书城外语课外英语-美国各州小知识(八)(双语版)
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第20章 纽约州(4)

In more recent years,the bluebird has staged a comeback largely due to efforts of the North American Bluebird Society and its state and local affiliates.Together,these organizations and other concerned individuals have waged an educational campaign about the bluebird,encouraging the proper construction,placement and care of nesting boxes.The result is that the bluebird once again graces open spaces and its beautiful plumage(鸟类羽毛,翅膀)and sweet song are enjoyed across the Northeast.

Identification

1.5.5inches length

2.Thin bill

3.Most often seen in open habitats:agricultural areas,wood edges,et al

4.Southwestern United States birds are paler

Adult male

1.Bright blue upperparts[(鸟、兽等)位于上身的部分]

2.Orangered throat,breast and sides

3.White belly and undertail coverts

Female

1.Blue wings and tailduller than male

2.Gray crown and back

3.White eye ring

4.Brownish throat,breast and sides

5.White belly and undertail coverts

Juvenile

1.Blue wings and tailduller than male

2.Gray crown and back

3.White eye ring

4.Spotted(有斑点的,弄污的,斑纹的)underparts

State Flower州花

玫瑰,可野生也可培栽,品种繁多且颜色各异,这种1955年成为纽约的州花。玫瑰芳香宜人,有着多刺的茎干。在许多公园里都可以见到它们。在1891年学生们为自己最喜爱的花投票中,玫瑰位居榜首,它的受欢迎程度可见一斑。玫瑰也是自然园林设计的一部分。根据化石考证,玫瑰已有三千万年的历史。

The rose,wild or cultivated,in all its variety and colors,was made the State flower in 1955.

Roses are fragrant(芬芳的,香的)flowers with thorny(多刺的)stems.They grow in bushes and can be found in many gardens.Ever popular,the rose was at the top of a school children’s poll of favorite flowers in 1891.

Roses have always been a part of nature’s landscape design.Fossil(fossil化石的)evidence shows that roses have been around for at least thirty million years.The rose has been celebrated in the art,music,literature,and religions of numerous civilizations since ancient times,and garden roses were cultivated by Egyptians as early as 4000BC.Some type of rose has been discovered growing wild in almost every habitable(可居住的)place in the northern hemisphere(半球)of our planet .

Botanically(植物学地)speaking,all roses belong to the genus Rosa,a member of the family Rosacea([医]红斑痤疮).Relatives include almonds([植]杏树,杏仁,杏仁壮物),apples,peaches,raspberries(悬钩子),and strawberries.In the genus Rosa there are some 200species known world wide,with countless crosses that have produced thousands of cultivars(培育植物),hybrids(杂种),and varieties(变种).35are indigenous(本土的)to the United States making the rose as much a native to North America as the bald eagle.These species rose plants grow in the wild from which all other roses are descendants(后裔,后代).Even in the wild,the roses are an enormously(非常地,巨大地)varied group of plants.In size they range from prostrate(俯卧的)shrubs to enormous climbers.Their flowers can be large and solitary or small and clustered,and range in color from white through all shades of pink to deep crimson(深红色).A few West Asian and Middle Eastern species are even bright yellow,once the most scarce(稀有的)and soughtafter color in garden roses.Basically there are 3different roses:species,varieties,and cultivars.

Species:Originals,all having specific different characteristics.Found growing in the wild throughout the world.Given their diversity,the socalled“species roses”are difficult to characterize in general terms.They often have relatively simple fivepetalled blossoms and bloom once during the growing season.Though many are unassuming(谦逊的,不装腔作势的)plants,most possess a special grace and charm lacking in their more“refined”hybrid descendants.

Varieties:Two different species can combine very easily to produce a rose that has some of the characteristics from both parents but an identity of it’s own.This new variety is borne as a result of the pollen of one rose bush fertilizing(使丰饶,使肥沃)the ovary[(植物)子房)of another.Seeds are formed inside the rose hip(蔷薇果)(fruit of the bush)that falls to the ground at the end of the growing cycle.The following new season a new variety develops.When nature is the vehicle,such as bees,butterflies,other insects and the wind that cross pollinate(对……授粉)the new bush,it is called a variety.

Cultivar:When man cross pollinates using all the techniques of an intricate(复杂的,错综的,难以理解的)art,those new bushes are called cultivars.

The American Rose Society(A.R.S.)lists 35combinations of the three mentioned above.The 35are called Classifications(分类,分级)of Roses and can be found in the introductory of their booklet“Handbook for Selecting Roses”,which is updated yearly.It’s free to all ARS members;another reason to join.Also on the same page is a list of the 18color variations within those 35classifications.Within those 18color variations there are six flower colors:

Single flower:1-9petals e.g.“Betty Prior”—shrub 5-7petals

Semi double:10-19petals e.g.“Champagne Cocktail”:a carefree 15-20petals

Double:20-29petals e.g.“Timeless”H.T.about 25petals

Full:30-39petals e.g.“St.Patrick”H.T.30-35petals

Very Full:40petals or more e.g.“Queen Margrethe”shrub over 50petals

The Hybrid Tea has a high centered flower making it the most popular rose by far.Most flowers are borne singularly(不常见地)on a stem although some bloom in sprays.Hybrid Teas come in just about all colors and blends except blue or black.Because of their characteristics of long lasting blooms while maintaining their form they are excellent for cutting and displaying.The majority are very hardy and diseaseresistant.Almost all are onceblooming.Included in this section are some hybrid varieties which remain very close their parent species in bloom and character.The ancestors(祖先,祖宗)of our modern roses have a long history;some of them have graced gardens for thousands of years.

Floribunda is true to its name.Tons of flowers are all borne in clusters.Although most flowers are smaller in size than the Hybrid Teas,many have the same shape and petal count;single,semidouble and double.Their low bush size makes them very suitable for hedges and mass planting.Many are disease resistant much more so than the Hybrid teas,and like the teas,they are available in just about all colors.