有愛英國老伯種心形番茄 捐給慈善機構大綱

It's not often a tomato is described as so sweet 'whenever people see it they just want to hug it' - but this was no ordinary piece of fruit.

一顆普通的番茄，尤其是在沒有被切開的時候，形狀很少能“有愛到讓人一見就想要擁抱它的地步”。

The heart-shaped tomato was grown by retired dagger maker, Rod Matless, who said he was shocked when he noticed it in his greenhouse while inspecting his latest produce.

然而這顆由退休的匕首製造商羅德·麥特里斯種出來的心形番茄卻與衆不同。羅德說他是在自己的溫室種植園裏查看收成時看到它的，當時他也吃了一驚。

Mr Matless, 69, who suffered a heart attack a few years ago, was so taken aback by thephenomenal fruit that he decided to sell it at auction and donate the proceeds to the British Heart Foundation.

今年69歲的羅德幾年前患上了心臟病，這顆心形的番茄令他聯想到了心臟，因此他決定將這顆番茄進行拍賣，並將拍賣所得款項捐給英國心臟基金會。

The 2.26oz tomato was bought for £16 on eBay by a woman from Wales - who said she planned to give it to someone special.

這顆重約2.26盎司（約64克）的心形番茄在易趣網上被來自威爾士的一位女士以16英鎊（約162元人民幣）的價格拍下，她說她要把這顆番茄送給特別的人。

Mr Matless, of Wymondham, near Norwich, said: 'It was a bit of an obvious thing to do I suppose.

羅德住在諾威奇附近的懷蒙丹，他說：“我覺得這是一件顯而易見的事情。”

'I spent a couple of days thinking about it and I wasn't really sure, but this seems like a good use.

“雖然我想了好幾天仍然不太確定，但還是覺得這樣做應該不錯。”

'I hope it will do someone somewhere a bit of a good.'

“我希望這顆番茄能給其他人帶來好運。”

He added: 'It's very sweet - whenever people see it they just want to hug it.'

他補充說：“它看起來非常有愛，誰見到它都會想要擁抱它的。”

But with the tomato's freshness a key factor, enthusiastic gardener Mr Matless was up against the clock to deliver it to its new owner before rot set in.

但是由於保持番茄新鮮非常關鍵，所以爲防止這顆番茄壞掉，熱情的羅德分秒必爭地將它送到了它的新主人那裏。

He said: 'I didn't want to send someone something horrible. I probably could have raised a bit more money with more time but I was worried about it.

羅德說：“我以前是匕首製造商，但我其實不想給人可怕的東西。可能我賺了不少錢，但我會有點不安。”

'It will certainly make a nice present for a loved one.I hope that they like it and I'm glad I got to help.'

“而這顆心形番茄對有愛的人來說一定是個很好的禮物。我希望其他人能喜歡它，我也很高興能幫到他人。”

'It's all been very good fun and I've really enjoyed growing this very special tomato.'

“這件事情整個都令人很愉快，而且我真的很享受種植這顆心形番茄的過程。”

The French once called tomatoes 'pomme d'amour', meaning love apple, but some say this is because they believed it was an aphrodisiac and had little to do with its shape.

法國人曾經把番茄稱作“pomme d'amour”，意思是愛情蘋果。但是有人說這樣稱呼並不是因爲它的形狀，而是法國人覺得它是一種促進情慾的藥劑。