Of the fruits of the year I give my vote
to the orange. In the first place it is a
perennial----if not in actual fact, at least
in the greengrocer’s shop. On the days
when dessert is a name given to a handful
of chocolates and a little preserved ginger,
when macedoine de fruits is the title
bestowed on two prunes and a piece of
rhubarb,then the orange, however sour,
comes nobly to the rescue; and on those
other days of plenty when cherries and
strawberries and raspberries,and
gooseberries riot together upon the table,
the orange, sweeter than ever,is still there
to hold its own. Bread and butter, beef and
mutton, eggs and bacon, are not more
necessary to an order existence than the
orange.
一年四季的水果里，我最推崇柑橘。首
先，柑橘四季都有——即使树上没有，至少水
果店里有。一年里有些时候，只用几块巧克力
和一点蜜饯生姜充当餐后的甜点，两块李子干
加一片大黄就被冠以蔬果什锦的美名，这时，
仍带酸味的柑橘便英勇前来救驾。当水果丰
盈，樱桃、草莓、木梅、醋栗在餐桌上相互争
艳时，此时比往日更加甜美的柑橘依然能坚守
自己的岗位。对于人们的日常生活，面包和黄
油，牛肉和羊肉，鸡蛋和成肉，都未必像柑橘
那样不叮或缺。
It is well that the commonest fruit
should be also the best. Of the virtures of
the orange I have not room fully to speak.
It has properties of health giving, as that it
cures influenza and establishes the
complexion. It is clean, for whoever
handles it on its way to your table, but
handles its outer covering, its top coat,
which is left in the hall. It is round, and
forms an excellent substitute with the
young for a cricket ball. The pip can be
flicked at your enemies, and quite a small
piece of peel makes a slide for an old
gentleman.
很幸运，这种最普通的水果恰恰是最好的
水果。论其优点，难尽其详。柑橘有益于健
康，比如，可以治疗流感，滋养皮肤。柑橘干
净卫生，不管是谁把它端上餐桌，也只触到它
的表皮，亦即它的外衣，吃完以后便被丢在餐
厅。柑橘是圆的，孩子们拿它当板球玩是再好
不过了。柑橘核可用来弹射你的对手，一小片
橘皮也能让一个老者滑个趔趄。
But all this would count nothing had
not the orange such delightful qualities of
the taste. I dare not let myself go upon this
subject. I am a slave to its sweetness. I
grudge every marriage in that it means a
fresh supply of orange blossom, the
promise of so much golden fruit cut short.
However, the world must go on.
但是，如若不是柑橘有甜美可口的味道，
上述一切便不足为奇。我真不敢纵谈它的美
味，我被柑橘的美味所倾倒。每一个婚礼都使
我感到痛惜，它意味着一束鲜橘花一未来金灿
灿果实的夭折。无奈，人类还得继续繁衍。
···
Yet with the orange we do live year in
and year out. That speaks well for the
orange. The fact is that there is an honesty
aboutthe orange which appeals to all of us.
If it is going to be bad---for the best of us
are bad sometimes---it begins to be bad
from the outside, not from the inside. How
many a pear which presents a blooming
face to the world is rotten at the core. How
many an innocent-looking apple is
harbouring a worm in the bud. But the
orange had no secret faults. Its outside is a
mirror of its inside, and if you are quick you
can tell the shopman so before he slips it
into the bag.
我们年复一年地吃着柑橘生活，这就证明
了柑橘的好处。事实上，是柑橘诚实的品格令
我们所有的人对它青睐有加。如果它开始变坏
的话——即使我们之中最优品种有时也会变坏
——它是从外表而不是从内里开始的。有多少
梨子，在向人们展现容光焕发的.笑容时，内里
已经腐烂。有多少看上去洁净无瑕的苹果，刚
刚发芽就已经包藏蛀虫。而柑橘从不隐藏瑕
疵。它的外表就是它内心的写照。假如你反应
快，不等售货员把坏橘子偷偷放进纸袋儿，你
就能把它指出来。
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