VOA慢速英语:Christmas Trees Are Not the Only Hot Plants This Time of Year

An evergreen tree is a Christmas tradition in many American homes. The tree is unusually a pine or fir dressed with lights and other colorful decorations.
在许多美国家庭，布置常绿植物是圣诞节传统．这种常绿树木通常是松树或杉树，用灯饰或其他五颜六色的饰品装饰。

Families might buy a cut tree or go to a tree farm and cut one down themselves. Some people bring a live tree in a pot into their home for the holidays and then put it back outdoors.
人们可以购买已经砍好的树木，或者去林场亲自砍伐。一些人则在家中放置用盆子种植的活的树木，圣诞节过后再放回室外．

Some people rent a Christmas tree. Companies might bring the same live tree to the same family year after year. Or the tree might get planted in a park or someplace else where it could help the environment.
一些人选择租用圣诞树．服务公司年复一年的可能将同一株圣诞树送到同一个家庭．或者圣诞树可能种植在公园或其他地方，帮助绿化环境．

There are some trees that can be reused year after year because they are made of plastic or metal. Or, instead of a tree, some people have a small, sweet-smelling rosemary plant, cut to look like a little Christmas tree.
还有一些树可以年复一年地重复使用，因为是用塑料或金属制作的．或者，除了圣诞树之外，人们还会放置一种很小的，味道香甜的迷迭香植株，砍成小型圣诞树的形状．

Another popular evergreen this time of year is the mistletoe plant. It has small white berries and leaves that feel like leather. The traditional Christmas mistletoe is native to Europe.
今年的圣诞节期间,另外一种受欢迎的常绿植物是槲寄生．槲寄生有着白色的小浆果和感觉像羽毛的叶子．传统的圣诞节槲寄生来源于欧洲。

Ancient Druids believed mistletoe had magical powers. The plant can be found growing on apple trees, lindens, maples and poplars. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant. It connects itself to a tree and steals nutrients and water.
古代巫师相信槲寄生拥有魔力。这种植物可能生长在苹果树，菩提树，枫树和白杨树上。槲寄生是一种寄生植物，通常附着在树上，窃取营养和水分。

Today mistletoe is best known as an excuse to steal a kiss at a Christmas party. Kissing is a tradition if two people stand under mistletoe hung in a doorway.
今天，槲寄生通常用来借指在圣诞晚会上窃取别人的吻．如果两个人站在悬挂槲寄生的门廊下，这两个人应该亲吻，这是传统。

Another plant that many people connect with Christmas is the poinsettia. Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They can be white or pink, but most are bright red. They are named after the first American ambassador to Mexico. Joel Poinsett liked them enough to send some back to the United States.
另外一种与圣诞节有关的植物是一品红．一品红来源于墨西哥，可能是白色或粉红色的，但是大部分是鲜红色的．他们按照美国驻墨西哥第一任大使的名字命名．Joel Poinsett非常喜欢这些花，把他们送回了美国．

Babies or pets that chew on poinsettias might get sick. But experts say the plant is not as poisonous as some people think.
吃下一品红的婴儿或宠物可能会生病．但是专家表示，这种植物并不像有些人认为的那样毒性那么强．

Like millions of other houses, the home of America's first president is decorated for Christmas. George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate is in Virginia.
像数百万其他房间一样，美国第一任总统的家也为圣诞节而装饰起来。乔治•华盛顿的弗农山庄园位于佛吉尼亚州．

Visitors can hear stories about what Christmas was like at Mount Vernon in the eighteenth century. The museum where visitors begin their tour is decorated with Christmas trees.
游客们可以了解18世纪弗农山庄园圣诞节的情景．游客们开始旅程的博物馆也装饰了圣诞树。

Yet Mount Vernon would not have had Christmas trees during the late seventeen hundreds, when Washington led the country. They did not become popular in the United States until the eighteen hundreds.
但是，18世纪末华盛顿领导美国时，弗农山庄园并没有圣诞树．直到19世纪圣诞树才开始在美国流行．游客们得知，在华盛顿时期，宅邸内会放置绿色植物，但是装饰可能仅仅到达这种水平．

Visitors learn that in Washington's time, there was greenery inside the mansion, but that was probably the extent of the decorations.
游客们了解到，在华盛顿时候，房子里会放上绿色植物，但这可能才是真正的装饰程度。