作者：(英)托马斯-尼尔森公司
出版社：天津人民出版社
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英国学生科学读本（英汉双语版·上下册）试读：
译者序
孩子的眼中，一切都是新鲜有趣的。我们每个人的童年回忆，都带着挥之不去的神秘感。这种神秘感，不是来自遥远的外星球和异国他乡，而是来自我们身边见惯不惊的事物。花儿是怎么生长的？为什么会下雪？小猫走路为什么没有声音？我们吃的糖、盐、巧克力，是从哪儿来的？当孩子们牵着爸爸妈妈的衣角，问出这些问题的时候，或许谁也不会想到，这些问题中，蕴含着人类最光彩夺目的智慧。
大自然很大方，提供了丰富的资源给人利用；但它也很小气，总是不告诉人们，到底怎样才能把这些资源利用得最好。于是，从人类的老祖先出现在地球上以来，每一代人都在拼命地寻找，直到最近的几百年间，才拥有了目前为止最靠谱的办法——现代科学体系。
这个体系正在影响我们生活的每一个角落。它的步履艰难而反复，却扎扎实实。没有1946年那台重达30吨的电脑“ENIAC”，就没有我写这篇文章用的轻巧的笔记本电脑；没有这套书里提到的瓦特蒸汽机，就没有我现在听到的、窗外川流不息的汽车声音。我写下这些字的时候，房间里至少有几百件物品，每一样都浸透了人们的心血，经历了无数次的实验和失败。
更重要的是，这伟大的脚步仍在继续。科学永远不是写在书本上的教条，而是永远年轻，永远不断自我纠正、自我更新的。大自然超乎想象地复杂，研究自然的科学，也就不可避免地越来越复杂，越来越完善。在近现代，科学像坐了火箭一样飞速发展起来，但还远远没有达到高峰，甚至连山脉的高度也没有。很多科学领域，比如一些新材料科学和生物科学，才刚刚起步。而它们无一例外，都要回到我们身边，成为幸福生活的助推器。这是一个无比奇妙的轮回。
摆在读者面前的这套《英国学生科学读本》，就是英国教育家们的一次尝试，想从孩子身边不起眼的小东西开始，让他们自己去探索奇妙的科学殿堂，跟中国的《十万个为什么》有点儿相似。书中提到的东西，都是人们天天见到的：狗、猫、麦子、铁、煤、铅笔、大头针……当然，有些毕竟是那个国家特有的东西，比如英国的硬币——便士。它们看起来平常得很，但每一篇文章背后，都建立了不止一个专业学科，有成千上万的人，在为它们孜孜不倦。另外，也许是为了照顾“全面发展”，这套书还包括了一些优美的英语诗歌，描述了种种美丽的自然现象和孩子们的日常活动。
让中国读者接受面向英国儿童的科普作品，是对我这个译者的一大挑战。我力图让行文适合中国人的阅读习惯；为了弥补原文的某些局限性，我还尽量仔细地做了查找工作，力所能及地加了一些注解，试着纠正和补充。万幸我赶上了互联网的时代，让这份工作方便了不少。我的亲朋好友们给我提供了很多资料，还有同样重要的精神支持。但我毕竟没有受过系统的科学训练，恐怕最后你看到的东西，错误还是难免的。本书第1~60章及附录中的科学诗歌由刘巍翻译，第61~97章由刘嵩翻译；全书的译注由刘巍完成。
那么，也请你来给本书挑毛病吧。希望你和我，都能为这人类最辉煌的事业做点儿什么，就从这里开始！刘巍2012年12月17日于望京花园Lesson 1THE HOLLY 冬青hol´-lyshīn´-ingprick´-lessauce´-panflow´-ersChrist´-masei´-theran´-i-malsstewfruitpret´-tybit´-ingstick´-yshrubscar´-letfin´-gersquitespreadpieceber´-riesguessa-gainst´pud´-dingsmoothsum´-mer
1. How nice it is at Christmas to see the branches of holly on the walls! How pretty the bright-red berries look against the shining dark-green leaves!
