PART ONE
第一部分
空中航线与高速公路
SKYWAYS  AND  HIGHWAYS
 
 
Knights of The Air
JESSICA PRYSE ARTHUR
 
Up from the airports the swift ships are zooming,
Over the cities and countrysides fair,
Off toward the mountains, where snow peaks are looming,
Upward ye! Forward ye! Knights of the Air!
 
Over Sahara, where hot sands are sliding,
Over each tropical jungle and lair,
Over the forests, where wild things are hiding,
Onward still! Forward still! Knights of the Air!
 
空中骑士
杰西卡.普莱斯.亚瑟
 
机场快艇急速上升，
飞过城市和乡村集市，
飞向雪峰若隐若现的山脉，
上升！前进！空中骑士！
 
穿越撒哈拉炙热的飞沙，
穿越热带雨林和兽穴，
穿越野生动物藏身的森林，
继续上升！继续前进！空中骑士！
 
Over the green glassy seas you are flashing,
Down toward the south polar regions you bear,
Over far oceans, where icebergs are crashing!
Onward ye! Forward ye! Knights of the Air!
 
你从翡翠般的海面上一闪而过，
你飞向南极洲，
飞越冰山碰撞的远洋，
上升！前进！空中骑士！
 
 
The World Is Growing Smaller
The world is growing smaller. Perhaps you don’t believe it. Well, it took Christopher. Columbus sixty-nine days to cross the Atlantic Ocean, when traveling just as fast as anyone could in those days. But Charles Lindbergh crossed the ocean in less than two days. The Atlantic must have grown smaller!
When President Lincoln was killed, only about seventy years ago, it was seven days before the people in California learned about what had happened, although the news was rushed across our country with the greatest speed. But today you can sit in your home here in America and listen to a man talking in Germany, or England,
 
世界越来越小
世界正在变得越来越小。或许你并不相信这种说法。好吧，克里斯托弗.哥伦布以他那个时代所能达到的最快速度，仍然花费了69天才来到大西洋对岸。然而，查尔斯.林德伯格横渡大西洋只用了不到两天的时间。大西洋肯定比过去小了。
当年，也就是70年前，林肯总统遇刺身亡，加利福尼亚州的人们得知这一噩耗时，事情已经整整过去了7天——尽管消息是以最快的速度在全国范围内传播的。但是，时至今日，你可以坐在位于美国的家里，听着一个身处德国或者英国或者意大
 
 
or Italy. Admiral Byrd, far down at the bottom of the world, told us almost every day what his men were doing.
Yes, it does seem as though our world is growing smaller. It seems also that we are living closer together than people did one hundred years ago. Why? You have probably already guessed the answer. Because men have learned things and invented machines—machines that make it possible for people to move rapidly from place to place and to send messages with lightning speed.
 
利的人讲话。远在世界底端的海军上将伯德，几乎每天都在告诉我们他的队员在做什么。
是的，这一切看上去的确像是我们的世界变小了；也像是较之于一百年前的人类，我们彼此间的距离更小了。为什么呢？你或许已经猜到了答案。因为人类学到了很多知识，发明了很多机器——一些机器能够让人们快速地从甲地到乙地，可以让人们以光速传递信息。
 
 
You are going to read about how men travel and send messages. You will learn of Admiral Byrd’s Antarctic trip, how brave dogs and men carried medicine over ice and snow to save lives in the far North, how the mail was carried before the railroads came, and how Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris. As you read these stories, think of how progress in transportation and communication makes the world grow smaller.
 
你将要读到一些关于人类如何旅行和传递信息的故事。你会了解到海军上将伯德的南极之旅；英勇的人与狗如何齐心协力穿越冰天雪地将药物运送到遥远的北方去拯救人们的性命；在铺设铁路之前，人们如何传送邮件；林德伯格又是如何从纽约飞到了巴黎。当你读这些故事的时候，不要忘记，是运输和通信业的发达与进步使得这个世界变得越来越小。
 
 
 
WITH ADMIRAL BYRD IN LITTLE AMERICA
CORAM FOSTER
At the bottom of the world, in the South Polar Regions, Admiral Byrd and his men lived for fourteen months where no man had ever been able to stay more than a month or two. During a part of this time it was impossible for them to leave or for anyone to get to them. Yet they listened to music and messages from all over the world, and almost every day they sent out to the world the story of what they were doing.
 
