美国语文第四册 第75期：咖啡（02）
The berry is at first very soft, and has a bad taste;
咖啡豆最初非常柔软，味道不佳。
but as the cherry ripens the berry grows harder, and the dried-up fruit becomes a shell or pod of a deep brown color.
但随着“樱桃”的成熟，咖啡豆会变硬，干瘪的果实成了一个深棕色的外壳或豆荚。
The berry is now solid, and its color is a translucent green.
咖啡豆现在是实心的，颜色呈现出半透明的绿色。
Each shell contains two seeds, rounded on one side and flat on the other.
每个外壳里包含两粒种子，一边是圆弧形，另一边是平直的。
The seeds lie with the flat sides together,
两粒种子的平面挨在一起，
and, in one highly prized variety, the two seeds grow together, forming one: this is known as the pea berry.
在一种珍贵的品种中，两粒种子长在一起，合二为一，被称为圆豆。
When the fruit is so ripe that it can be shaken from the tree, the husks are separated from the berries,
当果实成熟可以从树上摇下来的时候，豆荚从咖啡豆上分离开。
and are used, in Arabia, by the natives, while the berries are sold.
在阿拉伯，人们将其利用起来，所以会出售豆荚。
The young plants are inserted in holes from twelve to eighteen inches deep, and six or eight feet apart.
小树被插在12～18英尺深的洞里，每棵之间留出6～8英尺的距离。
If left to themselves, they would grow to the height of eighteen or twenty feet;
如果让它们自己生长，可以长到18～20英尺高。
but they are usually dwarfed by pruning, so that the fruit may be easily got at by the gatherer.
但人们通常会把它们剪得比较矮，以方便采摘者的工作。
Thus dwarfed, they extend their branches until they cover the whole space about them.
由于树变矮了，它们会不断延伸自己的枝干，直到把周围的空间全部覆盖上。
They begin to yield fruit the third year.
到第三年，就开始结果了。
By the sixth or seventh year they are at full bearing, and continue to bear for twenty years or more.
到第六或第七年，它们已经硕果累累，并且一直到二十年甚至更长时间都可以结出果实。
Before the berry can be used, it undergoes a process of roasting.
在使用咖啡豆之前，需要经过一个烘焙的过程，
The amount of aromatic oil brought out in roasting has much to do with the market value of coffee,
这个过程中带出的芳香油的数量直接关系着咖啡的市场价值。
and it has been found that the longer the raw coffee is kept, the richer it becomes in this peculiar oil, and so the more valuable.
研究发现，原始咖啡保存的时间越长，这种特殊的油分会越丰富，价值自然也会更高。
But after the coffee is roasted, and especially after it is ground, it loses its aroma rapidly.
但在咖啡经过烘焙后，尤其是经过研磨后，芳香会迅速消失。
Arabia produces the celebrated Mocha, or "Mokha," coffee, which is the finest in the world;
阿拉伯出产著名的摩卡，又称穆哈咖啡，是世界上最优质的咖啡。
but little or none of the best product is ever taken out of that country.
阿拉伯出产著名的摩卡，又称穆哈咖啡，是世界上最优质的咖啡。
The Java coffee from the East Indies is next prized, but the best quality of this kind is also quite difficult to obtain,
东印度群岛的爪哇咖啡紧随其后，但好品质的产品同样很难得到。
and many, therefore, prefer the finest grades of Rio coffee from South America to such Mocha and Java as can be had in our country.
因此，很多人更愿意选择上等的南美里约咖啡，而不选择美国国内能买到的摩卡或爪哇咖啡。
