正文
The joy of gardening
园艺的乐趣
Planting cool-weather greens, as gardeners across the north-east of America are now doing, can seem nonsensical. Convenient, perpetually well-stocked supermarket shelves are available all week. But the same could be said of cooking: cheap and decent restaurants abound, so why bother to make your own meals?
正如美国东北部的园丁们现在所做的那样,种植耐寒的蔬菜似乎是荒谬的。便利的、永远存货充足的超市货架一整周都有蔬菜供应。但同样的道理也适用于烹饪:便宜又体面的餐馆比比皆是,何必要麻烦自己做饭呢?
That attitude misconstrues the ultimate appeal of gardening: it mistakes the product for the purpose. It is true that a garden can yield peas that taste like the vibrant, green essence of spring; tomatoes and carrots of incomparable sweetness; and potatoes with the biscuity richness of earth itself.
这种态度误解了园艺的终极魅力: 它错把产出结果当成了目的。的确,菜园里能种出吃起来如春天般生机勃勃、绿意盎然的豌豆,无比甜美的番茄和胡萝卜,还有像饼干一样酥脆可口、散发着泥土芬芳的土豆。
On the other hand, a garden, especially in the early years, can also yield little but frustration. Novice gardeners may plant the wrong crops for their soil. Squirrels have an infuriating habit of taking single bites of cucumbers, beans and tomatoes, then leaving the rest on the vine to rot. And even expert gardeners can lose a season's harvest to unco-operative weather.
但另一方面,菜园也可能颗粒无收,只让人产生挫败感,尤其是在早期的时候。新手园丁可能会种植不适合其土壤的作物。松鼠们有一个令人恼火的习惯,就是只咬一口黄瓜、豆子和西红柿,然后把剩下的留在藤上任其腐烂。即便是专业的园丁也可能因为不配合的天气而失去一个季节的收成。
No matter. The real joy of gardening is the time spent doing it. The deepest pleasure — as with cooking, writing, bringing up children or almost anything worthwhile — is in the work itself.
没关系。园艺的真正乐趣在于花时间去做这件事。最深层次的喜悦在于做的事情本身——就像烹饪、写作、抚养孩子或几乎任何有价值的事情一样。
A gardener's memories revolve not around the food produced, but around long summer afternoons with hands in the dirt, surrounded by family, if the garden is at home, or deepening acquaintances with friends and neighbours in an allotment or community garden.
一个园丁的脑海里不会总惦记着种植的食物,如果园子是在家里的话,ta 们会想着在漫长的夏日午后,双手在土地里劳作,身边是家人环绕;或者在一小块土地或社区的园子里,与朋友和邻居们相互认识,加深友谊。
To garden is to patiently, lovingly and diligently help life flourish, in the ground and above it.
园艺就是耐心地、充满爱心地、勤勤恳恳地帮助生命蓬勃发展,无论是在土地里还是在地面上。
主编:Maisie、阿翀
品控:Maisie
审核:Jack
重点词汇
gardening
/ˈɡɑːr.dən.ɪŋ/
n. 园艺,园艺活
相关词汇:garden(n. 花园)
词性拓展:garden(v. 园艺活)
相关词汇:gardener(n. 园丁)
词根词缀:-er(表示人)
nonsensical
/ˌnɑːnˈsen.sɪ.kəl/
adj. 荒谬的;无意义的
词根词缀:non-(表示否定)
词根词缀:-ical(表示形容词)
搭配短语:a nonsensical argument
相关词汇:nonsense(n. 胡说八道)
相关词汇:sense(n. 理智)
perpetually
/pɚˈpetʃ.u.ə.li/
adv. 连续不断地;永久的
词根词缀:-ly(表示副词)
相关词汇:perpetual(adj. 持续的;永恒的)
搭配短语:the perpetual noise of the machines
搭配短语:the perpetual snows of the mountaintops
近义词:continuous
stock
/stɑːk/
v. 储存,存货
搭配短语:to stock a lot of food
词性拓展:stock(n. 库存)
搭配短语:out of stock
搭配短语:in stock
decent
/ˈdiː.sənt//ˈdis(ə)nt/
adj. 相当好的,体面的
搭配短语:a decent job
misconstrue
/ˌmɪs.kənˈstruː/
v. 误解,误会
词根词缀:mis-(表示否定)
近义词:misinterpret
相关词汇:construe(v. 理解)
例句:The word can be construed in two different ways.
