AGRICULTURE REPORT - It's Apple Season in America
AGRICULTURE REPORT - It's Apple Season in America
By Mario Ritter
Broadcast: Tuesday, October 25, 2005
I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Apples are the second most valuable fruit crop in the United 1 States, after oranges. Autumn is a time when fresh apples are everywhere. They are not native to the country. Research shows that apples came from Central Asia. But they are believed to have been grown in America since the early sixteen hundreds.
Washington 2 State, in the Pacific Northwest, produces the country's biggest apple crop. New York and Michigan are also big producers. Among nations, China is the biggest grower followed by the United States and Turkey.
This year, American growers expect to harvest nearly four thousand five hundred million kilograms 3 of apples. That is a little less than last year's record harvest.
Apples are a member of the rose family. Apples come in reds, greens and yellows. About two thousand five hundred kinds grow in the United States. Three times that number are grown around the world.
The University of Illinois Extension 4 service says one hundred varieties are grown most commonly in the United States. The most popular are the Red Delicious, Golden 5 Delicious, Gala, Fuji and Granny Smith.
In the United States, three fourths of apples are eaten fresh. Some are made into sweet foods like apple pie. The rest are processed to make products such as apple juice, apple cider, apple sauce 6 and vinegar 7.
A popular saying goes: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Apples are a healthy food. For one thing, they are high in fiber 8, mainly in the skin.
Apple trees flower in late spring. Late blossoming 9 avoids freezing weather. So farmers can grow apples farther 10 north than most other fruits. In North America, apples can be gown 11 in all fifty states and Canada.
Johnny Appleseed was born in Massachusetts in seventeen seventy-four. He grew apple trees on land he owned in Ohio and Indiana. He traveled with settlers as they moved West. He supplied them with apple seeds and young trees and, it is said, religion.
Johnny Appleseed was an early American hero. His real name was John Chapman. Americans might not know the story of John Chapman, but almost everyone has heard of Johnny Appleseed.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.
- The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
- The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。
- His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
- They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。
- 2 kilograms of rice 2公斤大米
- Every tonne of coal contains,on average,30 kilograms of nitrogen. 每吨煤平均含30公斤氮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The pupils disliked the extension of the term.小学生们不愿延长学期。
- Our extension is nearly finished.我们的扩建部分已接近完工。
- My teacher is an Englishman with golden hair.我的老师是一个金黄色头发的英国人。
- It's a balmy evening,the golden time for lovers.这是一个暖和的夜晚，是恋人们的黄金时光。
- Some cream will enrich the sauce.在调味汁里加一些奶油会使其味道更加丰富。
- This sauce is too thick-- add some milk.调味汁太稠，再加点奶.
- Do we need some soy sauce and vinegar?我们需要酱油和醋吗？
- Vinegar is used in preserving food.醋可用来保存食物。
- The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
- The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。
- Our firm is blossoming out. 我们的公司正在成长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》