VOA慢速英语 2007 1127a

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

 
An American carrot farmer harvests his crop earlier this year
Carrots are grown on farms and in family gardens throughout¹ the world. Carrots are easy to raise and easy to harvest. They taste good. And they contain a lot of carotene, which the body makes into vitamin² A.

When people think of carrots, they usually picture in their mind a vegetable that is long, thin and orange in color. But carrots come in many different sizes and shapes. And not all carrots are orange.

For example, Paris Market carrots are about five centimeters around. Imperator carrots are thin and about twenty-five centimeters long. And Belgian White carrots are, as their name suggests, white.

For the best results, carrots should be grown in sandy soil that does not hold water for a long time. The soil also should have no rocks.

To prepare your carrot garden, dig³ up the soil, loosen⁴ it and turn it over. Then, mix in some plant material or animal fertilizer⁵.

Weather, soil conditions and age will affect the way carrots taste. Experts say warm days, cool nights and a medium soil temperature are the best conditions for growing carrots that taste great.

Carrots need time to develop their full sugar content. This gives them their taste. If they are harvested too early, they will not have enough sugar. But carrots loose their sweetness if you wait too long to pull them from the ground.

The best way to judge if a carrot is ready to be harvested is by its color. Usually, the brighter the color, the better the taste.

Most people do not know that carrots can be grown during the winter months. If the winter is not cold enough to freeze the ground, you can grow and harvest carrots the same way as during the summer months.

If the ground does freeze in your part of the world, simply cover your carrot garden with a thick layer of leaves or straw⁶. This will prevent the ground from freezing. You can remove the ground cover and harvest the carrots as they are needed.

Carrots are prepared and eaten many different ways. They are cut in thin pieces and added⁷ to other vegetables. They are cooked by themselves or added to stews⁸. Or, once they are washed, they are eaten just as they come out of the ground.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

1 throughout   

adv.到处，自始至终；prep.遍及，贯穿

参考例句：

• These magazines are sold at bookstores throughout the country.这些杂志在全国各地书店均有发售。
• Guilin is known throughout the world for its scenery.桂林以山水著称于世。

2 vitamin   

n.维他命，维生素

参考例句：

• Oranges are rich in vitamin C.橙子富含维生素C。
• Vitamin pills make up what you lack in your diet.维生素丸可补充你食物中所缺乏的营养。

3 dig   

v.挖（洞，沟等）；掘

参考例句：

• It is difficult to dig the ground when it is frozen.地面冻住了就不易挖掘。
• In those days we often went to dig for wild vegetables.那时候我们常常出去挖野菜。

4 loosen   

vt.放松，松开，解除（便秘等），放宽；vi.变松，松弛

参考例句：

• I must take some exercise and loosen up my muscles.我必须活动活动使肌肉放松些。
• The medicine may loosen your cough.这种药能减轻你的咳嗽。

5 fertilizer   

n.肥料，化肥

参考例句：

• Fertilizer enriches the soil.肥料使土壤肥沃。
• Get some more fertilizer for the garden.给花园再多施些肥料。

6 straw   

n.稻草，麦杆，吸管；adj.用稻草做的，用来作稻草的，麦杆色的，无价值的，象稻草人的，非正式民意测验所发现的

参考例句：

• The old peasant is twisting pieces of straw into a rope.这位老农民正把稻草搓成绳子。
• May I have a straw for my drink?给我一根喝饮料的吸管好吗？

7 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

8 stews   

n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。 来自辞典例句