时间:2018-12-28 作者:英语课 分类:初学者听力文摘精选


英语课

The Great Tomato Debate  有名的西红柿辩论



In 1893, the U.S. Supreme 1 Court heard a case that hinged on whether the tomato was a fruit or a vegetable.

1893年,美国最高法院有一场关于西红柿到底是水果还是蔬菜的案子。



Defining A Vegetable

蔬菜的定义



According to botanists 2, most of the edible 3 parts of a plant are vegetables. Vegetables can be a root, stem, leaf, or flower. Even bulbs, like onions, and buds like brussels sprouts 4 are vegetables.

根据植物学家的观点,一种植物中,可以吃的部分大都称为蔬菜。蔬菜可以是根、茎、叶或者花。甚至球根植物,如洋葱,芽类如球芽甘蓝都是蔬菜。



Defining Fruits

水果的定义



A fruit, on the other hand, is always the matured ovary of a flowering plant. Fruit is formed when pollen 5, which carries sperm 6, lands on the sticky part of the flower.

另一方面,水果通常是一种花类植物的成熟子房。当花粉携带精子着落在花朵粘性的部分,水果就形成了。



The sperm travel from the pollen grain into the ovary then into the ovule where one fertilizes 7 the egg. Once the egg is fertilized 8, the ovule becomes a seed, and the whole ovary becomes a fruit. This is why fruits usually contain seeds.

精子从花粉颗粒进入子房,然后进到受精的地方--胚珠。一旦受精卵形成,胚珠就变成一颗种子,整个子房就变成一个水果。这就是为什么水果通常都包含种子的原因。



An Unlikely Fruit

不可能的水果



Of course, when we generally think of fruit we think of sweet fruits like apples and pears that are eaten raw or baked in dessert. We don’t think of tomatoes or cucumbers as fruit, although they are fruit because they develop from the ovary of the plant.

当然,我们通常认为水果是我们想象中的那种甜味的水果,像苹果和梨子,可以生吃或烘焙作为餐后甜点。我们不认为西红柿或黄瓜是水果,尽管他们确实是水果,因为他们是由植物的子房发育而来的。



Scandalous!

丑闻!



Back to the 1893 court case. The Supreme Court declared that tomatoes were vegetables because they are usually eaten cooked like vegetables. The decision allowed the court to uphold a tax on imported tomatoes because, at that time, vegetables were taxed but fruits were not.

回到1893年的案子,最高法院判定,西红柿是蔬菜,因为西红柿通常用烹饪蔬菜那样的方法来吃。这个决定允许法庭对进口西红柿征税,因为那时候,蔬菜是要收税的,但水果不用。



1 supreme
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
2 botanists
n.植物学家,研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )
  • Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
  • Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句
3 edible
n.食品,食物;adj.可食用的
  • Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
  • This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得,那种吃不得。
4 sprouts
n.新芽,嫩枝( sprout的名词复数 )v.发芽( sprout的第三人称单数 );抽芽;出现;(使)涌现出
  • The wheat sprouts grew perceptibly after the rain. 下了一场雨,麦苗立刻见长。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The sprouts have pushed up the earth. 嫩芽把土顶起来了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 pollen
n.[植]花粉
  • Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
  • He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
6 sperm
n.精子,精液
  • Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
  • In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中,一个精子使一个卵子受精。
7 fertilizes
n.施肥( fertilize的名词复数 )v.施肥( fertilize的第三人称单数 )
  • The male sperm fertilizes the female egg. 雄性的精子使雌性的卵子受精。 来自辞典例句
  • When the male reproductive cell fertilizes the female reproductive cell a zygote is formed. 当男性生殖细胞与女性生殖细胞发生受精时,就形成了一个合子。 来自辞典例句
8 Fertilized
v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 )
  • The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics. 心理学研究最近从遗传学的新发现中受益匪浅。
  • Flowers are often fertilized by bees as they gather nectar. 花常在蜜蜂采蜜时受粉。
学英语单词
2-ethylhexyl peroxi-dicabonate
a one horse town
a-ketoacetic acid
above-stairs
abreak
acceptable conditions
air vented tumble dryer
altitude difference
Ave, R.
averse
Avogadro, count Amedeo
barrier film rectifier
ben
bias control circuit
bidirectional drive
bostrychid
ceasefires
Chebyshev polynomial of the second kind
Chechen', Ostrov
Christianization
control and dispaly unit
criticizable
dinarthrum taiwanense
discharge electrode
dp's
dust collecting plant
eileen chang
exchange words
expenditure for military establishment
Fiesta Bowl
focis
fused salt medium
FWD & REW reel stop detector
garage-sale
geniohyoids
genus Nauclea
hauns
heurn
hirdum-dirdum
homokaryons
Hueter's maneuver
hyperchrome
impulse functions
in animal body
intasuchids
interior focusing lens
isabelles
Isocarboxazide
iustices
Judaeo-Spanish
juglandifolia
katalase
kentishes
liquid cladding
marble intarsia
mechanical ground support equipment
miethe
money position
mousselines de soie
multi-mission underwater remotely operated vehicle
multiplier time division modulation
naevi of the nail matrix and bed
network of workstations
orange-wood stick
oryctocoenose
planet-striking
post-ictal
preliminary enquiry
prides of california
pseudohistory
psychojargon
puangs
read verify
rechecks
rolling-bearing
saddening
sarcocystoid
semi-controlled mosaic
service substance
space decoration
step strobe marker
submedian vein
that is the bottom line
thermologist
throat section
tidal impulse
to what extent
topkapis
transportation of live fish
ultrasonic level ga(u)ge
underground cooling
unmanifesting
ventral anterior nucleus
voice interruption priority system
washing amalgam
watchnight
water cooled impression tray
window for finance activity
wired logic control
wrasses
zero speed position
zilascorb