The watermelon， a simple everyday fruit that， in my opinion easily makes itinto my top 5. You can skip meals in summer， but you won’t miss watermelon.Needless to say， let’s discover some facts about watermelons.

西瓜是一種簡(jiǎn)單的日常水果，在我看來(lái)，它很容易進(jìn)入我最愛(ài)的五大水果之列。你夏天可以不吃飯，但是不會(huì)不吃西瓜。不用再多說(shuō)了，讓我們來(lái)探索一些關(guān)于西瓜的知識(shí)吧。

1.Watermelons have been around for a long time.

西瓜已經(jīng)存在很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間了。

The watermelon’s origins1 are much unknown， many theories are held aroundthe world but the big contender2 is that this fruit is thought to originate in Egyptaround 4，000 years ago.

西瓜的起源并不為人所知，世界各地有很多說(shuō)法，但最有說(shuō)服力的說(shuō)法是，這種水果大約在4000年前起源于埃及。

This kind of view is all down to one drawing that draws an oblong3 fruit muchlike the one we all know.

這種說(shuō)法主要?dú)w結(jié)于一幅畫(huà)，上面畫(huà)了一個(gè)橢圓形的水果，很像我們都知道的那個(gè)。

Although we think watermelon is common， in fact， there are many varieties4 ofwatermelon. There are over 1200 varieties of watermelon all differing in texture5，taste， and look， some are black and some have yellow flesh.

盡管我們認(rèn)為西瓜很普通，事實(shí)上，西瓜有很多品種。西瓜有1200多個(gè)品種，它們?cè)谫|(zhì)地、味道和外觀上都不同，有些是黑色的，有些有黃色的果肉。

2.There are many watermelon world records.

關(guān)于西瓜的世界記錄有很多遙

The most expensive watermelon ever sold was a Densuke， auctioned6 in 2008for 預(yù)650，000 （$6300）. It was one of the first harvested in Hokkaido， Japan. ThisJapanese fruit is pure black and averages a price of $250 per fruit！

有史以來(lái)賣得最貴的西瓜是2008年拍賣的一顆“田助西瓜”，拍賣價(jià)格高達(dá)65 萬(wàn)日元（約合6300 美元）。這是日本北海道第一批收獲的西瓜之一。這種日本水果是純黑色的，平均每個(gè)西瓜的價(jià)格是250 美元！

Watermelons always seem to be the go-to fruit for any chopping7， smashing8，slashing9， or squeezing10 demos and there are many world records for doing justthat.

西瓜似乎總是任何劈、砸、砍或擠壓演示的必備水果，而且有很多這樣做的世界紀(jì)錄。

In 2014， Olga Liashchuk crushed 3 watermelons in 14.65 seconds， and shewon Guinness World Records for her efforts.

2014年，奧爾加·利亞舒克在14.65秒內(nèi)夾爆了3 個(gè)西瓜，并因此獲得了吉尼斯世界紀(jì)錄。

In 2013 in Tennessee USA， Christopher Kent set the Guinness World Recordfor the largest and heaviest watermelon in the world， weighing an unbelievable350.5 pounds （159 kg）.

2013年，美國(guó)田納西州的克里斯托弗·肯特創(chuàng)造了世界上最大最重的西瓜的吉尼斯世界紀(jì)錄，種出了令人難以置信的重達(dá)350.5 磅（159 公斤）的西瓜。

A common watermelon weighs 25 pounds （11.33 kg）， so Christopher’swatermelon is 14 times heavier！

一個(gè)普通的西瓜重25 磅（11.33公斤），所以克里斯托弗的西瓜比普通西瓜重14倍！

3.Watermelons have different uses around the world.

西瓜在世界各地有不同的用途遙

Watermelons can be kept for months if kept in the right conditions. TheEgyptians， and many other cultures， grew this plant just for this very reason.

如果保存在合適的條件下，西瓜可以保存好幾個(gè)月。埃及人和許多其他文化的人種植這種植物就是這個(gè)原因。

With water being so short， and watermelon being over 91% water， the fruitcould keep fresh and used during times of drought by smashing it to a pulp11and drained12. According to National Ggographic"， this technique was showed in1924 in Sudan.

由于水資源短缺，而西瓜含水量超過(guò)91%，因此可以在旱季時(shí)保鮮和通過(guò)將西瓜粉碎成果肉并瀝干水分來(lái)加以利用。據(jù)《國(guó)家地理》報(bào)道，這項(xiàng)技術(shù)于1924年在蘇丹被展示出來(lái)。

Watermelons， and in particular their seeds， are held highly across Asiathese days for their flavor and are often an important part of celebratingnational holidays. In China， the seeds are eaten during the Chinese New Year.

如今，西瓜，尤其是西瓜籽，因其味道在亞洲備受推崇，通常也是慶祝國(guó)家假日的重要組成部分。在中國(guó)，人們會(huì)在農(nóng)歷新年吃西瓜子。

4.Watermelon is a medical miracle that is said to help in many ways.

西瓜是一個(gè)醫(yī)學(xué)奇跡袁據(jù)說(shuō)在很多方面都有用遙

The juice can reduce13 muscle soreness as it contains Citrulline. It can improve eyesight and eye health as it’s so high in Vitamin A， and due to the high concentration14 of Lycopene， it can lower the risk of cancer.

因?yàn)槲鞴现泄习彼?，所以它可以減少肌肉酸痛。因?yàn)樗缓S生素A，所以它可以改善視力和眼睛健康。因?yàn)樗缓鸭t素，所以可以降低患癌癥的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

Whether you hate it or love it， one thing’s for sure， the watermelon really is a huge hit worldwide. Watermelon tastes great， and not only is it delicious when it’s fresh， but there are a lot of watermelon-flavored foods that are highly recommended15.

不管你喜不喜歡西瓜，有一件事是肯定的，那就是西瓜在全世界都大受歡迎。西瓜的口感極佳，不僅新鮮的西瓜好吃，還有很多西瓜味的食品也備受推崇。

So cut a piece of watermelon， sit down with a nice book and enjoy...

所以，切一塊西瓜，坐下來(lái)讀一本好書(shū)，享受吧……

（英語(yǔ)原文選自：thefactsite.com）