LESSON 56 Habits of flowers
第五十六课 花的习性
Nearly all flowers turn towards the light, as if they loved it. This can be seen by watching plants that are standing near a window. The flowers will all be bent towards the light, if the pots are allowed always to stand in the same position. But by turning them round a little every day, while the blossoms are opening, the plants can be made to show flowers on all sides.
几乎所有的花都有向阳的,好像它们很喜欢太阳。通过观察窗户旁边的植物就可以看出来。如果花盆都放在相同的位置,花儿都向光弯曲。当花骨朵正在开放的时候,我们每天都把花盆旋转一点点,植物将会面向四方开花的。
Some flowers shut themselves up at night, as if they were going to sleep, and open again in the morning. This is the case with tulips.
一些花儿晚上闭合,好像要去睡觉一样,到了第二天早上再开放。郁金香就是这样。
The writer was one morning admiring some flowers that had been sent to him the evening before. Among them were some tulips, and out of one of these, as it opened, flew a bee!
作家一天早上正在欣赏昨天晚上被人送来的一些花儿。花儿中有些郁金香,其中一朵郁金香,当它开放时飞出来一只蜜蜂。
A lazy, dronish bee he must have been, to be caught in this way, when the flower was closing for the night. Or, perhaps, he had done a hard day's work in gathering honey, and at last had become sleepy. At any rate, he stayed too long in the tulip, and so was shut in for the night.
它一定是只懒散的蜜蜂,在晚上花儿闭合的时候,不小心被困住了。或许它一整天都在辛勤的采蜜,最后睡着了,无论是哪种情况,它在郁金香里停留太久了,所以最后在闭合的郁金香里呆了一夜。
The little daisy is one of the flowers that close at night; but it is as beautiful and bright as ever, on its "slender stem", when it awakes in the morning.
雏菊也是晚上闭合一种花,但是当它早上开放时,花朵和往常一样明艳美,亭亭玉立。