2. You may call the holly either a large shrub or a small tree. The leaves of most trees fall off when winter comes, but the holly is green all the year round. It is called an ever-green tree; for as soon as one old brown leaf drops off, a fresh green one grows in its place.
3. Did you ever prick your fingers when you were hanging up the holly? The leaves have sharp points or spines all round the sides and also at the ends.BRANCH OF HOLLY（冬青树枝）
4. Can you guess what is the use of these prickles or spines to the holly tree? They keep cows and other animals from biting off the leaves.
5. Look at the holly leaves at the top of the tree, where the cows cannot reach, and you will see that these leaves are quite smooth, and have no spines.
6. If you put some of the bark of the holly tree into an old saucepan with a little water, and stew it slowly on the fire, you will get a sticky white stuff.
7. This sticky stuff is called bird-lime, for men spread it on leaves and twigs to catch birds. If a bird rests on one of these twigs or leaves, the bird-lime sticks to its feet, and then it cannot fly away.
8. Look at the holly in summer, and you will see that it has small white flowers. When these drop off, the fruit comes in their place. The fruit of the holly tree is the pretty scarlet berry, which you can see on the branches in winter.
9. Be sure you find some nice holly, with plenty of scarlet berries, for next Christmas. Hang up the branches all round your rooms, and stick a small piece in your plum-pudding.SUMMARY
The holly is an evergreen tree with bright-red berries. The leaves have sharp, prickly points or spines to protect them from animals. Branches of holly are used for decorating our houses at Christmas. Bird-lime is made out of the bark of the holly.【中文阅读】
1. 过圣诞节了，墙上挂起了冬青[1]的树枝，小朋友们多高兴啊！那些亮红色的果子，衬着闪光的暗绿色叶子，多好看啊！
2. 冬青，可以叫它“大灌木”，也可以叫它“小树”。冬天来了，树的叶子差不多都掉光了，可是冬青呢，一年四季都是绿油油的。冬青是一种“常绿树”，因为只要冬青树上的一片叶子变成了棕色，落了下来，在原来的地方，就会长出一片新的绿叶！[2]
3. 小朋友，你在往墙上挂冬青的时候，有没有扎到过手指头？冬青的叶子边上和顶上，长满了小小的尖儿，这种尖儿也叫“刺”（spine）。
4. 猜猜看，这种“刺”，或“棘”，对冬青有什么用处呢？有了这些刺，冬青就不怕牛、马，或者别的动物，去咬它的叶子了。
5. 看看冬青树顶上的叶子。牛、马够不到冬青树的顶上，瞧，这儿的叶子就很光滑，没有刺了。
6. 要是把一块冬青树的树皮放进汤锅，再加点儿水，慢慢地放在火上炖一会儿，就会得到一种白白的、黏黏的东西。
7. 这种黏黏的东西，叫做“黏鸟胶”，因为人们把它涂在树叶上，涂在小树枝上逮鸟儿。要是鸟儿落在这些小树枝上、树叶上，黏鸟胶就会黏在鸟儿的脚上，鸟儿就飞不走了。
8. 夏天的冬青，会开出小小的白花。白花落了，在原来的地方会长出果实。冬青的果实是好看的红莓，冬天，过圣诞节的时候，你就能在圣诞挂饰上看到红莓。[3]
9. 明年圣诞节，一定要找些美丽的冬青枝叶，带着好多红莓。把冬青枝叶挂满房间，往葡萄干布丁里放一颗小红莓吧！[4]译 注
[1] 冬青的英语是holly或者ilex，在西方文化中象征着“永生”。在圣诞节用冬青做装饰，是西方的一个传统习俗。古罗马人有一个节日“农神节”，在这个节日要互送冬青当礼物，后来这个传统被基督教继承了。圣诞节的装饰品，除了冬青，还有彩球（baubles）、一品红（poinsettia）、圣诞花环（wreaths）等。
[2] 冬青的叶子覆盖着一层角质层，阻止了水分的蒸发，所以冬青到了冬天，用不着让树叶都掉光。而且冬青掉叶子不是一次全掉，而是分批掉的，所以看上去就一直是绿色的了。因为这个特点，西方人非常喜欢冬青，认为它是永生的象征。有一种“大叶冬青”，它的叶子可以做成“苦丁茶”，是中国的传统饮料。
[3] 中国的冬青大都当作绿化植物，因为经常修剪，所以花朵很难留下来，也就不常看到果实了。
[4] 现在一般认为，很多种类的冬青果实有一点儿毒性，不适合人吃，还可能让宠物中毒。出于安全考虑，最好不要让孩子和宠物接近冬青枝叶和红莓。Lesson 2THE CANARY BIRD 金丝雀ca-na´-ryfirm´-lyguidebe-cause´hol´-lowper-haps´yel´-lowperchclothedbuildscoun´-trycru´-elcov´-eredwalkthir´-teenspar´-rowsmus´-clesfeath´-ersra´-therca-na´-riesstead´-yre-pay´swal´-lowsbod´-iesfront
1. Are you fond of birds? Perhaps you have one at home. It is very cruel to keep such birds as sparrows or swallows in cages, because these birds like better to fly about in the open air.
