英国学生科学读本 第40期:甘蔗(1)

 　　Lesson 40 The Sugar-Cane

　　第40课 甘蔗

　　Have you "a sweet tooth"? Do you like things with sugar in them? If you do (and I am almost sure that you do),you will like this lesson, for it will tell you where sugar comes from, and all about it.

　　小朋友，你爱吃甜食吗？你喜欢加糖的东西吗？要是你喜欢（我差不多肯定你会喜欢），你也会喜欢这一课，因为这一课告诉你的，正是糖的来源，以及关于糖的一切！

　　Sugar is found in the juice or sap of many plants. You cannot see the sugar, because it is dissolved in the water of the juice. Sugar dissolves so well that one pound of water can dissolve three pounds of sugar.

　　很多植物的汁液，或者树汁，里面都有糖。但是这种糖是看不见的，因为它溶解在汁液的水分里面了。糖的可溶性非常好，一磅水能溶解三磅糖呢！

　　The sweetness of most fruits is caused by a kind of sugar called grape-sugar. You know that grapes taste sweet. Now raisins¹ are just dried grapes; and if you cut open some raisins, you will be sure to find inside them many little hard grains of this grape-sugar.

　　多数水果的甜味，来自一种叫做“葡萄糖”的糖。你知道葡萄吃起来是甜的。晒干了的葡萄叫葡萄干；把葡萄干切开，就肯定能在里面，找到很多这种葡萄糖粒。

　　But the sugar which we use to sweeten our tea, and which is sold in all the grocers’shops as "lump-sugar" or "brown sugar," is made either from the juice of the plant called the sugar-cane, or from that of another plantcalled the beet².

　　不过，我们放在茶里的糖，在所有杂货店里卖的糖，叫做“方糖”或者“红糖”，这种糖要么是一种叫“甘蔗”的植物的汁制造的，要么是另一种叫“甜菜”的植物制造的。

　　The sugar-cane grows in very hot countries. It is a tall kind of grass, about twice the height of a man. Its smooth, shining stems³ are about two inches thick, and they have knots or joints⁴ at every five or six inches.

　　甘蔗生长在非常炎热的地区，是一种长得很高的草，差不多有成年人高度的两倍。甘蔗的茎很光滑，有光泽，直径大概有两英寸；每5-6英寸就分一个“节”。

1 raisins   

n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These raisins come from Xinjiang,they taste delicious. 这些葡萄干产自新疆，味道很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother put some raisins in the cake. 母亲在糕饼中放了一些葡萄干。 来自辞典例句

2 beet   

n.甜菜；甜菜根

参考例句：

• He farmed his pickers to work in the beet fields. 他出租他的摘棉工去甜菜地里干活。
• The sugar beet is an entirely different kind of plant.糖用甜菜是一种完全不同的作物。

3 stems   

n.（花草的）茎( stem的名词复数 )；词干；（高脚酒杯的）脚；烟斗柄v.遏制[阻止]（液体的流动等）( stem的第三人称单数 )；封堵；遏止

参考例句：

• The present wave of strikes stems from discontent among the lower-paid. 当前的罢工浪潮起因于低工资雇员们的不满情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her interest in flowers stems from her childhood in the country. 她对花卉的兴趣产生于她在乡下度过的童年时代。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。