【英语时差8,16】一品红

Poinsettia plants are a traditional part of our holiday decorations. The plant is native to Mexico where it grows, out of doors, as a common awkward looking shrub¹. The colorful petal-like leaves are not actually the flowers but are really bracts.

    The botanical name for the plant is “Euphorbia pulcherrima” and “pulcherrima” means “very beautiful.” The original poinsettia was bright scarlet², but now pink, white, bi-colored and even yellow ones are available.

    In cold climates they are grown in greenhouses and used only as houseplants, and the luxuriant hot house specimens³ have become a lot more sophisticated than their country cousins. It is possible, though a lot of trouble, to get a potted poinsettia to perform its colorful display in subsequent years. They need six to eight weeks where they have 15-hour nights of darkness before reblooming. This means putting them in and out of a closet or other dark spot.

    I prefer to treat them as glamorous⁴ holiday guests. They are named after Joel Poinsett, a native of Charleston, an amateur botanist⁵ and our first Ambassador to Mexico. Because he brought them home in 1830, they are in our homes for the holidays.

1 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

2 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

3 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

5 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。