2. But there is a small yellow bird, called the canary, which we may keep in a cage, if we are kind to it; for, if we let it fly away, it would soon die in this cold country of ours. It is better that it should live in a warm house.
3. The canary and other birds have bones and muscles very much like those in our own bodies. Their bones, however, are hollow and very light. This makes it easy for them to fly.
4. See how the canary is clothed. It is covered with feathers. Some of them are long, and these are used for flying. The others are short, and serve to keep the bird warm.
5. All birds have two legs and two arms; but these arms are not like ours. We call them wings, and the birds use them for flying.
6. Look at the canary's foot. It has one strong toe behind, and three toes in front. This foot is just the right shape for holding firmly to the branch or perch on which the canary sits. So the canary is called a perching bird. It cannot walk as we do, but it hops or jumps along the ground.
7. What a strong beak the canary has! With its beak it splits open the seeds on which it feeds. And do you see its bright eyes, looking like black beads?
8. The canary has rather a long tail, and this tail helps to steady the bird and to guide it when it flies.
9. The canary builds a little nest of wool, hair, or moss, and in this nest the mother bird lays her eggs. Then she sits on the eggs to keep them warm.
10. In thirteen days the young birds come out of the eggs, and the mother and father feed them many times a day.
11. Why do we keep canaries? It is because they look so pretty with their yellow and green feathers, but still more because they have such a sweet song.
12. Keep your canary's cage clean, and give the bird fresh water to drink and seed to eat every day. Then it will repay you by its sweet singing all day long.SUMMARY
The canary is a small yellow bird that can live only in warm places. It is a very pretty bird, and has a sweet song. Its bones are hollow and light. It has two legs and two wings. Its foot is so made that it can hold on firmly to a branch or a perch. It has a strong beak, and its long tail helps it in flying.【中文阅读】
1. 小朋友，你喜欢鸟儿吗？你家里可能也养了一只鸟儿吧！把麻雀、燕子一类的鸟儿关在笼子里，是很残忍的，因为这些鸟儿，更喜欢在天上自由自在地飞翔。
2. 但是有一种黄色的小鸟，叫做金丝雀（the canary bird）。这种鸟儿，只要我们好好地对待它，是可以养在笼子里的。因为英国的天气很冷，如果让金丝雀飞走了，它过不了多久就会冻死的。金丝雀最好生活在温暖的屋子里。[1]
3. 金丝雀和别的鸟儿，它们的骨头和肌肉，都跟我们人类的很像。但是鸟儿的骨头，中间是空的，很轻很轻。这样它们就很容易飞起来。
