郁金香有着怎样的历史，花叶病毒都是哪来的

今天的这段对话，在讨论郁金香，

郁金香有着怎样的历史，花叶病毒都是哪来的

来听今天的讲解:

A: I want to get some flowers for my girlfriend’s birthday but she absolutely hates roses.

我想买些花为我女朋友庆祝生日，可是她一点也不喜欢玫瑰。

B: Have you thought about tulips?

你有没有想过买郁金香呢？

A: They’re from Holland, aren’t they?

郁金香产自荷兰，是吧？

B: They are grown in Holland, yes. But originally they came from Central Asia where they grew wild.

是的，它们是长在荷兰。但它们原本是长在中亚地区的野生植物。

A: Really?

真的吗？

B: The flower was introduced in Western Europe and the Netherlands in the 17th century by Carolus Clusius, a famous biologist from Vienna.

17世纪时，一位著名的维也纳生物学家卡罗拉斯•克鲁休斯把郁金香引入西欧和荷兰。

A: Oh, I see. Sounds like a good choice, they were very different to roses.

哦，我知道了。这样听起来买郁金香是个不错的选择，毕竟跟玫瑰很不一样。

B: Very different, some people believed they had medicinal powers.

区别是很大，有些人认为郁金香还有药效。

A: Well, I just need them to look pretty. They were very popular as a trading product, especially in Holland. Are your tulips very expensive?

哦，我只要它们看起来漂亮就行。郁金香以前作为一种商品还是很受欢迎的，尤其在荷兰。你这儿的这种花很贵吗？

B: That was years ago. Nowadays they are very reasonably priced. We have many different kinds, because botanists in the 1500s found ways to make the tulip even more decorative and tempting. Hybrids and mutations of the flower were seen as rarities and a sign of high status.

几年前是很贵。现在价格相当合理了。我们的郁金香有很多品种。16世纪时植物学家们发现了使郁金香变得更漂亮动人的方法。杂交和变异的郁金香被认为是稀有品种，也是高贵身份的标志。

A: OK, so that must have marked the beginning of “Tulipmania”, I think they are probably still as popular today. My parents love to go to Holland to see all of the different types growing there. I had never really considered buying them before, though.

所以，那肯定标志着“郁金香狂潮”的开端。我想这样的郁金香现在仍然很受欢迎。我父母喜欢去荷兰欣赏那里种植的所有种类的郁金香。不过我以前真的从来没想过买它。

B: In those days tulips looked very different from the ones we can see today. The tulip became so popular because of its bright colours, dramatic flames and frilly petals.

那时候的郁金香跟我们现在所看到的大不一样。人们那么喜欢它是因为它亮丽的色彩、惊人的光芒和褶皱的花瓣。

A: Frilly petals? But these are totally smooth, I thought all tulips had smooth petals.

褶皱的花瓣？但这些郁金香的花瓣都很平滑啊，我一直以为所有郁金香的花瓣都是平滑的。

B: In the 20th century it was discovered that the frilly petals and dramatic flames that gave the flower its stunning look were, in fact, the symptoms of an infection by the mosaic virus.

20世纪时人们发现褶皱花瓣和惊人的光芒使郁金香看起来更加漂亮动人，但实际上这是它们感染了花叶病毒而引起的一种病症。

A: A virus? So that’s why today we think tulips should be solid, smooth and monotone. Where did the virus come from?

一种病毒？这就是为什么我们今天认为郁金香应该是花瓣厚实、平滑和单色的原因。这些病毒都是哪儿来的？

B: The virus came to the tulip from a louse living on peaches and potatoes. We can still find some varieties with frilly petals today, but they are hybrids. The diseased varieties are no longer sold.

这些病毒来自于桃子和土豆上的一种寄生虫。今天我们仍然可以看到很多带褶皱花瓣的郁金香变种，但它们都是杂交的。那些带病的郁金香变种不再出售了。

A: Good, because I don’t think my girlfriend would be too happy with sick flowers!

很好，我想我女朋友也不会太喜欢带病的花儿。