A for Apple

by Sumana Saparamadu

A - Apple, B - Bat, C - Cat. Most of you must have learned the English alphabet this way. There are other simple words with fewer letters that begin with A, like axe, arm, but it is always the apple that is used in picture alphabet for beginners. Why? I think it is because children know the apple. They have seen it, eaten it, and can recognise an apple at once.

The apple is a widely cultivated fruit and it is known all over the world. The largest producers of apples are America, China, Australia, France, Italy and Turkey.

There are red apples, green apples and some are a mixture of red and yellow. Farmers have developed new varieties of apples by a method called cross-breeding.

USA and Canada have developed an apple with a tough skin and this apple keeps fresh for a long time. These apples are grown for export. Australia has also developed an apple that can be kept for a long time. 'Granny Smith' is a popular variety grown in Australia.

When you or your mother next buys apples see if there is a label giving the name of the variety - Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, or the country it was grown in.

As the apple is a very popular fruit in England, it comes in many English sayings and similes. I am sure you are familiar with the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." "To upset the apple cart" is to spoil one's plans.

Do you know the Adam's apple? It is that which juts out in the throats of men, very prominent in some. It moves when they are swallowing.

The story is that Eve tried to tempt Adam with an apple, in the Garden of Eden. The apple got stuck in Adam's throat and that is what moves when swallowing, hence it is called Adam's apple.