King of Fruits水果之王

It is a tree that is green at all times of the year. But it bears1 fruit inthe height of summer. The hotter it is， the sweeter it becomes. And， itseems we humans cannot have enough of this delicious fruit， for there arealmost 1，000 kinds of this “king of fruits”around the world to please2 ourtongues and eyes.

這是一種一年四季都是綠色的樹。但它在盛夏結(jié)果實(shí)。天氣越熱，果實(shí)越甜。而且我們?nèi)祟愃坪醭圆荒佭@種美味的水果，因?yàn)槿澜缬袑⒔?000 個(gè)品種的“水果之王”來取悅我們的舌頭和眼睛。

It could be round， almost like a ball， or it could be oval3 or just long and thin.It could have a red and yellow color like the setting sun. Or it could be yellow oreven green. It could be small as a cricket4 ball or as big as a watermelon5！

芒果可以是圓形的，差不多像一個(gè)球，也可以是橢圓形的，或者只是細(xì)長形的。它可能有紅色和黃色，就像落日，或者可以是黃色甚至綠色。它可以像板球那么小，也可以和西瓜一樣大。

The mango tree is quite large. The largest cangrow to be 65 feet （19.81 m） tall. Those trees in lessthan best climates6 may only grow to a thirdof that height when fully grown. The fruitwas introduced to Southern California in the late19th century， and with frosts7 sometime， the mature8trees there are usually no more than 20 feet （6.09 m） tall.

芒果樹很高大，最高的可以長到65 英尺（19.81 米）。那些生長于不完全適宜的氣候里的芒果樹在完全長成時(shí)可能只能長到這個(gè)高度的三分之一。這種水果于19 世紀(jì)末被引入南加州，有時(shí)會(huì)有霜凍，那里成熟的樹木通常不超過20 英尺（6.09 米）高。

Asia爺s gift to the world

亞洲給世界的禮物

If someone were to ask you about India or Asia’s great achievements9， youcan confidently10 say， Mango！ Yes， the mango is one of them. The original11wild mango came from the forest of Assam in north-east India and Myanmar.

如果有人問你印度或亞洲有什么偉大成就，你可以自信地說，芒果！是的，芒果就是其中之一。最初的野生芒果來自印度東北部阿薩姆邦和緬甸的森林。

How the mango got its name

芒果是如何得名的

It’s an interesting story. The name mango comes from Tamil. From man-kay orman-gay， it changed to manga. The people who gave it the name manga or mangowere the Portuguese. They first came to India， across the oceans， about 500 yearsago. As they settled12 down in parts of India， they found the mango. They seemed towant more of it， so they started experimenting13 with new kinds of mango. Thefamous Alphonso or Mulgoa that we love today， is the result of their hard work. Andthen they decided to introduce the fruit to the rest of the world.

這是一個(gè)有趣的故事?！懊⒐边@個(gè)名字來自泰米爾語。從man-kay 或者man-gay 變成manga。給它起名字“manga”或“mango”的是葡萄牙人。大約500 年前，他們第一次漂洋過海來到印度。當(dāng)他們在印度部分地區(qū)定居下來時(shí)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了芒果。他們似乎想要更多的芒果，于是他們開始試驗(yàn)新的芒果品種。我們今天喜歡的著名的阿方索或穆爾戈阿芒果，就是他們辛勤工作的結(jié)果。然后他們決定把這種水果引入世界其他地方。

A fruit enjoyed since 3，000 years

一種3000 年前就被人享用的水果

While Indians have been talking excitedly about the fruit for 3，000 years， thewestern world has tasted it for only 300 years！ But how do we know that Indianshave enjoyed the mango for 3，000 years？ Simple， they were excited enough toactually write about its good qualities14 in some important old books. Today we allknow that the mango is rich in vitamin15 A， C and D. They were written by differentnames in those books.

3000 年來，印度人一直在熱情地談?wù)撨@種水果，而西方世界只品嘗了它300年！但是，我們怎么知道印度人已經(jīng)享用芒果3000 年了呢？很簡單，他們非常興奮地在幾本重要的古書中寫下了它的優(yōu)點(diǎn)。今天我們都知道芒果富含維生素A、C 和D。在那幾本書中，這幾種維生素的名字大不相同。

Down the years， several qualities have got attached16 to the mango. It is seenas a symbol of good luck and in many parts of west and south India， mango leavesare put up at the front door. It is a belief17 that the mango tree has the power18 tomake wishes come true.

隨著歲月流逝，芒果被賦予了幾個(gè)特性。它被視為好運(yùn)的象征，在印度西部和南部的許多地方，芒果葉被掛在前門。人們相信芒果樹有實(shí)現(xiàn)愿望的能力。

Mangoes are used in a number of dishesof Asian， Indian and South American. Manyare familiar19 with the drink， Mango Lassi20，in Indian and Himalayan restaurants. Thoughthe mango has become a kind of fruit we ofteneat in daily life， its wild cousins can still befound in the north-eastern part of India and Myanmar.

芒果被用于亞洲、印度和南美的許多菜肴中。許多人在印度和喜馬拉雅山地區(qū)的餐館里都很熟悉這種飲料———芒果酸奶奶昔。盡管芒果已經(jīng)成為我們?nèi)粘Ｉ钪薪?jīng)常吃的一種水果，但在印度東北部和緬甸仍然可以找到它的幾種野生“近親”。

（英語原文選自：pitara.com amp; delightedcooking.com）