1.Apples，sweet apples！There never was a child who did not enjoy eating a sweet ripe apple.Did you ever see apples growing wild？If you walk through the country lanes in the month of May，you may see the pretty pink and white flowers of the small wild apple，which is called the “crab，”or the crab-apple.
2.Later on，in summer，you can gather these wild crab-apples；but they are small，and very sour to the taste，and I do not think that you will like to eat them.
3.Let us go into the orchards①in May，and look at the fineapple-trees growing there.They are covered with pretty pink and white flowers.Each flower has five little green leaves，which wrapped it round and protected itwhile it was a bud.But when the bud opened，these green leaves bent back out of the way.
4.Next come five white and pink leaves，which are called petals.Inside these there is a number of little yellow dust-spikes，like small pins with yellow①Orchards，fruit-gardens.
IN THE ORCHARD（在果园里）
heads.In the middle of the flower is the green seed-vessel，made up of five parts grown together.
5.As the summer①passes，all the other parts ofthe flower wither and fall off；but the seed-vessel grows and thickens，until it becomes a round fleshy apple.
6.Let us cut an apple across so as to divide it into halves.Now we can see the five parts of theseed-vessel in the middle of the fruit，and we notice that each of these parts contains at least one black seed.These seeds are held in a tough skin，which forms the “core②”of the apple.
①Summer，the second season of the year （May，June，July）.
②Core，heart；centre.
7.If the apple seeds are planted，they will grow into apple-trees.But this will take several years.A much quicker way of growing apple-trees is to take slips or cuttings from old trees and plant them in the ground.
8.To what other plants is the apple-tree related？It belongs to the rose family.The wild rose，the hawthorn of our hedges，the pear-tree，the plum，the cherry，the strawberry，and theblackberry，are all cousins of the apple-tree.If you examine①well the flowers of each of these plants，you will find that they are all very much alike in form，although some of them are much smaller than others.
9.There are a great many different sorts of apples.Some of these are best for cooking，while others are best for eating raw.Then there are the cider-apples of Hereford②and Devon③，fromthe juice of which the drink called cider is made.
10.Apples that have been cooked are much better for you than those that you eat raw，so I hope that you will have most of your apples made into apple-pies.
11.When you eat raw apples，you should not eat the skin，or the core，or the seeds，for these parts of the apple are not good for you.
SUMMARY
Wild apple-trees are found in the hedges，and produce small sour crab-apples.In May，the apple-trees in our orchards are covered with blossom.In the middle of the flower is the green seed-vessel，made up of five parts grown together.All the other parts of the flower wither away，but the seed-bag grows and thickens until it becomes an apple.The apple belongs to the rose family.There are a great many kinds of apples.
①Examine well，look carefully at.
②Hereford，county in the west of England.
③Devon，county in the south-west of England.
【中文阅读】
1．苹果，甜甜的苹果！从没有哪个孩子不喜欢吃熟透的甜苹果吧？小朋友，你见过野生的苹果吗？在五月份走过乡间的小路，就可能看见小小的野生苹果树上，开着漂亮的粉白花。这种苹果树叫做crab，结出的苹果就叫crab-apple。
2．然后，到了夏天，你就可以摘到这些野生的苹果了。这些苹果很小，吃起来也很酸，我觉得你应该不会喜欢吃的。①3．咱们在五月份进一趟果园，看看那里生长的漂亮的苹果树吧！果园的英语是orchard（s）。苹果树都开满了漂亮的粉白花，每朵花周围都环绕着五片小小的绿色萼片，在花朵还是花蕾的时候，这些萼片可以保护花蕾。但是，花蕾开放的时候，绿色的萼片就向后卷起来，给花蕾让开了位置。
4．然后是五片粉白的花瓣（petal），花瓣里面有很多小小的黄色雄蕊，就像小小的大头针，长着黄色的头。花朵的中间是绿色的子房，是五个部分长在一起形成的。②5．夏天过去的时候，花朵的其他部分就都枯萎凋谢了，但是子房却一直长大、变粗，最后变成了圆圆的、多肉的苹果。
6．咱们把一只苹果拦腰切成两半。现在就能看见水果中间子房的五个部分，我们注意到，每个部分都包含着至少一颗黑色的种子。这些种子让一层硬皮覆盖着，硬皮就形成了苹果的“核”。③7．把苹果种子种到地里，就能长成苹果树，但这个过程需要好几年的时间。种苹果树还有一种快得多的方法，就是把老树的插条或者插枝栽到地里。④8．苹果树跟哪些树有亲戚关系呢？苹果树属于“蔷薇科”。野玫瑰，还有我们围着树篱的果园里的山楂树、梨树、李子树、樱桃树、草莓、黑莓，这些都是苹果树的近亲。仔细观察这些植物的花，会发现它们长得都很像，只是有些植物的花，比另外一些植物的花小得多。
9．苹果有很多不同的种类，有些适合加工以后再吃，有些适合生吃。在英国的赫里福德（Hereford）和德文郡（Devon）还有一类“酿造苹果”，“苹果酒”的饮料，就是用这种苹果的汁做的。⑤10．加工过的苹果，比生吃的苹果，对你的身体好处更大，所以我希望你把自己吃的大多数苹果，都做成苹果馅饼。⑥11．生吃苹果的时候，可不要吃掉苹果的皮、核、种子，苹果的这些部分对身体是不好的。⑦译注①这种“野生苹果”俗称沙果或者花红，在中国北方分布很广，其实是日常所见的苹果的近亲，属于“双子叶植物纲”“蔷薇目”“蔷薇科”“苹果属”“花红种”，真正的苹果则是“苹果种”。
②子房的英语名字叫ovary，文中的seed-vessel（直译：种子的容器）是通俗的不正式说法。
③子房里面含有胚珠，胚珠在得到雄蕊的花粉之后可以发育成种子。苹果是虫媒花，人工养殖的苹果还要进行人工授粉。
④这种办法叫“扦插法”，很多果树繁殖都会使用。
⑤这三大类苹果，分别叫做“煮食用品种”、“鲜食品种”、“酿造品种”。“酿造品种”的含糖量比较高，可以加速发酵，增加甜味。苹果酒的原文cider也翻译成“西打”。英国的cider一般指有酒精的，而美国是没有酒精的。
⑥这是当时西欧的普遍观点，苹果也以“酿造品种”和“煮食用品种”为主。但是20世纪50年代之后，“鲜食品种”的需求量大增。加工的苹果虽然可能口感更好，营养成分更容易被吸收，但也可能破坏一些营养，尤其还有潜在的食品添加剂的安全问题。因此我个人认为，总体考虑，还是生吃比较好。
⑦这也是一个有争议的问题。苹果皮里面的营养物质很丰富，但也可能有农药残留。因此削皮是一种相对安全些的做法。
THE OYSTER
