects carry reproductive material called pollen⁹ from the male to the female¹⁰ flowers. No pumpkins will grow if the female flower is not pollinated at the right time.

People use pumpkin in pies, breads, cakes and other baked goods. Many Americans also like to eat baked pumpkin seeds. Americans can also buy processed pumpkin in cans.

However, experts say it is not a good idea to process fresh pumpkin at home to use in the future because dangerous bacteria can develop. But whole pumpkins can store well for weeks in a cool, dark place.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. To read the next of this program and download audio¹¹, go to www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

2 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

3 gourd   

n.葫芦

参考例句：

• Are you going with him? You must be out of your gourd.你和他一块去？你一定是疯了。
• Give me a gourd so I can bail.把葫芦瓢给我，我好把水舀出去。

4 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

5 cucumbers   

n.黄瓜，胡瓜( cucumber的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She steeped the cucumbers in brine. 她把黄瓜泡在盐水里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cucumbers are crisp and refreshing. 这黄瓜脆生爽口。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 squashes   

n.拥挤的人群( squash的名词复数 )；果汁汽水；南瓜小果（主要种类为笋瓜 winter squash 和西葫芦 summer squash）；（软式）墙网球v.挤进( squash的第三人称单数 )；将（某人[某物]）压扁；将（某人[某物]）向某方挤；平定（叛乱等）

参考例句：

• They cultivated maize, beans, squashes, and tobacco, in garden beds. 他们在园圃的土坛上种植玉蜀黍、菜豆、南瓜和烟草。 来自辞典例句
• Bug Squash Tummy-Here the bug pats hellos stomach and It'squashes and stretches. 这个虫子轻轻打它的肚子，注重肚子上边有挤压拉伸形变。 来自互联网

7 vines   

n.藤本植物，藤( vine的名词复数 )；葡萄树

参考例句：

• Melons grow on vines. 瓜长在藤上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Grape vines overarched the garden path. 葡萄藤在花园小路上方形成了拱形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

9 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

10 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

11 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。