談到萬聖節，你會想到什麼殭屍？鬼魂？還是女巫？無論你想到什麼，別忘記每到萬聖節最重要的「傑克南瓜燈」，為了迎接月底的Halloween，今年來個Supersized的南瓜吧！
This monster pumpkin could smash the UK record after growing to the weight of a small car.
Farmer Mark Baggs has spent countless hours nurturing the giant squash after planting it in a 500ft polytunnel six months ago. He estimates it currently weighs 1,500lbs, the same as a Smart Car, but he hopes it will break the UK record of 1,504lbs - or 107 stone.
The pumpkin boasts a 15ft circumference and its roots span the entire length of the polytunnel. It is so heavy it has to be lifted onto a trailer using a forklift truck. But there is some way to go until Mr Baggs, from Wareham, Dorset, smashes the world record - a pumpkin grown in the US last year weighed in at 2,009lbs.
The father-of-two will find out if his pumpkin has broken the UK record at a ‘weigh off’ at a pumpkin festival in Southampton tomorrow. If it is declared the UK’s heaviest he will scoop a £1,000 reward from sponsors Thompson and Morgan. But he is up against rival growers Ian and Stuart Paton from Lymington, Hampshire, who set the current British record in 2010.
這顆巨無霸南瓜的重量相當於一輛小型汽車，英國多塞特（Dorset）的農夫 Mark Baggs 半年前在一座500英呎的溫室開始種植，並投入大量的心力來培育它。他估計，目前，這顆南瓜重達1500磅（約680公斤），重量跟一台 Smart Car 一樣，但他希望它能打破英國記錄的1504磅。它的周長有15英呎，其根更跨越整座溫室；必須使用叉架起貨機將它搬至拖車上。
目前的世界記錄是由2012年美國重達2009磅的南瓜保持，如果Mark想刷新這項記錄，他還有很長的一段路要走。假如他的南瓜於10/12南安普敦（Southampton）的南瓜節打破英國記錄，他將得到贊助商1000英鎊的獎勵，但除了Mark之外，還有現今記錄保持者Ian and Stuart Paton會參與角逐。
- Squash (n.) 南瓜屬植物
- Polytunnel (n.) 溫室
- Lift (v.) 舉起；抬起
This box is too heavy for me to lift.
這個箱子太重了, 我提不起來。
- Forklift Truck (n.) 叉架起貨機
- Scoop (v.) 舀空；挖出；搶先獲得；【口語】搜集
We scooped the other companies by making the best offer for the contract .
我們為得到這一份合約，搶在別的公司前提報最好的價錢。
- Up against 面臨...
We are now up against difficulties. 我們現在正面臨困難。
In 2007 Mr Baggs grew the world’s biggest marrow, which weighed in at 9st 10lbs. The 30-year-old said: 'I think the pumpkin has done so well because it’s been grown from a good genetic seed.
'It’s been a nice summer after a very cold spring. The real test will be seeing how dense it is and whether there are any holes in the bottom which could ruin my chances. 'I won’t know exactly how much it weighs until I get it on the scales but I have a weight estimation table that indicates it’s around 1,500lbs.
'I’ve been growing these things since 2005 and you really have to know what you’re doing. 'They only grow for one season, so you only get one shot at the record each year.' Pumpkins belong to the squash family and are thought to have originated in North America between 7,000 and 5500 BC. Their name originates from the word ‘pepon’, Greek for ‘large melon’.
Mark Baggs曾在2007年培育了世界最大的西葫蘆，30歲，已是兩個孩子的父親的他說：「我認為這顆南瓜之所以長得這麼好，是因為它有良好的基因。熬過嚴冷的春天，今年夏天顯得特別美好，且經過真正的考驗，得到的果實才會香甜。我不知道它的實際重量，除非我將它放在秤重上，但我有一個重量估算表顯示其為1500磅，現在我最希望的是底部不要有任何的孔毀了我的機會。我自2005開始培育這些東西，你必須瞭解你正在做的事情，它們是一季作物，所以每年只有一次的機會。南瓜屬於葫蘆家族，且被認為起源於西元前7000至5500年間的北美，它們的名稱取自希臘的單詞 ’pepon’ ，意思是 ‘ 大型瓜類 ‘ 」。
- Marrow (n.)【英】食用葫蘆；骨髓；精華
