I look back at the Pacific and notice that Meriwether looks unhappy. I truly can understand why. We had hoped to see Asian trading ships at sea, but there are no ships anywhere. We planned to sail home by sea. Maybe the ships will come soon. If not, we'll have to go back the same way we came.
57.刘易斯和克拉克到达太平洋
我擦去脸上的雨水。大部分探险家希望发现大陆,但梅里韦瑟·刘易斯和我,威廉·克拉克,从圣·路易斯一路行来到达了太平洋(the Pacific Ocean),我环顾四周,面对着我们的其他船员。
“我们做到了!”我大喊道,并举起(put up)我们的旗帜(flag)。大家欢呼(cheer),声音洪亮(loudly)就像海浪击打(hit)到岩石(rock)上。“我们划桨逆流而上(upstream),长途跋涉穿过雪山(snowy mountain),面对饥饿(hunger)和许多其他危险。”
这时我看到莎卡嘉薇亚。她保持沉默(keep silent)。“当然了,没有我们的印第安(Indian)朋友莎卡嘉薇亚的帮助,我们不可能完成。谢谢你,莎卡嘉薇亚”。
我回头望着太平洋并注意到梅里韦瑟看上去不开心。我的确可以理解他的心情。我们本希望在海上看到亚洲的(Asian)商船,可是却没有。我们计划乘船(by sea)回家。可能不久会有船来。如果没有,我们将不得不沿原路返回了。
58. The Cat That Rang the Bell
The cat lived in a nunnery(女修道院). She had noticed that when a certain bell was rung, a group of nuns(修女) would come for their meals. and she also received her food.
One day she was shut up in a room by herself when she heard the bell ring. But she couldn't open the door, the window was too high to reach, and the glass was too strong to break. At last, after some hours, the door was opened. She hurried to the place where she expected to find her dinner, but no dinner there. She was very hungry, and hunger made her clever. She knew where the rope hung which pulled the bell. “Now, when that bell rings I generally get my supper,”she thought as she ran towards the rope. That was a thick rope. It was easy for her to reach the rope. She jumped upon it. It gave a pleasant sound. As she was swinging, she thought, “Now I shall get my supper, though I have lost my dinner. ”The bell rang louder and louder.
The nuns hearing the bell ring at so unusual an hour, and came hurrying to the bell. They wondered what was wrong. To their great surprise, they saw it was the cat which rang the bell! They couldn't understand and thought for some time, till the sister who gave the cat her meals remembered that she had not been present at dinner time, and then, she brought double meals to the cat immediately.
- 16 -
58.敲钟的猫
这只猫住在一家女修道院里。她注意到当某个钟(bell)敲响(ring)时,一群(a group of)修女就会来吃饭,她也可以得到她的食物。
有一天她把自己关闭(shut)在一间屋子里,那时她听到钟声响了。但她无法打开门,窗户太高了够不着,玻璃(glass)太结实了无法打破(break)。最后,几个小时后,门终于被打开了。她匆忙赶到她期盼(expect)可以找到午餐的地方,但那里却没有午餐。她太饿了,饥饿让她变得聪明。她知道拉响钟声的绳子悬挂(hang)在哪儿。“现在,要是那挂钟响了,一般我就可以得到我的晚餐了。”当她朝绳子跑去时,她这样想着。那是一根粗绳子(a thick rope)。她可以很容易地够到绳子。她一跃而起跳上了绳子。绳子响起了悦耳的声音。在她摇摆(swing)时,她想,“现在我将要得到我的晚餐了,尽管我没有吃上午餐。”钟声越来越响了。
修女们听到钟声在这不寻常的时间内响起,便匆匆赶到钟所在的地方。她们想知道(wonder)到底发生什么事了。让她们非常惊奇的是(to their great surprise),她们看到敲响钟的竟是那只猫。她们无法理解,还想了一段时间,后来,给这只猫喂食的那位修女想起这只
59. Chopsticks
Chopsticks are an ancient way of eating food, and even though they were developed some 5,000 years ago in China, the tradition is still alive around the modern world. There are many reasons for using chopsticks, but probably they developed because using two sticks of wood allows one to get close enough to get the food out of a pot (锅) without burning themselves.
Although forks and knives and other pointed tools have been introduced to China over the years, chopsticks have remained the main way to eat food Chopsticks are mostly made from wood, with bamboo being the most widely used. Foreigners like to buy silk chopsticks as gifts.
The Chinese people usually eat from a bowl or small plate They use chopsticks to eat noodles and rice, but Koreans(韩国人)eat their rice with a spoon.
59.筷子
筷子(chopsticks)是一种古老的吃饭工具。尽管(even though)筷子是五千多年前在中国发展起来的,这个传统在当今世界依然是方兴未艾。使用筷子有很多原因,但筷子的兴起很可能是由于用两根木制的棍(stick)可以使人在距离锅足够近的地方,把食物从锅里取出来而不会烫伤(burn)自己。
这些年来,尽管刀叉(knife and fork)和其他带尖的工具已经传入(introduce)中国,筷子却仍然是主要的(main)吃饭方式。
猫在午饭时间不在场(present),然后,她就立即给这只猫拿来了双倍的(double)食物。
- 17 -
筷子大部分是木制的,竹子(bamboo)应用的最广泛。外国人(foreigner)喜欢购买丝绸(silk)筷子当作礼物。
中国人通常利用碗(bowl)或小盘子吃饭。他们使用筷子吃面条(noodles)和米饭,但韩国人用汤匙(spoon)吃米饭。
60. Beijing Zoo
Beijing Zoo has many animals such as the giant (巨大的) panda and the golden monkey, and also has the animals from all over the world——elephant, camel, giraffe, tiger, lion, zebra, etc.
Beijing Zoo covers an area of more than 50,000 square meters and there are more than 30 large halls. It is also a famous center of zoological(动物的) research Recently, a new form of ticketing has been introduced at Beijing Zoo——a -like ticket There is music and video of the animals in the. You can read it through your computer or V player. There is also an important message on the CD: we should all help protect the environment where we live.
60.北京动物园
北京动物园(zoo)有很多动物,如大熊猫(panda)和金丝猴(golden monkey),也有许多来自世界各地的动物——大象、骆驼(camel)、长颈鹿、老虎(tiger)、狮子、斑马(zebra)等。
北京动物园占地50000平方米(square meters),有30多个场馆。北京动物园也是著名的动物学研究中心(research center)。
最近,北京动物园引进一种新形式(form)的票——一种光盘式的票。光盘里面有音乐和这些动物的视频(video)。你可以通过电脑或影碟(V)播放器来阅读这些信息。这张光盘里还有一条重要短信:我们都应该保护我们的居住环境(environment)。
- 18 -