Fascinating Facts about Grapes

关于葡萄你不知道的事实

Grapes are popular fruit， and people also love consuming them as wine， jam， juice， various dried varieties， jelly， vinegar， grape seed extract and grape seed oil. It’s this versatile popularity， coupled with the many countries that hold good growing conditions， that makes the grape as one of the world’s most economically important crops. Here are some fascinating facts about the widespread fruit.

葡萄是很受欢迎的水果，人们还喜欢把葡萄制成葡萄酒、果酱、果汁、各种蜜饯、果冻、果醋、葡萄籽提取物和葡萄籽油享用。葡萄的用处多多，而且许多国家都拥有种植葡萄的良好条件，这让葡萄成为世界上最重要的经济作物之一。一起来了解一下这种随处可见的水果吧。

Grapes are used to make artificial leather.

葡萄可以制成人造皮革。

In order to find cruelty-free and more environmentally friendly artificial leather， Vegea， an Italian company founded in 2018， has made a fully recyclable and biodegradable product from the grape waste left over from winemaking.

Grape leather is being used for a whole host of products， including vegan-friendly shoes， bags， and boxing gloves.

为了以更为环保而又不残忍的方式制出人造皮革，创立于2018年的意大利Vegea公司用酿酒剩下的葡萄残渣开发出了一款可以完全回收和降解的产品。

葡萄皮革被用来生产出大量产品，包括对纯素食者友好的鞋子、包包，还有拳击手套。

Grapes can be deadly to your pet.

葡萄可能会危及宠物的生命。

Grapes and their derivatives （raisins， wine and grape juice） are poisonous to dogs： They can cause kidney failure， which can ultimately be fatal. In 2021， vets at the ASPCA discovered that tartaric acid contained in the fruit is the culprit. Symptoms of grape poisoning include vomiting， diarrhea and excessive thirst.

葡萄和其衍生物（葡萄干、葡萄酒和葡萄汁）对狗有毒，会导致狗的肾脏衰竭，并可能导致狗最后丧命。2021年，美国防止虐待动物协会的兽医发现，葡萄所含的酒石酸是令狗中毒的罪魁祸首。葡萄中毒的症状包括呕吐、腹泻和极度口渴。

The grapes you eat are different from the ones used in winemaking.

你吃的葡萄和酿酒用的葡萄不是同一种。

The qualities desired from the ones you eat fresh （table grapes） are quite different from those required for wine production （wine grapes）. The seeds and thicker skins on wine grapes lend more flavor and color to the wine， while their greater sweetness aids the fermentation process. Table grapes tend to be larger and more delicious： juicy with firmer flesh and a less concentrated flavor， with a thinner skin and fewer seeds.

食用葡萄的品质要求和酿酒葡萄的品质要求差别很大。酿酒所用葡萄的籽和厚皮给葡萄酒增添更多风味和颜色，而更高的甜度加速了发酵进程。食用葡萄通常更大更美味，果肉紧实多汁，味道不是很浓，果皮更薄，籽更少。

China leads the way in table grape production and consumption.

中国在食用葡萄的生产和消费上都遥遥领先。

Thanks to its favorable climate and growing conditions， China has been growing grapes for more than 2，000 years and it is the world’s largest consumer.

China doesn’t just consume a lot of grapes. The country’s table grape production in 2022—2023 is more than half of the world’s grape production—making it the world’s top grape producer.

多亏了有利的气候和生长条件，中国种植葡萄已有两千多年，并且是全世界葡萄消费量最大的国家。

中国不仅葡萄消费量大，2022至2023年的食用葡萄产量占到了全球葡萄总产量的一半还多，这让中国成为全球葡萄产量最高的国家。

Word Bank

versatile /'vɜːsətaɪl/ adj. 多用途的；

多功能的

fatal /'feɪtl/ adj. 致命的

excessive /ɪk'sesɪv/ adj. 过度的；

过分的

Excessive smoking can lead to lung cancer.