Chilli辣椒

John’s mother was cooking fish fordinner and wanted some green chilies.Twelve-year-old John had gone to the vegetablegarden2 to pick some green chiliesand heard a voice3，“I’m happy your familylikes them. Don’t be afraid. I am theSpirit4 of Chilies.”

“I am away from home and I am sohappy to be loved，”it said.

John asked， “Where do you comefrom？” “From very， very far， from theAmericas. More precisely5， from Mexico，”it answered.

John had no idea where Mexico was.Before he could ask for more messages hismother shouted from the kitchen，“John，what took you so long？ Please bring thechilies in now.”

It said，“You have to go now. Comeback tomorrow and I’ll tell you more.But please don’t tell anybody about ourtalk. I’ll tell you the story of me.”ThenJohn ran home.

The next day， John finished hishomework early in the evening. Then hewent to the vegetable garden.

“Thank you， John. Thanks forwatering me. It’s so hot today.”Again John heard the voice of theSpirit of Chilies.

John said， “You’re welcome. Can you tell me your story？”

“Many years ago， people grew manyfruits and vegetables in the Americas，and one of them was chilies. People likedchilies very much. Some people thoughtchilies were vegetables， others thoughtchilies were fruits. Then they came toIndia，”it said.

“All this is interesting，”John said.“But how did youtravel from the Americas toIndia？”

The voice said，“That’s a long story.One day over five hundred years ago，people came to our place and helped totake the chilli plant6 all over the world.They hoped to find a shorter way toIndia.”

“But did the chilli just stay in India？”John asked.

“No， it traveled all over the world！People took chilli to many other countries.You can see how our lives and thefood we eat are connected7 to the world.The world is tied8 together9 by the foodswe eat.”

约翰的母亲正在为晚餐做鱼，她想要一些青椒。12 岁的约翰去菜园子摘青椒，然后听到一个声音说：“我很高兴你的家人喜欢它们。不要害怕。我是辣椒精灵。”

它说：“我远离家乡，我很高兴能受到人们喜爱。”

约翰问：“你从哪里来？”“我来自非常、非常远的美洲。更准确地说，来自墨西哥。”它回答说。

约翰不知道墨西哥在哪里。他还没来得及问更多的信息，母亲就在厨房里喊道：“约翰，你怎么花了这么长时间？现在请把辣椒拿进来。”

它说：“你现在必须走了。明天来，我再详细告诉你。但请不要把我们的谈话告诉任何人。我会告诉你我的故事。”然后约翰就跑回家了。

第二天，约翰很早就做完了家庭作业，然后他去了菜园。

“谢谢你，约翰。谢谢你给我浇水。今天真热。”约翰又听到了辣椒精灵的声音。

约翰说：“不客气。你能给我讲你的故事吗？”

“许多年前，人们在美洲种植了许多水果和蔬菜，其中之一就是辣椒。人们非常喜欢辣椒。

有人认为辣椒是蔬菜，而有人认为辣椒是水果。后来辣椒传到了印度。”它说。

“这一切都很有趣。”约翰说，“但你是怎么从美洲来到印度的呢？”

那个声音说：“说来话长。五百多年前的一天，人们来到我们这里，帮忙把辣椒苗带到了世界各地。他们希忙找到一条更近的路去印度。”

“但辣椒就只留在了印度吗？”约翰问道。

“不，它环游世界了！人们把辣椒带到了其他许多国家。你可以看到我们的生活和吃的食物是如何与世界联系在一起的。世界是由我们吃的食物而联系在一起的。”

▏Notes

1. chilli 辣椒

2. garden 菜园

3. voice 声音

4. spirit 精灵

5. precisely 精确地

6. plant 植物. 种植

7. connect 联结

8. tie 绑；捆

9. together 在一起