Lesson 49 Chestnuts
第49课 栗子
How nice it is to go for a country walk in the spring, when everything looks fresh and green, and the air is not too hot! Probably we shall not have to go very far before we see the fine large shady tree called the horse-chestnut.
春天，天气还不太热的时候，去乡间散散步，看着周围的一切都是新鲜青翠的，多惬意啊！可能没走多远我们就能看到长得欣欣向荣、枝繁叶茂的“马栗树。”
If we go to the horse-chestnut tree in March, we shall find all the leaves in bud. Each bud is covered over with a sticky stuff like glue, which keeps it dry and warm. When the leaves come out, they are like large green hands, as you can see in the picture.
走近三月的“马栗树”，就能发现，所有的叶子都刚刚萌芽。每片刚萌芽的叶子，都被一种类似胶水的粘稠的东西覆盖着，能让叶子干燥温暖。叶子长出来的时候，像一只只绿色的大手，就像图片里看到的这样。
How beautiful the white flowers of the horse-chestnut look! They grow in upright spikes, and stand like candles on a Christmas tree. After they have all withered and fallen to the ground, we find the green prickly fruit. By August the fruit has become ripe, and then it too drops to the ground.
欧洲七叶树的白花好美！白花长在尖尖的花穗上，花穗是直立的，像圣诞树上的蜡烛一样。叶子在枯萎落地之后，我们就能看见绿色的带刺果实了。八月，果实成熟了，也会落到地上。
When the fruit dries it splits open, and then out roll one, two, or sometimes even three smooth brown seeds—chestnuts or "cheggies, " as some children call them. These seeds or nuts. used to be ground down and given to horses for food. That is why they are called horse-chestnuts.
果实干燥之后会裂开，从里面滚出一颗、两颗，有时候甚至三颗光滑的棕色种子，看上去很像栗子，英国有些小朋友叫它cheggies。以前曾经有人把这些种子，或者“坚果”磨碎给马吃，所以在英语里叫“马栗”。
But there is another kind of chestnut—the sweet or Spanish chestnut—which you can buy at the shops, and which is good to eat, especially when cooked. It has not a bitter taste like the horse-chestnut. This sweet chestnut is the fruit of quite a different kind of tree.
但还有另一种栗子——“甜栗子”或“西班牙栗子”，在商店里可以买到，非常好吃，尤其在煮熟了之后。它的味道可不像马栗那么苦。甜栗子是一种很不一样的树结出来的果实。
The Spanish chestnut tree grows to a very great size. One of these trees, growing on the side of Mount Etna in Sicily, measures one hundred and ninety feet round the trunk. It would take more than thirty men holding each other's hands to reach round it.
西班牙栗子树可以长得非常高大。在意大利的西西里地区，有一座名叫“埃特纳”的火山，山上有一棵栗子树，树干周长足有190英尺，要30多个男人手拉手，才能合抱过来呢！
Hang a horse-chestnut in a glass half full of water, with its point touching the water, and keep it in the dark for a few days. It will soon sprout, and a little horse-chestnut tree will begin to grow out of it.
把一颗马栗挂在玻璃杯里，盛上半杯水，让马栗的尖儿碰到水面，在暗处放上几天。马栗会很快发芽，从里面长出一棵小小的马栗树！