与海军上将伯德同游小亚美利加
克拉姆·福斯特
 
在世界的底端，也就是南极地区，海军上将伯德和他的队员居住了14个月之
久。要知道，此前还从来没有人能在那里待上一到两个月。在其中的一段时间
里，他们无法离开，别人也无法到他们那里去。然而他们可以听到来自世界各
地的音乐和信息。而且，他们几乎每天都在向全世界讲述他们正在做的事情。
 
 
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD
When the Byrd expedition sailed from New York City to Antarctica, it carried a library of a thousand volumes. This library was for the most part a collection of adventure stories which Admiral Byrd had selected to give pleasure to his men through the long darkness of the Antarctic night.
 These books were all at hand whenever a man had a few hours off for candy eating and reading. There had been provided for every man on the expedition a hundred pounds of candy— about a quarter of a pound for each day the party remained in Antarctica. This amount of candy was at least four times what the men would have eaten back home, but it was no more than enough for them. The terrific cold of Antarcti-
 
在世界的底端
伯德探险队从纽约扬帆起航前往南极时，携带了由上千本书组成的一个图书馆。其中大部分书籍都是伯德上将特意为自己的队员挑选的历险故事，大家可以借此打发南极的漫漫长夜。
无论是谁，只要能有几个小时的空闲时间用来吃糖和阅读，就能随时在手头找到书。每一位队员在探险途中都有100磅糖果的配额——探险队留在南极期间每人每天大约可以分到四分之一磅糖果。这个分量的糖果是队员们在家里吃到的4倍还要多，但是这还远远不够。与气候温和的地区相比，极地的严寒天气迫使每个人都要
 
 
ca compelled every man to keep up in his body more heat than would have been necessary in warmer lands, and candy makes great heat in the body. Admiral Byrd believed in taking the best care of his party; for this reason his men always had candy to eat and books to read during leisure moments.
And certainly there was plenty of leisure after the dark months arrived, following the construction of the village of Little America upon Ross Ice Field. The buildings of this little settlement, arranged in three groups, formed the largest and the most nearly complete community that had ever been built in the Polar regions. They also provided both homes and workshops for Admiral Byrd’s men.
 
在体内储存更多的热量，而糖果恰好可以满足这一需求。伯德上将一直悉心照料自己的队员。因此，他的队员在闲暇时光总是会有糖吃、有书读。
他们在罗斯冰原上建起小亚美利加之后，就迎来了南极地区的极夜。当然，这为他们提供了更多的闲暇时光。这个居住地的建筑分成了三个群落，形成了极地地区规模最大、几近完善的一个社区。它们既为伯德上将的队员提供了住处，又提供了工作场所。
 
 
Of the chief group, the Administration Building was most important. Besides living quarters for a number of the party, including Admiral Byrd, it contained a radio laboratory with instruments for sending and receiving messages.  Directly behind this building were the house for medical supplies and that which contained the food supplies. These two were separated from each other to reduce loss in case of fire. It was,  indeed, the danger of fire which made it necessary to separate all of the main buildings from each other.
 
在主要的群落里，行政楼占据着非常重要的地位。除了包括伯德上将在内的几名队员的住所外，它还有一间无线电实验室，里面安装了一些通信设备。这栋建筑后面，就是存放医疗用品和食品供给的仓库。这两个仓库是分开的，为的是减少火灾的损失。实际上，他们把所有的主要建筑全部分离开来，就是为了防范火灾。
 
Chief among the buildings of the second group was the Mess Hall. Here were more living quarters, a radio station, a storehouse, and a photo workshop, all under one roof. A little distance away were the quarters for the dogs, and the sledge-repair and blacksmith shop. The third group of buildings included the aviation repair shop and storage space for the gasoline supply.
 
THE LONG DARKNESS
None of Admiral Byrd’s important work in Little America was done between late March and the middle of October, 1929. This does not, of course, mean either that the sun vanished for all that period of time or that work stopped com-
 
第二个群落里的主要建筑被称为“综合楼”。楼内包括更多的生活区，一个无线电站，一间仓库，一间摄影棚。不远处就是狗舍，雪橇修理处，以及铁匠铺。第三个建筑群包括飞机修理处，以及汽油库。
 
漫长的黑夜
伯德上将在小亚美利加的重要工作没有一项是在1929年3月下旬至10月中旬之间完成的。当然，这并不意味着在这段时间里太阳完全消失不见，就将工作完全处于停
 
 
pletely. As a matter of fact, the sun was still a daily visitor in April, and it again became a daily visitor in late August. Moreover, even without the light of the sun, some outdoor activity was possible. There were always the twilight hours of noon-time provided by the moon.
No air flights could be made, however, and only the most necessary travel with dog sleds was attempted; for even with the aid of the moon, the light at best was poor. There was another, even more important, reason why little work could be done during these months: this was the time of the winter storms. These, in their full strength, brought winds that no man could stand against, and such snows as are unheard of elsewhere in the world.
 