4. 看一看金丝雀穿的美丽衣裳，它浑身上下都盖着羽毛。有一些羽毛比较长，是用来飞翔的。另外一些羽毛比较短，是用来保暖的。
5. 所有的鸟儿，都有两个后肢，两个前肢。但是鸟儿的前肢，跟我们人类的不一样。我们管鸟儿的前肢叫“翅膀”，鸟儿就是用翅膀来飞翔的。
6. 看看金丝雀的脚。它的脚有一个强健的脚趾朝后，三个脚趾朝前。这样的脚，形状很适合紧紧地抓住树枝，或者栖息在金丝雀坐着的地方。所以，我们把金丝雀叫做木栖鸟类（perching bird）。金丝雀不能像人类一样走路，但是可以在地上，用单脚或者双脚跳。
7. 金丝雀的嘴真硬啊！鸟的嘴叫喙（peak）。它就是用喙来啄开谷粒，美餐一顿的。你看见它那两只明亮的眼睛了吗，像小黑珠一样？
8. 金丝雀有一条长长的尾巴，帮它保持平衡，在飞翔的时候，尾巴还能帮它导向。
9. 金丝雀的鸟巢是用羊毛、头发、苔藓搭起来的，金丝雀妈妈就在这个小巢里下蛋，然后坐在蛋上，给蛋保暖。
10. 过了13天，小鸟就破壳而出了！金丝雀爸爸妈妈每天会喂它好几次。[2]
11. 我们为什么要养金丝雀呢？因为金丝雀的羽毛有黄有绿，非常好看。更重要的，是因为它唱歌好听极了！[3]
12. 一定要勤打扫金丝雀的笼子，每天给它喝干净水，吃谷粒，它就能一天到晚为你唱出甜甜的歌！[4]译 注
[1] 金丝雀还有另一个中国名字叫“玉鸟”。现在，经过人们的培育，金丝雀的颜色变得多种多样，有白色、橘红色、古铜色等等。金丝雀需要充分的运动，所以笼子必须宽大，最好用专门的金丝雀笼。
[2] 金丝雀孵化的时间是不一定的，咱们中国南方的金丝雀需要14-16天，北方如果比较冷，可能需要17-18天。
[3] 小金丝雀必须有“老师”教，才能学会好听的鸣叫。“老师”可以是老金丝雀、百灵鸟、大山雀等等。
[4] 金丝雀是一种比较娇气的鸟，饲养方法很复杂，读者可以自己查找更详细的资料。Lesson 3THE LEAD-PENCIL 木杆铅笔squareleadce-´darsizebe-fore´pen´-cilmak´-inggluedsharp´-enoth´-erto-geth´-erpa´-perloanmak´-erknifecare´-ful-lystick´-inglet´-tersbe-come´use´-fullike´-lystampeda-part´writ´-ingit-self´
1. Have you a lead-pencil? If not, I want you to get a loan of one, and to look at it very carefully. It is made of wood—most likely of cedar wood, for the wood of the cedar tree is much used for making pencils.
2. Do you see the name of the maker in bright letters on the side of the pencil? You may see, too, the letters H for hard, B for black, or HB for both hard and black, which are stamped on the pencil. From these marks you know what kind of pencil it is.
3. The pencil is a round piece of wood, is it not? At each end of the pencil you can see a small square of black-lead. Now, how did the black-lead get there? Did it grow inside the wood?
4. Look very carefully at the ends of the pencil. Ah, you see! it is made of two strips of wood, which were glued together after the black-lead was put in.
5. Try to pull your pencil to pieces. If you put it in water for a while, the glue will become soft, and the two pieces of wood will come apart.
6. Then you will see that a neat little hollow was made in one of the pieces, and that a little strip of black-lead— of just the right size—was put into it. The other piece of wood was then glued over it, and the pencil was made round and smooth.
7. When you rub the point on a piece of paper, little bits of black-lead stick to the paper and make black marks. In this way the black-lead pencil is very useful for writing or drawing.
