在线英语听力室

英文书摘精选 1500年前,丝绸生产是中国的国家机密

时间：2018-03-30 06:42:25

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

（单词翻译）

Fifteen hundred years ago in China, silk production was a state secret.

The silk trade was so valuable that anyone who tried to take silkworm eggs or mulberry seeds out of China was put to death. Then in 552 AD, two monks1 smuggled2 silkworm eggs to Constantinople, and silk production spread worldwide. Now that the secret's out, we can safely talk about how silkworms and humans make luxurious3 silk cloth.

A silkworm actually isn't a worm at all. It's a type of caterpillar4 that once existed in the wild, but now only survives in domesticated5 form. Silkworms are fussy6 eaters, dining only on mulberry leaves. When a silkworm has had its fill, it spins a cocoon7 from a single strand8 of silk, two to three thousand feet long!

According to legend, a Chinese empress discovered how to harvest silk when a cocoon fell into her tea. She plucked it from the teacup by the loose end of the silk, then unraveled the whole cocoon. To harvest silk commercially, cocoons9 are first steamed to kill the pupae inside. That's because the silkworm would break the silk if it began to emerge as a moth10. Next the cocoon is dunked in hot water--rather than tea--to dissolve the sticky coating that binds11 the silk. Then a machine unwinds the single strand that makes up each cocoon. Twisted together, these strands12 make the fine thread used to weave silk cloth.

Next time we'll talk about how humans have bred silkworms to behave quite unlike their caterpillar cousins in the wild.


分享到：


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 monks 218362e2c5f963a82756748713baf661     
n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
  • He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 smuggled 3cb7c6ce5d6ead3b1e56eeccdabf595b     
水货
参考例句：
  • The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网
3 luxurious S2pyv     
adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的
参考例句：
  • This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
  • The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。
4 caterpillar ir5zf     
n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫
参考例句：
  • A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
  • A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。
5 domesticated Lu2zBm     
adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 fussy Ff5z3     
adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的
参考例句：
  • He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
  • The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。
7 cocoon 2nQyB     
n.茧
参考例句：
  • A cocoon is a kind of silk covering made by an insect.蚕茧是由昆虫制造的一种由丝组成的外包层。
  • The beautiful butterfly emerged from the cocoon.美丽的蝴蝶自茧中出现。
8 strand 7GAzH     
vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）
参考例句：
  • She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
  • The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。
9 cocoons 5dceb05da0afff0d0dbbf29f10373b59     
n.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的名词复数 )v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • The silkworms have gone into the bushes to spin their cocoons. 蚕上山了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • In two more days the " little darlings" would spin their cocoons. 再得两天，“宝宝”可以上山。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
10 moth a10y1     
n.蛾，蛀虫
参考例句：
  • A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
  • The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。
11 binds c1d4f6440575ef07da0adc7e8adbb66c     
v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕
参考例句：
  • Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 strands d184598ceee8e1af7dbf43b53087d58b     
n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交，仅供参考，部分栏目没有内容，如果您有更合适的内容，欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。