Television Day:The baobab tree
電視日:猴面包樹
Today our programme is about the baobab tree,
今天我們的節(jié)目是關(guān)于猴面包樹,
which grows in West Africa and Australia.
這種樹生長在西非和澳大利亞.
As you can see,it is a very strange-looking tree.
你們都看到了它的外形奇特.
Its enormous trunk sometimes as much as ten metres in diameter.
巨大的樹干其直徑有時(shí)可達(dá)10米.
It is thicker at the bottom than at the top.
底部比頂部粗.
The branches nearest the ground are very long;
最靠近地面的樹枝很長.
those near the top are very short.
而靠近頂部的樹枝很短.
It may be a strange-looking tree,
雖然它外形看上去奇特,
but it is extremely useful.
但它的用途極其廣泛.
Its leaves are good to eat.
樹葉味道很好,
Its white flowers turn into cool,juicy fruit which tastes rather like cucumber.
樹開出的白色的`花能出一種清涼多汁的水果其味似黃瓜.
There are such strong fibres in the bark,
樹皮中的纖維牢度大
that people can make rope and cloth from them.
可用來做繩子和布.
When a baobab gets old its trunk becomes hollow.
到猴面包樹老了,樹干就空了,
An old tree has such a huge,hollow trunk,that it can hold many people.
巨大的樹洞可以容納好多人.
The local people often build their houses inside these trunks.
當(dāng)?shù)厝顺Ｔ跇涓衫镌旆孔?
When it rains,water collects in the hollow
下雨時(shí),水就積在樹洞內(nèi).
The tree has such a lot of leaves and branches,
這種樹的樹葉和樹枝茂盛
that the water remains cool and fresh.
因此積下的水可保持清涼、新鮮.
It is such a useful tree,
猴面包樹實(shí)用價(jià)值高,
some people could hardly live without it.
有些人離了它就不行.