8. Before you use your lead-pencil, you must sharpen one end of it with a knife. The wood will not make a black mark, so it must be cut away. Then the black-lead is left sticking out by itself to make black marks on the paper.SUMMARY
A lead-pencil is made by putting a strip of black-lead into a hollow between two pieces of wood. The two pieces of wood are then glued together. On the side of the pencil the maker's name is printed, and the letters H for hard, B for black, or H B for both hard and black, show what kind of pencil it is.【中文阅读】
1. 小朋友，你有木杆铅笔吗？要是没有，就借一支来，好好看看吧。木杆铅笔的木头，大部分都是杉木，也叫雪松木，因为英国的杉木很多都用来做铅笔了。[1]
2. 看见了吗？铅笔的侧面，用闪闪发亮的字，印着制造商的名字。你可能也看见了，字母H代表英语的Hard（硬），字母B代表英语的Black（黑），HB就代表又硬又黑。从刻上去的这些字母，就可以知道这支铅笔是什么类型的。[2]
3. 铅笔是一根圆形的木杆，两头都可以看见里面铅笔芯的小方块[3]。那么铅笔芯是怎么进去的呢？难道是在木头里长出来的吗？
4. 仔细看看铅笔的两头。啊，看见了！铅笔是“两片”木头做的，这两片木头，是在铅芯放进去之后，用胶黏在一起的！
5. 试试把这支铅笔拆开。把铅笔在水里泡一会儿，胶就变软了，两片木头就会分开了。
6. 现在你能看见，两片木头中间都有一个精细的凹槽，长条的铅芯，做成了合适的尺寸，放在一片木头的凹槽里面，然后把另一片木头黏上去，铅笔就变成了圆形，摸起来很光滑了。[4]
7. 铅笔尖儿在纸上蹭的时候，就会有一点儿铅笔芯附着在纸上，留下黑色的印子。这样，在我们写字画画的时候，铅笔就特别有用。
8. 在你用木杆铅笔之前，要先用小刀把铅笔的一头削尖。木头是不会留下黑色印子的，所以得把木头削掉，这样，黑色的铅芯自己就会突出来，在纸上留下印子了。[5]译 注
[1] 铅笔的英语pencil来自拉丁语的penicillus，意思是“小尾巴”，在古代指的是一种骆驼毛制成的笔。Pencil现在的意义——“石墨做的书写工具”，是16世纪才出现的。
[2] “H”代表铅笔芯里面坚硬的粘土，“B”代表柔软的石墨，H和B前面的数字（比如2B铅笔），数字越大就代表这些成分越多；HB则代表软硬适中。铅笔的软硬分成这么多等级，主要是为了让画家们在纸上画出不同的灰度。工业上制图的时候，经常用比较硬的笔芯，因为硬笔芯削成的笔尖大小容易保持，画出来的线粗细一致。现在读者们用的自动铅笔的铅芯，大部分是HB的。
[3] 现在的木杆铅笔，铅芯一般是圆形的。
[4] 这种现代铅笔的基本造型，最早出现在16世纪中期的意大利，是把刺柏木的木棍掏空做出来的。不久，又出现了课文里说的那种两片木头拼在一起的形式。1662年，德国纽伦堡（Nuremberg）建立了第一家用这种工艺制造铅笔的工厂。1789年，法国大革命爆发，因为外国的禁运，法国石墨严重短缺。为了节省材料，法国化学家尼古拉·孔德（Nicholas Jacques Conté，也翻译成康蒂）发明了石墨和粘土混合的铅笔芯。之后木杆铅笔又经过很多人的改进，才成了今天这个样子。现在，全世界每年仍然生产140亿支以上的木杆铅笔。
[5] 我们从小就很熟悉的自动铅笔，克服了这个问题，不再需要削铅笔了。自动铅笔在英式英语里叫做“推进式铅笔”（propelling pencil），美式英语是“机械铅笔”（mechanical pencil）。1822年，英国人桑普森·莫丹（Sampson Mordan）和约翰·艾萨克·哈金斯（John Isaac Hawkins）获得了第一项自动铅笔的专利，但直到19世纪末20世纪初的时候才开始大规模推广。1915年，日本的早川德次（Hayakawa Tokuji）发明了一种改进型的自动铅笔，命名为“永远锋利的铅笔”（Ever-Sharp Pencil），后来的“夏普”（Sharp）公司的名字就是这么来的。Lesson 4BLACK-LEAD 石墨pow´-dergratemet-´aldoesdi´-a-mondgreyre´-al-lypressedi´-ronsome´-timesrust´-ingspar´-klingcol´-ourcar´-bonblocksheav´-yslow´-lystovesreachstuff
1. What is the black-lead in your pencil made of? If you take a bit of the metal which we call lead, you will find that it is grey in colour, very heavy, and not at all like the black-lead in your pencil. But the lead will make a mark on paper just as your pencil does.
