英国学生科学读本 第63期:有用的椰子(1)

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　　第63课 有用的椰子

　　Cocoa-nuts grow in clusters at the top of a palm-tree which is found in most hot countries. This palm has a slender brown stem, sometimes from sixty to ninety feet high, without branches, but bearing at the top a crown of beautiful, long, feathery leaves, under the shade of which the flowers and the nuts grow.

　　椰子丛生在椰子树顶端。椰子树常见于气候炎热的国家。这种棕榈树拥有细长的棕色树干，其高度有时候可达60–90英尺。整棵树上没有树枝，但是顶部却有一簇由美丽的羽状长叶组成的树冠，花朵与果实则生长在其中。

　　The cocoa-nut palm often grows in the sand of the sea-shore, and when the ripe nuts fall down they sometimes roll into the sea. They are then carried by the waves to the shores of other countries or islands, and from these nuts young palm-trees spring up. In this way the cocoa-nut palm has spread almost all round the world in the hot countries called the Tropics.

　　椰子树一般生长在海滨的沙滩上，当成熟的椰子掉落之后，有时便会滚落到大海之中。随后，在海浪的推动下，这些椰子便能够来到其他国家或海岛，成长为新的棕榈树。通过这种方法，椰树的足迹几乎遍布于全球所有的热带国家。

　　Each nut has a thick brown husk or covering, full of tough fibres. This husk is stripped off, and its fibres are made into mats, brushes, and such things.

　　每颗果实外面都包裹了一个厚厚的棕色外壳，上面长有粗糙的纤维。剥下外壳之后，上面的纤维便会被制作成床垫、刷子一类日用品。

　　The cocoa-nut itself, inside the husk, has a hard brown shell of an oval shape, about four or five inches in length. The shell is rough and hairy on the outside, but is smooth inside.

　　外壳之下的椰子包裹在一个长度为四五英寸的棕色椭圆形果壳之中。果壳外部粗糙且长满绒毛，内部却非常光滑。

　　At one end of the shell there are three black marks or scars, which make that end look a little like a monkey's face. Prick¹ these sears with a pin, and you will find that one of them—but only one—is quite soft.

　　果壳的一端带有三个黑色斑点或瘢痕，看起来有些像猴子的脸。如果用大头针刺穿这三个瘢痕，那么你就会发现其中一个——也只有这一个——非常柔软。

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