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 深夜綻放的美麗 Night-Time Beauty |
For show-and-tell this week I want to show everyone my favorite plant. I know what you're all thinking—it doesn't look like much. But once a year, this ugly-looking plant produces a beautiful white flower. There are many special things about this flower. It only opens at night. And it only opens for a few hours before it dies. It has a very short life, but it's a very special one. The flower is big—17 cm wide and 30 cm long. And the smell it gives off is wonderful—so strong and sweet. It fills the whole house. This plant is originally from South America. There, it grows high up in the trees of the forests. But here, people grow them in their gardens. And they invite people over to watch them open once a year. Oh! I forgot to tell you its name. Because it's so beautiful, people call this flower the "Queen of the Night"!
在這禮拜的發表會上，我想向大家展示我最喜歡的植物。我知道你們在想什麼─這株植物看起來不像是我會喜歡的東西。但每年一次，這株不起眼的植物會開出絕美的白色花卉。這花還有許多特色：它只在夜晚綻放，而且盛開幾小時後就會凋零，生命短暫卻十分精彩；它的體型挺大，寬 17 公分，長則有 30 公分；它聞起來濃郁甜美，滿室馨香。
這植物原生於南美洲，依著森林裡的樹高長。但在這裡，人們把它種在花園裡，而且還會邀請別人過來，一起欣賞一年一度的花期。喔，我忘記告訴大家這種花卉的名稱了！由於它如此美麗，人們都叫它「夜之花后」（譯註：曇花）！ |
| ──選自《讀出英語核心素養1：九大技巧打造閱讀力（16K+MP3）》 |
