【英语时差8,16】枫糖浆到底是什么？（上）

If you take a spring walk through the woods in many parts of the Northeast, you’ll find buckets hanging from the sides of maple¹ trees. Drop by drop, the buckets are filling up with the slightly sweet sap from the trees. When that sweet liquid is boiled down, it becomes maple syrup², all ready for a plate of pancakes. Colonists³ arriving from Europe learned from the American Indians how to tap maple trees and boil the sap into syrup. For a long time, maple syrup was the only concentrated sweetener available on this continent. Today, little is known for certain about why a sugar maple produces such sweet sap. The sugar in the sap is made in the leaves by photosynthesis⁴ — the same process that all green plants use to convert⁵ water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide into food. So the best year for maple syrup is one with the best conditions for photosynthesis — a sunny summer and fall with a late frost. A cold winter and a heavy snow fall to keep the roots cool in the spring also improve the syrup harvest.

1 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

2 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

3 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

5 convert   

v.（在形式、状态、用途等方面）（使）改变

参考例句：

• I must convert sorrow into strength.我要化悲痛为力量。
• At what rate does the dollar convert into pounds?美元以什么汇率兑换成英镑？