近义词:interpret
ultimate
/ˈʌl.tə.mət/
adj. 终极的,最后的
近义词:final(adj. 最终的)
搭配短语:the ultimate goal
yield
/jiːld/
v. 产出,产生
搭配短语:to yield results
词性拓展:yield(n. 收益)
pea
/piː/
n. 豌豆
搭配短语:roast chicken with peas and carrots
vibrant
/ˈvaɪ.brənt/
adj. 充满活力的,生机勃勃的
相关词汇:vibrate(v. 振动)
搭配短语:Hong Kong is a vibrant city.
essence
/ˈes.əns/
n. 精油;本质,实质
英文释义:the most basic and important quality of something
搭配短语:vanilla essence(香草味的精油)
搭配短语:in essence(实质上)
例句:In essence what he said was very simple.
biscuity
/ˈbɪs.kɪti/
adj.(质地、香味、颜色等)像饼干的
相关词汇:biscuit(n. 饼干)
相关词汇:cookie(n. 曲奇饼)
文化补充:biscuit 在英国是饼干的统称,但在美国是指一种趁热吃的软饼,类似英国人吃的 scone(司康饼),在美式英语中,饼干的统称是 cracker。
novice
/ˈnɑː.vɪs/
n. 初学者,新手
近义词:beginner
例句:I'm still a complete novice at skiing.
infuriate
/ɪnˈfjʊr.i.eɪt/
v. 使愤怒,使极为生气
词根词缀:in-(使置于某种状态)
词根词缀:-ate(表示动词)
相关词汇:fury(n. 愤怒)
vine
/vaɪn/
n. 葡萄藤;藤本植物,攀援植物
近义词:grapevine
搭配短语:vine leaves
rot
/rɑːt/
v. 腐败,腐烂
例句:Too much sugar will rot your teeth.
harvest
/ˈhɑːr.vəst/
n. 收获,丰收
搭配短语:the grain harvest
搭配短语:harvest time
词性拓展:harvest(v. 收割)
搭配短语:to harvest crops
unco-operative
/ˌʌn.koʊˈɑː.pɚ.ə.t̬ɪv/
adj. 不愿合作的,不配合的
词根词缀:un-(表示否定)
词根词缀:-ive(表示形容词)
相关词汇:cooperate(v. 合作)
词根词缀:co-(表示共同)
相关词汇:operate(v. 运作)
revolve
/rɪˈvɑːlv/
v. 再次转动,旋转
词根词缀:re-(表示再次)
词根词缀:volve(表示卷动)
搭配短语:revolve around
例句:Children seem to think that the world revolves around them.
dirt
/dɝːt/
n. 泥土;污垢
近义词:soil(n. 泥土)
相关词汇:dirty(adj. 肮脏的)
acquaintance
/əˈkweɪn.təns/
n. 认识的人;交情
词根词缀:-ance(表示名词)
相关词汇:acquaint(v. 使认识)
搭配短语:acquaint sb. with sth.
allotment
/əˈlɑːt.mənt/
n. 小块土地;分配物
词根词缀:-ment(表示名词)
相关词汇:allot(v. 分配)
搭配短语:allot to
搭配短语:to allot 2 hours a day to revision
diligently
/ˈdɪl.ə.dʒənt.li/
adv. 勤奋地,勤勉地
相关词汇:diligent(adj. 勤奋的)
词义辨析:diligent, industrious
这两个词都有“勤奋”的意思,但 industrious 多指由习惯养成或天性形成的勤奋,而 diligent 多指为某个追求而勤奋努力。
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