3.The Rite of Spring(969)

Ninth grade rewrite

The Rite of Spring

【1】I've often wondered why we bother to have a garden, especially when I first moved into my country house over 36 years ago and immediately started preparing a spot for vegetables. It's much easier and cheaper to buy vegetables from the store, so why grow them?

【2】And root vegetables, in particular, are hard to tell apart from the ones we buy. There's a natural instinct at work here, a kind of hard work that seems pointless. Plus, I'm not a big fan of eating vegetables. I'd much rather have something tasty and filling, like a juicy hot dog.

【3】But when April comes around, I find myself leaning on the fence, looking at that small piece of land, and promising myself not to plant it again. Yet, inevitably, there comes a morning when I wake up and a scent fills the air, a smell like earth and air, as if it's coming from the very heart of the earth. The sun suddenly feels more intense, its rays a deeper yellow on the carpet. The birds start chirping wildly, thinking the same thing I am—that the worms are happily burrowing through the softening soil.

【4】It's not just pleasure that draws me back to that patch of soil; it's also a sense of conflict. Every year, the same question arises—what method should we use? In recent years, we've used 36-inch-wide black plastic between the rows, and it's worked well, keeping the soil moist and free of weeds. But black plastic looks so industrial and unromantic that I've gradually switched to using hay mulch. We cut a lot of hay, and as it decomposes, it enriches the soil. Plus, it looks beautiful and is free.

【5】Caring for a garden makes you realize how delicate, abundant, and easily damaged the surface of our planet is. In that 50-by-70-foot area, there are probably a dozen different types of soil. Tomatoes won't grow in some areas but thrive in others, and it's the same for other crops. I suppose if you used a lot of chemical fertilizer, these differences would be less noticeable, but I use it sparingly and only where the seeds are planted, not over the whole area. I'm not sure why I do this, other than saving on fertilizer and not helping the weeds.

【6】I think the appeal of gardening, at least for some gardeners, is partly neurotic and partly moral. When life seems meaningless and hard to understand, you can always go out to the garden and get something done. Also, you can feel like a parent because you're taking care of living things that depend on you, needing guidance, encouragement, and protection from enemies.

【7】Sometimes, like with beans and cucumbers, your "children" start to grow so much that they seem to want to follow you into the house and wrap their vines around your neck.

【8】Gardening is also a moral activity because you always start in spring, determined to keep it looking neat, just like the pictures in the catalogues. But by July, you face the chaos of crowded carrots, lettuce, and beets that haven't been thinned. That's when my wife takes over the garden. As a big eater of vegetables, she does the thinning and hand-weeding of the young plants. Squatting down, she patiently decides which plants will live and which will be removed.

【9】Around this time, my wife's 86-year-old mother, a botanist, visits the garden for the first time. She looks around with a skeptical eye. Her favorite task is tying the tomato plants to stakes. She's an outspoken, honest woman, or she was until she learned better.

【10】Now, instead of saying, "You planted the tomatoes in a damp part of the garden," she waits until October when she goes back to Europe, then she casually says goodbye and mentions, "Tomatoes in damp soil tend to get fungi," before walking away to her plane. But by October, nothing in the garden matters anymore, because I'm sure I'll never plant it again.

【11】I garden, I guess, because I have to. It would be unbearable to pass by an empty, fenced garden several times a day. There are also some rewards, and these must be what make me think about all that work every year. There are few sights as beautiful as a vegetable garden glistening in the morning sun, dewy and sparkling with a dozen shades of green at seven o'clock.

【12】It's actually much lovelier than rows of hot dogs. In some corner of my mind, there might even be a belief that this healthy growth, this orderliness, and this vibrant life somehow reflect changes in my own spirit. Without a garden to tend and plant, I wouldn't know what April was for.

【13】As it is, April is when I get irritated all over again at this seemingly pointless and time-consuming hobby. I don't understand people who say they "love" gardening. A garden is an extension of yourself—or selves—and so it's a place where the struggle never ends, but continues in different ways.

【14】For example, you have to face the moment when you realize the lettuce was planted too deep or not watered enough, stop hoping it will come up tomorrow, and replant the row. But you'll feel better for not being too proud. And that's what gardening is all about—building character. That's why Adam was a gardener. (And we all know how that turned out for him.)

【15】For the sake of honesty, I should add that this was written on one of the coldest days in December

九年级改写

春之祭

【1】我常常想知道我们为什么要有一个花园，尤其是36年前我第一次搬进我的乡村别墅时，立即开始准备一块种植蔬菜的地方。从商店买蔬菜要容易得多，也便宜得多，那为什么还要自己种呢?

