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Do you like to eat a sweet treat every now and then?
你喜欢时不时地吃些甜食吗？
I know I do, and a lot of us enjoy a cookie or a piece of candy when it's time for that special goodies.
我就喜欢这样，到了特别的甜品时间，我们许多人都喜欢吃上一块饼干或一颗糖果。
And what's a birthday without a cake？
一个生日没有蛋糕会怎样啊。
But as much as we might, like special snacks, like these,
但尽管我们很喜欢这些特色小吃，
we know that they aren't good for us, right?
但也知道它们对身体无益，对吧？
Fortunately, there are lots of healthier choices out there for when we want something sweet to eat.
幸运的是，当我们想吃甜食时，我们还有许多更健康的选择。
Foods like apples and bananas are full of things that are good for our bodies
像苹果、香蕉之类的食物充满对身体有益的营养，
and they're also naturally sweet.
而且它们也是自然甜。
The reason that both desserts and fruits taste so sweet is thanks to sugar.
多亏了糖，所有的点心和水果才吃起来那么的甜。
So where does all that tasty sugar come from?
那么，这些可口的糖都来自哪里呢？
Believe it or not, the story of sugar starts withthe sun!
不管你信不信，糖的故事始于太阳。
Green plants catch the light from the sun, and then take the energy in the sunlight,
绿色植物捕获阳光，然后吸收其中的能量，
and use it with other materials in the air and water, to make a kind of sugar, called glucose.
再利用空气和水中的其他物质合成了一种叫做葡萄糖的糖。
Plants use this glucose as a source of energy, to help them grow.
植物将这些葡萄糖当作能量来帮助自己生长。
Then, when animals—including people like us—eat plants,
然后，包括我们人类在内的动物吃下这些植物时，
our bodies use the glucose in the plants for our own energy, to grow and play.
我们的身体将植物中的葡萄糖变成自己的能量，用于生长和运动。
Aw, thanks, plants!
啊，多谢了，植物们！
And glucose is just one kind of sugar that comes from plants.
植物产生的糖类不仅仅是葡萄糖。
The sugar that's probably in the canisters in your kitchen
你家中厨房某个容器里的糖，
is another kind of sweet stuff made by plants, called sucrose.
是另一种来自植物的糖，叫做蔗糖。
Plants move sucrose around from one part of a plant to another, in a liquid called sap.
植物通过一种叫树汁的液体将蔗糖从一处转移到另一处。
You might already know that we collect sap from maple trees.
你可能已经知道，我们会从枫树上收集树汁。
If you cook the sap for a really long time, until most of the water in the sap is gone,
如果你长时间地煮制这些树汁，直到其中的大部分水分蒸发，
then the sweet stuff that's left behind is what we called maple syrup.
留下的甜蜜物质就是我们所说的枫糖浆。
But, maple trees are just one plant that we use to get sugar.
不过，枫树只是我们获取糖类的其中一种植物而已。
Most of the sucrose we eat comes from a plant called sugar cane.
我们食用的大部分蔗糖都来源于一种叫甘蔗的植物。
Sugar cane grows in places where it's warm all year round.
甘蔗生长在全年温暖的地区，
and it's related to the grass that grows in our lawns.
它与生长在草坪上的草类似。
Its long, thick stems are full of sugar, and when the cane is cut down,
甘蔗又长又粗的茎里贮满了糖，在被砍倒后，
the stems can be squeezed until all of the sap, or "juice,"comes out.
它的茎会被压榨,直到榨出全部的汁液,或是“糖汁”。
We also get sucrose from another plant, called a sugar beet.
我们也从另一种叫甜菜的植物中获得蔗糖。
Instead of getting sap from the stem though,
不像甘蔗用茎制汁，
we can crush, cook, and squeeze the root of the sugar beet to get its sweet juice.
我们通过粉碎、蒸煮、压榨甜菜的根来获得它的糖汁。
All of these plants make and store a lot of sucrose,
所有这些植物都会产生并储存很多的蔗糖，
so we use them to make the sugar that fills up our sugar bowls.
因此我们会用它们来制糖，填满我们的糖罐。
But how does it get from the plants and into your bowl?
那糖又是怎么从植物那里跑到你的糖罐中的呢？
The sugar you eat is made by taking the sap from sugar cane, or the juice from sugar beets,
你吃的糖是用甘蔗或者甜菜的汁液,
and then heating it, until the water in the juice is gone.
通过加热,直到蒸干里面的水分得到的。
As it dries, the particles that make up sugar stick to each other,
在水分蒸发过程中 组成糖的小分子会黏到一起，
making little kind of squares that eventually form sweet little crystals!
凝结成小方块儿，最终形成小糖块晶体。
So, whether it's maple syrup for your pancakes, or sugar for your sugar cookies,
所以，不管是薄煎饼里的枫糖浆，还是甜饼干里的糖,
or ever a sweet, juicy strawberry, the sugar that you eat comes from plants!
甚至是一颗甜而多汁的草莓，你吃的这些糖都来自于植物。
And you know what the sweetest part of many plants is? Fruit!
你知道大多数植物最甜的部位是哪里吗？果实！
Lots of plants store a bunch of sugar in their fruits,
许多植物将大量的糖储存在它们的果实中，
but, unlike those sticky desserts,
但是，不像那些黏黏的甜点，
fruit also carries a lot of other good things that your body needs to stay healthy.
水果中也含有许多其他保持身体健康所需的物质。
Thanks for joining us at SciShow Kids!
感谢收看儿童科学秀！
Do you have a question about a food you like or anything else?
如果你有什么关于喜爱的食物或者其他的问题，
Then get some help from a grown up and leave us a comment, or send us an email at kids@SciShow.com!
那么就请大人帮忙给我们留言，或者发送邮件到kids@SciShow.com。
We'll see you next time!
我们下期见。
