Why Don’t Americans Love to Grow Vegetables in Their Gardens?

廣東深圳市龍華區(qū)碧瀾外國(guó)語(yǔ)小學(xué) 張 妍 編譯

Most of the Chinese people love to grow vegetables in their gardens, while Americans do not. Why?

大多數(shù)中國(guó)人喜歡在自家花園里種菜，而美國(guó)人不喜歡。這是為什么呢？

If you have been tothe United Statesand have stayed there for months, you’ll surely find that there are manyraccoons,haresand deers in thecountrysideof this country. Andsquirrels, wild birds, black bears, etc. Don’t think these animals are so cute. After growing vegetables in the United States, you will find out half a year of hard work can beransackedby animals in one night. And they willtotally ruinthe vegetablefields.

如果你去過(guò)美國(guó)并在那里待了幾個(gè)月，你一定會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)國(guó)家的農(nóng)村有許多浣熊、野兔和鹿，還有松鼠、野鳥(niǎo)、黑熊等。千萬(wàn)別以為這些動(dòng)物有多么可愛(ài)。在美國(guó)種菜之后，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)半年的辛勤勞動(dòng)可以在一夜之間被動(dòng)物洗劫一空。他們會(huì)把菜地毀得一干二凈。

Of course, themain reasonis that Americans arelazy. Vegetables grow very fast. You mustprunedaily. It’s veryenergyconsumingandtime-consuming.

當(dāng)然，主要原因還是美國(guó)人太懶了。蔬菜長(zhǎng)得很快。你必須每天修剪。這是非常消耗體力和耗費(fèi)時(shí)間的。

Chinese people love to grow vegetables and growing vegetables in their gardens is atraditionin China. Chinese people arehard-working. They willopen upa small piece of land to grow vegetables. Onegoalis to eatfresh,pollution-freevegetables, and to know what you eat. Second goal is a hobby, something topass the time.

中國(guó)人喜歡種菜，在花園里種菜是中國(guó)人的傳統(tǒng)。中國(guó)人很勤勞。他們會(huì)開(kāi)辟一小塊地種植蔬菜。第一個(gè)目的是吃新鮮、無(wú)污染的蔬菜，并知道吃的是什么。第二個(gè)目的是種植蔬菜就是一種愛(ài)好，有時(shí)就是為了消磨時(shí)間。

In China, if people watch a piece of land left alone without growing vegetables, they will be very sad. Chinese people will put a lot ofemotionorpersonalityonto the land. When they see the land, they want to plant something. Otherwise, it feels like a waste of that land. It’s like you want to raise some fish,shrimpsandcrabswhen you see water.

在中國(guó)，如果人們看到一片孤零零的土地上沒(méi)有種菜，他們會(huì)非常難過(guò)。中國(guó)人會(huì)在這片土地上注入很多情感或個(gè)人色彩。當(dāng)他們看到土地，就想種些東西。否則，感覺(jué)就像是在浪費(fèi)那片土地。就像你看到水，就想養(yǎng)一些魚(yú)、蝦和螃蟹一樣。

Notes:

the United States 美國(guó)

raccoonn. 浣熊

haren. 野兔

countrysiden. 農(nóng)村

squirreln. 麻雀

ransackv. 洗劫

totallyadv. 全部

ruinv. 毀壞

fieldn. 田；地

mainadj. 主要的

reasonn. 原因

lazyadj. 懶惰的

prunev. 修剪

energy-consuming消耗體力的

time-consuming耗費(fèi)時(shí)間的

traditionn. 傳統(tǒng)

hard-working 勤勞的

open up 開(kāi)辟

goaln. 目標(biāo)；目的

freshadj. 新鮮的

pollution-free 無(wú)污染的

pass the time 消磨時(shí)間

emotionn. 情感

personalityn. 個(gè)性

shrimpn. 蝦

crabn. 螃蟹

I. Answer the following questions.

1. What do most of the Chinese people love to do in their gardens?

2. What animals will ruin the vegetable fields in the countryside of the USA?

3. Why don’t Americans love to grow vegetables in their gardens?

4. What kind of vegetables do people like to eat?

5. Some people grow vegetables in their gardens just because they want to pass the time. Is it true?

II. Fill in the blanks to complete the following sentences.

1. Most of the Chinese people love to growv_________ in their gardens.

2. You can find that there are many raccoons, hares,d_________ , squirrels, wild birds, and black bears in the countryside of this country.

3. Americans arel________ , while Chinese people are hard-working.

4. Growing vegetables in their gardens is at_________ in China.

5. When you seew__________ , you’ll want to raise some fish, shrimps and crabs.

（答案見(jiàn)本期第41頁(yè)）