2. We call the stuff black-lead, because it makes marks like lead; but there is really no lead in it at all. Black-lead is not a metal. It is made of carbon, which is also found in coal and in many other things. It is the carbon in coal which makes it burn so well.
3. If we make black-lead very hot, it will burn. But it will burn very slowly—so slowly that it would be of no use for making a fire.
4. Black-lead is found in some kinds of rocks in big lumps. These lumps are ground into very fine powder, and then the powder is pressed into hard blocks.
5. These blocks are next cut up into thin strips. Each strip of black-lead is made of just the right size to fit into the hollow that has been cut for it in the wood of the pencil.
6. Your mother will tell you that black-lead is very useful to her in the house. She rubs it on stoves and grates, and many other things that are made of iron, to cover the iron and keep it from rusting.
7. The damp air makes the iron rust; but when we cover it with black-lead, the air cannot reach it, and it keeps bright.
8. Have you ever seen a diamond? It is a very bright, hard kind of stone, and very dear. Diamonds are sometimes set in gold rings, and they are very pretty. Yet the diamond is made of pure carbon, just as black-lead is.
9. Is it not strange that the dull black-lead, which costs so little, and the sparkling diamond, which costs so much, are both made of the same stuff that burns in the grate to keep us warm?SUMMARY
Black-lead is a kind of matter called carbon. It is found in some kinds of rocks in big lumps. It is put on stoves and grates and other things to keep them from rusting. It is made of the same kind of stuff as the sparkling diamond and the common black coal.【中文阅读】
1. 小朋友，你铅笔里的铅芯是什么做的？拿一块儿叫“铅”的金属看看，铅是黑色的，特别重，跟铅芯一点儿也不一样。但是铅也会在纸上留下印子，跟铅笔一样。[1]
2. 我们把铅芯里的东西叫石墨（black-lead），就是“黑铅”的意思。这是因为，它在纸上也能像铅一样留下印子；但其实，铅芯里一点儿铅都没有。石墨是碳做的，煤里就有碳，好多别的东西里也有碳。煤里正是有了碳，才会这么容易燃烧的。[2]
3. 如果把石墨弄得特别热，石墨就会燃烧起来，但是燃烧得特别慢，不能用它生火。
4. 有一些石头里面会有大块的石墨。人们把这些大块石墨，先磨成细粉，又压成硬块儿。
5. 这些硬块儿，最后又切成了细条。同时，在铅笔的木头上，也切出来了凹槽。每一根石墨的细条，大小都正好放进凹槽里面。[3]
6. 小朋友，你的妈妈会告诉你，石墨在你家里也非常有用！妈妈把石墨涂在炉子、炉栅上面，涂在很多铁器上面，把铁盖起来，这样它们就不会生锈了。[4]
7. 潮湿的空气会让铁生锈，但是只要用石墨盖住，铁就接触不到空气，会一直亮闪闪的。
8. 小朋友，你见过钻石吗？钻石，也叫金刚石，是一种非常光亮，非常坚硬的石头，价钱还特别贵。有些钻石嵌在金戒指上，漂亮极了。可是，钻石却是纯碳做的，就跟石墨一样！[5]
9. 黑黑的石墨那么便宜，亮晶晶的钻石那么贵，这两种东西，却跟那烧在炉子里让我们取暖的煤，都是一样的东西做的，好奇怪呀！[6]译 注
[1] 在中国，1900多年以前的东汉初期，人们就开始使用铅，作为方便的书写工具了；欧洲的古罗马贵族也用铅条写字。但是这种真正的“铅笔”缺点太多：有毒，容易折断，字迹模糊，所以几百年前就让位给石墨了。人们刚发现石墨的时候，误以为是铅的一种，于是很多语言，包括汉语里的“铅笔”都带有“铅”这个字，谁也不愿意改了。另外，直到20世纪中期，铅笔外面的涂层经常含有铅，所以那时候的人在咬铅笔的时候，还真的容易造成铅中毒。