【2】尤其是根茎类蔬菜，很难和我们买的区分开来。这里有一种自然的本能在起作用，一种看似毫无意义的努力。另外，我不太喜欢吃蔬菜。我更喜欢吃好吃的、填饱肚子的东西，比如多汁的热狗。

【3】但是当四月来临的时候，我发现自己靠在篱笆上，看着那一小块土地，并向自己保证不再种下它。然而，不可避免的是，有一天早晨我醒来，空气中充满了一种气味，一种泥土和空气的味道，好像它来自地球的心脏。太阳突然变得更强烈了，它的光线在地毯上变成了更深的黄色。鸟儿开始疯狂地啁啾，和我想的一样，蠕虫正在松软的土壤中快乐地挖洞。

【4】吸引我回到那片土地的不仅仅是快乐;这也是一种冲突感。每年都会出现同样的问题，我们应该用什么方法?近年来，我们在垄间使用了36英寸宽的黑色塑料，效果很好，保持了土壤湿润，没有杂草。但是黑色塑料看起来太工业化和不浪漫了，所以我逐渐转向使用干草覆盖物。我们割了很多干草，当它分解时，它使土壤肥沃。另外，它看起来很漂亮，而且是免费的。

【5】照顾一个花园会让你意识到我们星球的表面是多么的脆弱、丰富和容易被破坏。在那50 × 70英尺的区域里，可能有十几种不同类型的土壤。番茄在某些地区不能生长，但在其他地区却能茁壮成长，其他作物也是如此。我想如果你使用大量的化学肥料，这些差异就不那么明显了，但我只在播种的地方使用，而不是在整个地区使用。我不知道我为什么这样做，除了节省肥料和不帮助杂草。

【6】我认为，至少对某些园丁来说，园艺的吸引力部分在于精神方面，部分在于道德方面。当生活变得毫无意义、难以理解时，你总是可以走出花园，做些事情。同时，你会觉得自己像个父母，因为你在照顾那些依赖你的生物，需要指导、鼓励和保护。

【7】有时候，就像豆子和黄瓜一样，你的“孩子”开始长得很大，以至于他们似乎想跟着你进到房子里，把他们的藤蔓缠在你的脖子上。

【8】园艺也是一种道德活动，因为你总是在春天开始，决心使它看起来整洁，就像目录上的图片一样。但到了7月，你就会面临拥挤的胡萝卜、生菜和甜菜的混乱，这些胡萝卜、生菜和甜菜还没有削薄。那时我妻子就会接管花园。作为一个蔬菜的大食用者，她负责修剪和手工除草幼苗。她蹲下来，耐心地决定哪些植物可以存活，哪些植物可以移除。

【9】大约在这个时候，我妻子86岁的母亲，一位植物学家，第一次来参观花园。她用怀疑的目光环顾四周。她最喜欢的工作是把番茄系在木桩上。她是个直言不讳、诚实的女人，至少在她学乖之前是这样。

【10】现在，她不再说:“你把西红柿种在花园潮湿的地方”，而是等到10月份回到欧洲时，随口说了句再见，并提到:“西红柿在潮湿的土壤里容易长真菌”，然后走向她的飞机。但到了十月，花园里的一切都不再重要了，因为我确信我再也不会种了。

【11】我想，我种花是因为我不得不种花。一天几次经过一个空的、围起来的花园是难以忍受的。也有一些奖励，这些肯定是让我每年思考所有这些工作的原因。很少有景色能像在早晨的阳光下闪闪发光的菜园一样美丽，在七点钟的时候，露水和十几种绿色的阴影闪闪发光。

【12】这实际上比一排排热狗可爱多了。在我心中的某个角落，甚至可能有一种信念，这种健康的成长，这种有序的生活，这种充满活力的生活，在某种程度上反映了我自己精神上的变化。没有花园可以照料和种植，我不知道四月是为了什么。

【13】事实上，四月是我再次对这个看似毫无意义又费时的爱好感到恼火的时候。我不理解那些说自己“热爱”园艺的人。花园是你自己或你自己的延伸，所以它是一个奋斗永不结束的地方，而是以不同的方式继续着。

【14】例如，当你意识到莴苣种得太深或浇水不够时，你必须面对这样的时刻，不要再指望它明天会长出来，而是重新种植。但别太骄傲会让你感觉好点。这就是园艺的意义，塑造个性。这就是为什么亚当是一个园丁。(我们都知道这对他的影响。)

【15】为了诚实起见，我应该补充说，这是在12月最冷的一天写的。