美国人为什么不喜欢在自家花园里种菜

18Crazy English
Why Don’t Americans Love to Grow Vegetables in Their Gardens?美国人为什么不喜欢在自家花园里种菜？广东深圳市龙华区碧澜外国语小学 张 妍 编译
Most of the Chinese people love to grow vegetables in their gardens, while Americans do not. Why?
If you have been to the United States and have stayed there for months, you’ll surely find that there are many raccoons , hares and deers in the countryside of this country. And squirrels , 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 be ransacked by animals in one night. And they will totally ruin the vegetable fields .大多数中国人喜欢在自家花园里种菜，而美国人不喜欢。

这是为什么呢？如果你去过美国并在那里
待了几个月，你一定会发现这
个国家的农村有许多浣熊、野
兔和鹿，还有松鼠、野鸟、黑
熊等。

千万别以为这些动物有
多么可爱。

在美国种菜之后，
你会发现半年的辛勤劳动可以在一夜之间被动物洗劫一空。

他们会把菜地
毁得一干二净。

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Of course, the main reason is that Americans are lazy . V egetables grow very fast. You must prune daily. It’s very energy-consuming and time-consuming .
Chinese people love to grow vegetables and growing vegetables in their gardens is a tradition in China. Chinese people are hard-working . They will open up a small piece of land to grow vegetables. One goal is to eat fresh , pollution-free vegetables, and to know what you eat. Second goal is a hobby, something to pass the time .
当然，主要原因还是美国人太懒了。

蔬菜长得很快。

你必须每天修剪。

这是非常消耗体力和耗费时间的。

中国人喜欢种菜，在花园里种菜是中国人的传统。

中国人很勤劳。

他们会开辟一小块地种植蔬菜。

第一个目的是吃新鲜、无污染的蔬菜，并知道吃
的是什么。

第二个目的是种植蔬菜就是一种爱好，有时就是为了消磨时间。

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Crazy English
the United States 美国
raccoon n . 浣熊
hare n . 野兔
countryside n . 农村
squirrel n . 麻雀
ransack v . 洗劫
totally adv . 全部
ruin v . 毁坏
field n . 田；地
main adj . 主要的
reason n . 原因
lazy adj . 懒惰的
prune v . 修剪energy-consuming 消耗体力的time-consuming 耗费时间的tradition n . 传统hard-working 勤劳的open up 开辟goal n . 目标；目的fresh adj . 新鲜的pollution-free 无污染的pass the time 消磨时间emotion n . 情感personality n . 个性shrimp n . 虾crab n . 螃蟹
Notes:
在中国，如果人们看到一
片孤零零的土地上没有种菜，
他们会非常难过。

中国人会在
这片土地上注入很多情感或个
人色彩。

当他们看到土地，就
想种些东西。

否则，感觉就像
是在浪费那片土地。

就像你看
到水，就想养一些鱼、虾和螃
蟹一样。

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 of emotion or personality onto 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, shrimps and crabs when you see water.
II. Fill in the blanks to complete the following sentences.
1. Most of the Chinese people love to grow v _________ 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 are l ________ , while Chinese people are hard-working.
4. Growing vegetables in their gardens is a t _________ in China.
5. When you see w __________ , you’ll want to raise some fish, shrimps and crabs.
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?
________________________________________________
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（答案见本期第41页）。