滞状态。实际上，整个4月份，以及8月底，太阳还是每天都会出现的。而且，就算没有太阳光，有些户外工作还是可以进行的。正午时分，还可以借助月亮的微弱光芒照明。
但是，在这里是不可以飞行的，只有一些必要的出行可以借助狗拉雪橇。因为就算是借助月光，那光芒也实在太过微弱。这几个月内很少工作的另外一个、也是更为重要的原因是：这是冬季风暴时间。没有人可以抵挡得住那么强大的风暴，而且，这里的降雪也是世界上其他地方闻所未闻的。
 
 
When Little America was first set up on the Ross Ice Field, its tiny buildings made black spots against the surrounding whiteness. Long before the winter was over, however, snow had banked and drifted over all except the tallest points. A bit of the roof of the Mess Hall could be seen at times. Some of the tall radio towers managed to stay clear. But the rest of the buildings could be located only by the unevenness of the snow’s surface where an airplane hangar, the dogs’ quarters, the Mess Hall, the gymnasium, or some other building lay buried.
No small part of those winter months was lived underground by Byrd and his men, or nearly underground. They went by tunnel from the Administration Building to the Mess Hall. By tunnel, too, they could reach others of the most important buildings. Poking their heads
 
小亚美利加在罗斯冰原上刚刚建立起来时，它那小小的建筑也就是茫茫雪原上面几个小黑点。入冬没多久，积雪就已经覆盖了一切，只剩下几个最高点。综合楼的部分屋顶时隐时现。一些较高的无线电发射塔还勉强露在外面。但是其他一些埋在雪下的建筑，比如飞机棚、狗舍、综合楼、体育馆，就只能靠积雪表面的崎岖不平来定位了。
冬季这几个月里，伯德上将和他的队员们大部分时间都是在地下或者半地下度过的。他们通过隧道来往于行政楼和综合楼之间。与其他重要建筑之间的往来也是通
 
 
out of doors into the gray blackness of the night, Byrd’s men were almost sure at times that they heard the singing of birds. Often two of the men would look sharply at each other in wondering surprise as their ears caught sounds which were strangely like the shrill, sharp cries of animals.
At other times there were curious groans and moans. And even in the shelter of their quarters sometimes the men caught a rumbling, rolling murmur which could have been nothing but a trolley car in the distance, except that they knew that there were no such things as trolley cars about. All these magic sounds, and more, were made by the restless shifting of the ice upon which their houses stood; by the pressure of the water beneath the ice; and by the furious winds which tore constantly at the roofs.
 
过隧道。当队员们把脑袋伸向室外黑漆漆的夜色中时，他们几乎确信自己能够听到鸟鸣。人们经常会突然间吃惊地看向身边的人，因为他们认为自己的耳朵似乎捕捉到了野兽的怒吼。
他们周围有时候也会传来奇怪的呻吟声与悲叹声。有时候，即使在住所内，人们也能听到远方传来像是有轨电车发出的那种轰隆声，只不过他们知道附近是不可能出现这种东西的。所有这些，甚至更多不可思议的声音，都是由冰块的不停运动发出的——冰下的水压以及屋顶上怒吼的狂风都可以造成冰块的移动——他们的房屋正是建筑在这些冰块之上。
 
 
These magic sounds would have been even more disturbing than they were if the inside of the Mess Hall and the Administration Building had been as dark as was the icy snow-field without. Happily, the Byrd expedition brought with it a complete outfit of electric equipment to brighten its antarctic home.
With the last of April the sun disappeared, leaving only a faint glint of brightness now and then along the horizon. Inside the huts, however, a flood of light for all purposes was provided by an electric generator, which was run by a gasoline engine. This was the first machine of its kind ever carried into the antarctic regions. It was by electric light that the storekeeper checked his goods. The cook turned an electric switch when he went into his kitchen to prepare a meal.
 