[2] 石墨的现代名字叫graphite。石墨矿最早发现在英国的昆布兰郡（Cumbria），时间大概在1500-1565年之间。人们最早用天然石墨在绵羊身上画记号，后来石墨又用来在加农炮的模具上划线，有一阵子曾经成为重要的战略物资。英王乔治二世（King George II）甚至下过一道命令，禁止从昆布兰郡偷运石墨，违者处以绞刑。
[3] 现代工艺中，石墨需要跟粘土按比例混合，用“压芯机”挤压出细条（也就是铅芯），干燥，用高温焙（bèi）烧，最后在油或者石蜡里浸一遍，才能做成。
[4] 现在家里的大部分炉子都涂了防锈漆，不需要居民自己往上涂防锈材料了。不过，一些工厂里的机器，还用石墨来防锈。
[5] 20世纪50年代以后，出现了用石墨等碳原料加工的人造钻石，广泛用在工业和珠宝加工业上。
[6] 石墨和钻石都是纯碳，但里面碳原子排列的方式不一样，所以才会出现这么不同的形态。煤不是纯碳，而是碳、氢、氧、氮、硫等元素组成的复杂的有机物。Lesson 5THE COW 牛youngchew´-ingclo´-vencheeseknivescut´-tingcalfstom´-achleath´-ertal´-lowstraightlow´-erbroadcombscan´-dlescurvedbe-tween´an-oth´-erbut´-tonsmixedūs´-ingplas´-tertearsbut´-terhan´-dles
1. Every boy and girl knows the cow, and likes to hear about her. A young cow is called a calf, and the male of the cow is called an ox or a bull.THE PET CALF（家养的小牛）
2. The cow has short straight hair all over her body. There is a tuft of long hair at the end of her tail, with which she drives away the flies.
3. Most cows have horns. Some of them are straight, and others curved. You may have seen cows using their horns to drive away dogs that tried to bite them. When they do this, they put down their heads and rush at the dogs, trying to toss them in the air. The horns are hollow, and are made of the same kind of stuff as our finger nails.
4. Now, look at the hoof of the cow, and you will see that it is split or “cloven.” The cloven hoof is really two hoofs, which are the strong nails of the cow's toes. The cow has four toes on each foot; two long toes in front, and two short ones behind.
5. Have you ever seen a cow eating? If you looked into her mouth, you would see that she has eight sharp cutting teeth in the front of her lower jaw; but in the front of her upper jaw she has no teeth. She has a hard pad there instead.
6. The cow takes the grass between this pad and her front teeth and tears it off. Then she swallows the grass without chewing it. When the cow has eaten a good deal of grass, she lies down and begins to chew the cud.
7. This means that she brings the grass up again, a little at a time, out of her stomach into her mouth. She chews the grass well this time with her broad back teeth, and then swallows it again. This time the grass goes into another part of the cow's stomach.
8. The cow is of great use to us. We like to drink her milk; and we make some of the milk into butter and cheese.
9. After the cow is killed, she is also of use to us. Her flesh is very good for food. The flesh of the cow is called beef, and that of the calf is called veal.
10. The skin or hide of the cow is made into leather for our boots and shoes. The horns are made into combs, spoons, and cups. Buttons, and the handles of knives, are also made of cow's horn.
