英国学生科学读本 第68期:风信子(2)

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　　位于花朵中间的就是绿色种皮, 我们将其切开, 就会发现, 种皮分为三个部分, 其中每一个都包含若干小种子。

　　After the flowers have been open for a few days, the seed-vessels swell¹ and become hard. The rest of the flower then withers² away. The seed-vessel turns brown as it ripens³, and in autumn it splits open and scatters⁴ its little black seeds on the ground. These seeds then take root, and producenew hyacinth plants.

　　风信子的花儿盛开几天之后, 种皮便会膨胀, 变硬, 花朵的其他部分则逐渐枯萎。种皮成熟之后变成棕色, 到了春天, 种皮裂开, 于是, 里面的黑色种子落到了地上。随后, 这些种子生根发芽, 成长为新的风信子。

　　What is the use of its bulb to the hyacinth? The bulb is a kind of store-house, in which the plant lays up food during the summer, so that it may be able to grow quickly, and to flower early in the next spring. As the leaves and flowers grow, they use up all the food contained in the bulb, and it slowly wastes away.

　　风信子的球茎有什么用呢? 它就像是一个储藏室, 可以让风信子在夏天的时候储备食物, 从而让自己快速生长, 在来年的春季早一些盛开花朵。随着叶子与花朵的生长, 风信子会把球茎中储存的养分全部消耗完毕, 球茎也就逐渐失去了作用。

　　But after the flowers have ripened⁵ and formed their seeds, the plant sets to work to make a new bulb, either above or on one side of the old one. Thus the same hyacinth plant grows on in the ground year after year, forming a new bulb every year.

　　然而, 当花朵成熟, 形成种子时, 原有的球茎上方或者一边就会长出新的球茎。因此, 年复一年, 新的球茎总是能够在原地生长成为另外一株风信子。

　　Did you ever buy hyacinth bulbs to grow in pots or glasses, or in your garden? Such hyacinths are somewhat different from the wild ones. Their six petals⁶ are joined together, except at the tips. The flowers are crowded more closely together on the flower-stalk than they are in the wild hyacinth, and are of more varied⁷ colours. I hope that you will one day try to grow a hyacinth in a glass of water.

　　你是否买过风信子球茎, 种植在花盆、玻璃瓶或花园之中? 这些风信子与野生的有所不同。六个花瓣除了顶部, 其余部分全部连接在一起。与野生风信子相比, 家养风信子花茎上的花朵彼此依靠得更加紧密, 而且颜色更加丰富。希望有一天你们可以亲手在一杯水中栽种一株风信子。

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