如果综合楼和行政楼里面像室外的冰雪世界那样漆黑一片的话，这些奇怪的声音恐怕会更令人不安。幸运的是，伯德探险队携带了全套的电力设备，从而解决了他们在南极家园的照明问题。
随着4月的结束，太阳消失了，只在地平线上会时不时露出一丝微弱的亮光。然而，在室内，还有一台使用汽油发动机的发电机能为大家提供照明。这是人们运送到南极地区的此类机器中的第一台。仓库管理员清点库存的时候要借助灯光；厨师进入厨房准备饭菜的时候也要打开电源。
 
 
Not only did the men of Little America have electricity for lighting, but they had it for medical purposes as well. There was enough electricity to run the two powerful sun lamps which Doctor. Francis D. Codman, chief physician of the party, had brought along. Each member of the expedition was required to bathe regularly in the light rays of these lamps. This rule was followed throughout the entire time of the long winter night, while the sun was not present to furnish a natural health-giving light.
 
对于居住在小亚美利加的居民们来说，电不仅可以用来照明，还具备医疗用途。探险队首席医师弗朗西斯.D .柯德曼带来了两盏日光灯。发电机发出的电足以供这两盏灯使用。因为长期见不到太阳，缺乏自然健康光照，探险队要求每一名队员都要定期在这两盏日光灯下进行灯光浴。这条规定一直贯穿整个漫长的极夜时期。
 
 
IN TOUCH WITH THE WORLD
The electrical equipment, too, ran the radio. Other Polar explorers had carried radios, but none ever had provided such equipment as Byrd took. So complete was his preparation in this direction that all through his stay in Little America he lived with his finger tip on an electric bell, by which he could practically ring up the entire world. Nothing like it had ever been done before. At almost a moment’s notice Byrd could call New York, South America, Europe, San Francisco, Australia, and practically any spot upon the world’s surface. Each day he was able, if he wished, to inform the world what was happening in Little America.
 
与外部世界的联系
无线电也是由电力设备操控的。其他的探险家也带了无线电，但是还从来没有谁的设备能够像伯德的那样精良。他在这方面做的准备非常充分。在小亚美利加期间，他的指尖经常放在一个电铃上，通过这个设备，他可以致电全世界。之前从来没有人这样做过。只需片刻，伯德上将就能将电话打到纽约、南美、欧洲、旧金山、澳大利亚，乃至地球上任何一个地方。每天他都能够——如果他愿意的话——告诉全世界小亚美利加发生了哪些事情。
 
By radio Byrd was able to tell the outside world when he started out men with dog teams to lay supplies of food and gasoline southward in order to prepare for his flight to the South Pole itself. He was able to inform his vast audience when the first supplies had been placed a hundred miles or so from Little America; when the second supplies had been placed a hundred miles beyond the first; when the third supplies had been left, and the fourth. He was able to let the world know that he was doing this work with four teams of dogs, and that each team carried about a thousand pounds of provisions. These supplies were to be used in case Byrd’s plane was forced to land somewhere on the flight to the Pole and back to Little America.
 
通过无线电，伯德上将可以告诉全世界，为了向南极的飞行做准备，他什么时候派出了队员用狗拉雪橇向南沿途运送食品和汽油。他可以告诉广大听众第一批供给什么时候运送至距离小亚美利加一百英里左右的地方；第二批供给又是何时到达距离第一个供给点一百英里左右的地方；然后是第三批、第四批的到位情况。他可以让全世界知道，他在让四队狗拉雪橇同时工作，每一队运载着一千磅的供给。万一伯德的飞机在飞往南极或者飞回小亚美利加的途中某处被迫降落，这些供给品就有了用武之地。
 
 
Radio, too, carried amusement and information to Little America as easily as it carried news from Little America to the world. Sometimes a theater would broadcast its program for Byrd’s men. While gathered around the receiving set in the Administration Building one afternoon, Byrd’s party heard the welcome word that a supply of athletic equipment from the University of Pennsylvania was on its way to Little American.
Once, when Admiral Byrd was puzzled about the problem of comfortable sleeping conditions, the radio brought him the advice of other polar explorers. Fitzhugh Green and Captain Bob Bartlett, two famous explorers and adventurers, sent suggestions by radio as to how the party in Antarctica could avoid frozen clothes and other inconveniences while sleeping.
 
