B3 L3

Lesson Three

For Americans, the simple pumpkin has come to symbolize everything that is important and meaningful about autumn.

Everyone knows it’s autumn when pumpkins begin to appear at roadside stands.

Every autumn we are inevitably

surrounded by lots of pumpkins.

However, how much do you know about

“pumpkins”?

Let me give you some quizzes!

Are pumpkins………..?

fruits vegetables

Pumpkins are fruits, not vegetables.

Pumpkins are a member of the gourd( 葫蘆 ) family, which also includes squash( 南瓜屬植物 ), cucumbers, and melons.

What are the largest fruits in the world?

durian

watermelonpumpkin

muskmelon

pineapple

Do you know....

The largest fruits are giant pumpkins, specially grown and bred for their size. The largest one ever grown weighed 1469 pounds raised by Larry Checkon from Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania in 2005.

Facts about Pumpkins

Where do pumpkins grow in the United States?

Where did pumpkins come from originally?

Pumpkins are grown in every state (including Alaska) on over 10,000 farms.

Pumpkins came from originally Central America and have been cultivated for over 7000 years.

What can pumpkins give people?Vitamin A 、 Vitamin B 、 protein( 蛋白質 ) 、 potassium( 鉀 ) 、 iron( 鐵 ) 、 water (pumpkins are 90 percent water)Pumpkins are low in calories 、 fat, and sodium( 鈉 ) and high in fiber( 纖維 ).

Yes. Pumpkins are rich in Vitamin A and also high in fiber. Medically, is was once prescribed( 指定 ) as a cure for freckles and as a remedy for snake bites and prostate cancer( 前列腺癌 ).

Can pumpkins be used as medicine?

What can we make with pumpkins?

As well as jack-o’-lanterns we carry at Halloween, pumpkins can be used to make pumpkin butter, cakes, custards( 蛋奶凍 ), soup, cakes and pie.

stem

Tendril

leaves

shell

skin

pulp/meat

seeds

ribs

flower

Pumpkin seeds should be planted between the last week of May and the mid of June. They take 90-120 days to grow and are picked in October when they are bright orange in color.

1

3

4

52 The Life Circle of

the Pumpkins!

What is the origin of the jack-o’-lantern?

True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks.

It originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.”

According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him.

Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form.

Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul.

While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit.

The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell.

He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory( 名

譽不好的 ) figure into heaven.

Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip( 甘籃 ) and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since.

The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the lantern,” and then, simply “Jack O’Lantern.”

Why do people make jack-o’-lanterns at

Halloween?

They celebrated a harvest festival on October 31. It was a joyous occasion, but in some ways also a sad one. It marked the beginning of the long, dark, cold winter.

The Celts believed that in the darkness, the spirits of the dead walked upon the earth.

The custom of making jack-o’-lanterns originated over 2,000 years ago with the Celts, who lived in what is now France and the British Isles.

Great fires were built on the hills to protect the people from bad spirits. People hollowed out turnips, and put candles inside them. They carried them if they went outside to protect themselves from Stingy Jack and other evil spirits.

When the settlers came to America, they brought this custom with them. They didn’t have turnips, so they used pumpkins instead.

how people

make ?

Pumpkin carving is a popular part of modern America’s Halloween celebration. But do you know……..Let me show

you!

To carve your pumpkin, first use a long, thin-bladed knife to cut out the top of the pumpkin around the stem ( 葉柄 ). The hole should be large enough to allow you to scoop out the seeds and pulp (果

肉 ).

As you cut out the top hole, angle the knife so that the lid and hole will be

somewhat cone-shaped. This will help prevent the lid from falling into

the hole later.

Next, use the spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp from inside the pumpkin and to scrape (刮 ) the inside walls of the pumpkin cle

an.

Draw a pattern for the face on the pumpkin with a pen, or scribe the lines into the skin using a pencil.

Be sure to make the eyes, nose and mouth large enough.

Follow your pattern as you cut all the way through the pumpkin.

Place a candle inside the pumpkin to create an eerie(令人毛骨悚然的 ) glow(發光熱 ). Make sure that you have scraped the bottom of the pumpkin flat, so that the candle will sit level in the pumpkin. A candle, placed in a clear glass jar or candle holder is safer and w

ill actually last longer.

Pumpkin Carving Gallery

Picking pumpkins from a pumpkin patch for Halloween decorations and cooking is an October tradition just about everywhere in the United States.

Pick a pumpkin, ride a wagon full

of hay, or feed and pet farm

animals. You can have lots of

unique fun in a pumpkin patch.