新奇事件簿 可以吃的香蕉皮（在线收听）

It almost seems too hard to believe, but there is now a banana that has an edible peel. Most people would never think of eating the peel of a banana. However, banana farmers in Japan have created a special technique for growing bananas with a peel we can eat. The new banana-growing method is called the "freeze-thaw awakening" technique. Farmers in Okayama, in the west of Japan, keep their banana trees at a freezing cold temperature of -60° Celsius. The farmers then replant the trees in 27oC temperatures. The huge change in temperature makes the tree suddenly grow too quickly for the peel to fully mature. This makes the skin thin, soft and sweet enough to eat.

这似乎很难相信，但现在香蕉皮真的可以吃啦。多数人绝不会想到去吃香蕉皮。但是日本的蕉农发明了一种特殊技术能够种植可吃香蕉皮的香蕉。这种新的香蕉种植方法被称为“冷冻觉醒”技术。日本西部冈山的蕉农将香蕉树保存在零下60摄氏度的地方。然后蕉农们再将香蕉树重新种植在27度的地方。巨大的温差使香蕉树突然快速生长，这样香蕉皮就彻底成熟了。这种方式种植的香蕉，皮薄且柔软，吃起来非常甜美。

The new variety of banana is called the "Mongee". Farmers are now selling it in small bunches of 10 bananas. They are not cheap. One Mongee banana costs yen 650 (about six dollars). The farmers have not grown a lot of Mongee bananas, so the price is high. They want to grow more so they can sell them all over the world. This means the price will come down. Bananas are the most popular fruit in Japan. Similar to other countries, Japan imports most of its bananas. About 99% of bananas in Japanese stores are imported. The Mongee could mean Japanese people eat more home-grown bananas. The Mongee banana skin is sweet and contains nutrients such as vitamin B6 and magnesium.

这种新品香蕉被称为“Mongee”。现在蕉农们仅小束售卖，一束10根。这种香蕉并不便宜一根Mongee香蕉650日元（约6美元）。由于蕉农仅少量种植，所以价格才如此昂贵。他们想大量种植，这样就能销售至全世界。这就意味着这种香蕉的价格会降低。香蕉是日本最受欢迎的水果。和其他国家一样，日本大量香蕉都是依靠进口。日本香蕉店内约99%的香蕉都是进口香蕉。Mongee香蕉意味着日本人能够吃到更多的国产香蕉。Mongee的香蕉皮味道甜美且含有多种维生素，如维生素B6和镁。