11. The fat of the cow, called tallow, is used for making soap and candles. Even the cow's hair is of use, for it is mixed with the plaster which is put on the walls of our rooms. The hair holds the plaster together, and keeps it from falling off the walls.SUMMARY
The cow has horns and cloven hoofs. It eats grass. It gives us milk, which we drink and from which we make butter and cheese; it supplies us with beef; its skin or hide is made into leather; its horns are made into combs, buttons, handles of knives, etc.; its fat, called tallow, is used for making soap and candles; and its hair is mixed with plaster for putting on the walls of our rooms. A young cow is called a calf, and the male of the cow is called an ox or a bull.【中文阅读】
1. 小朋友们都知道牛，也都喜欢听牛的故事。小牛的英语叫calf，成年的公牛英语叫ox或bull。[1]
2. 牛浑身都长着短毛，尾巴尖儿上，还有一丛长毛，牛就用这丛长毛赶苍蝇。
3. 大多数牛都有角。有些牛角是直的，有些牛角是弯的。你可能见过，牛会用角赶跑那些想咬它的狗。这时候，牛把脑袋低下，朝着狗冲过去，想把狗一下子撞飞！牛角是空心的，跟咱们的指甲，是一样的东西做的。[2]
4. 看看牛的蹄子。你看见蹄子是“分开”的，也可以说是“分趾”（cloven）。这种“分趾”其实是两个“蹄子”，也就是牛脚趾上坚硬的指甲。牛的每只脚上都有四个脚趾，两个长脚趾在前面，两个短脚趾在后面。
5. 你见过牛吃东西吗？朝牛嘴里看，就能看见，牛的下颌前面，有八颗锋利的下门齿，但是上颌没有门齿，只有一个硬硬的齿垫。
6. 牛把青草咬在齿垫和下门齿中间，撕下来，然后不嚼就把草吞了下去。牛吃了很多草之后，就卧下来开始“反刍”（chew the cud）。[3]
7. “反刍”的意思，是把草一点儿一点儿地，从胃里退回到嘴里，用后面的臼齿细细地嚼一遍，然后再咽下去。这次的草，就到了牛胃的另一个地方。
8. 牛对我们的用处可大了！我们都喜欢喝牛奶，还把一些牛奶做成黄油和奶酪。
9. 牛死了之后，也是对我们有用的：牛肉是很好的食物。牛肉的英语叫beef，小牛肉的英语叫veal。[4]
10. 牛皮（hide）可以做成皮，用来做我们穿的鞋和靴子。牛角可以做成梳子、勺子、杯子、扣子。还有，刀把儿也是牛角做的哦！[5]
11. 牛的脂肪就是牛油（tallow）。牛油可以做肥皂和蜡烛。连牛毛也是有用的，它可以跟灰泥混合在一起，涂在屋子的墙上。牛毛可以让灰泥牢固，不让它从墙上掉下来。[6]译 注
[1] 生物学上，牛属于“脊索动物门”“哺乳纲”“偶蹄目”“牛科”。
[2] 这种东西是“角质”，英语的名词是horn，和“角”是同一个单词。牛角一般由角蛋白（keratin）和其他的蛋白质组成。牛角的外面是角质，里面是真皮的骨质。
[3] 这是一个很老的词组。反刍最新的英语词是ruminate。
[4] 中国人最熟悉的牛的传统用途，大概就是种田了。早在周代就已经开始用牛耕地，汉代已经有了详细的牛耕方法。因为牛对农业非常重要，在很长的历史时期，中国都是禁止宰杀耕牛的。随着农业机械化程度的提高，牛在农业上的用武之地越来越小了。现在，中国养牛主要是为了牛肉和牛奶。
[5] 现在，鞋的材料出现了“人造革”，英语叫artificial leather，是一种外观类似皮革的塑料制品。课文里提到的日用品，现在大部分都是金属和塑料做的。
[6] 这是英国的传统工艺。因为牛毛比较贵，中国以前用过麻纤维、碎棉花、麦秸等等。现在，人们往墙上涂的不再是灰泥，而是性能更好的水泥。Lesson 6A GLASS OF WATER 一杯水sand´-ylet´-tingcol´-our-lessflu´-idour-selves´throughdes´-ertfil´-terbe-sides´clothesthirst´-ylaughliq´-uidssprin´-klethick´-nesstrans-pa´-renten´-ginecam´-elcer´-tainriv´-erspourcross´-ingmud´-dybloodo´-cean
1. Let us look at the water in this glass, and see what we can find out about it. It has no colour, so we say that the water is colourless.
2. But there is very little water in the glass. If we were to look through a very great thickness of water, we should see that it really has a pale blue colour. The water of the deep sea looks blue, you know.
3. The water in the glass has no smell and no taste. That is a very good thing, for we drink a great deal of water, and we should soon get tired of any taste or smell, however nice it might be.
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