无线电将小亚美利加的新闻传递到世界各地，也可以同样轻松地为小亚美利加带来娱乐和资讯。有时候某个剧院会为伯德的队员们播放它的节目。一天下午，伯德和队员们聚集在行政楼里的接收站旁边，听到了一个令人振奋的消息：一批体育器材已从宾夕法尼亚大学发出，正在运往小亚美利加的途中。
有一次，伯德正在为如何才能睡得舒适发愁，无线电广播里传来了其他极地探险者的建议。菲茨休.格林和鲍勃.巴特雷特船长是有名的探险者和冒险家，他们通过广播告诉这些在南极洲的队员们，在睡觉的时候如何做才能避免衣服结冰，如何才能避免其他麻烦。
 
 
Every holiday which arrived while the expedition was at Antarctica was made cheerful by the radio. The day of the anniversary of Byrd’s flight across the Atlantic brought messages of congratulation from all the world. On Easter, music fitting to the day was sent on from New York. On the Fourth of July there were addresses and music. And, finally, it as the radio which told the waiting world that the long darkness at Little American was at an end. This news was flashed out into space on August 25, 1929.
 
在南极洲探险期间，每逢节日来临，广播都带来欢乐。在伯德飞越大西洋周年纪念日，广播里传来世界各地的祝福。在复活节，应景的音乐从纽约传来。在独立日，广播会播放演讲和音乐。终于有一天，还是广播让全世界听到了期盼已久的消息：笼罩在小亚美利加的漫漫黑夜结束了。这则消息在1929年8月25日通过广播瞬间传到太空。
 
 
THE SUN RETURNS TO LITTLE AMERICA
For days the twilight hours which had numbered less than four in the middle of the long southern night had been lengthening, a little at a time. One week, there were five hours of twilight; the next six. Then there were ten, and down along the horizon could be seen for a space each day a promising golden tint. Finally there came a day when the sun itself was actually visible for a minute or so. This was not a true sunrise, however. But only a few days later, the sun itself rose majestic and bright one morning above the horizon. The little village in Antarctica was like another world!
 
太阳重新照耀小亚美利加
在南极洲漫长黑暗季的中间时节，每天见到曙光的时间不到4小时。好多天了，曙光时间在一点一点地延长。这个星期，每天的曙光时间有5个小时，下个星期就变成了6个小时。然后是10个小时，而且每天都有片刻的时间，可以看到地平线上一抹令人鼓舞的金色光辉。终于有这么一天，太阳露出一两分钟的笑脸。不过，这还算不上真正的日出。然而，也就在几天之后的某个清晨，鲜红的太阳从地平线上喷薄而出。南极洲的这个小村庄仿佛变成了另外一个世界！
 
 
For the stalwart crew and their slim, quiet commander, that must have been a time of great excitement which followed the return of the sun to the vast whiteness that made up the Ross Ice Field. There was, to begin with, the change from the glow of electricity inside the house and the gray blackness of the out-of-doors to the sparkling beauty which the new sunlight made of the ice and snow.
But there was much more than that. There was, for example, the little thaw which every day of sunlight brought, gradually uncovering roofs to break the snowy stretches of Little American. Now a man could get out of the house to stretch his legs, for the storms, or at least the most terrible storms, were past, and one dared to walk out in the open. There was work; and work, after the long days of idleness, was highly welcome to Byrd’s men.
太阳重新照耀覆盖罗斯冰原的无垠白色之际，魁梧的探险队员们和他们那位瘦削而沉默的探险队长必定欣喜若狂。最先发生的一个变化就是，曾经屋内电灯的暗淡光线伴随着室外的沉沉黑暗，而如今，阳光照耀着冰天雪地，一切熠熠生辉。
但变化远远不止这些。比如说，阳光每天一点点地融化冰雪，慢慢地露出了屋顶，小亚美利加再也不是白茫茫一片了。现在，人们可以走出房门舒展一下腿脚，因为暴风雪或者至少可以说最可怕的暴风雪已经过去；人们也可以壮着胆子在野外散步了。然后就是人们可以干活了；在度过漫长的无所事事的日子之后，有活可干对于伯德的队员们来说正是求之不得。
 
 
The dogs were mad with delight at being free from their winter quarters. They yelped and tugged joyfully as they were harnessed again to the sleds. The photographers brought out their cameras, and when nothing better offered, took pictures of the penguins waddling along, upright, like dignified old gentlemen; or of the
 
狗狗们终于挣脱冬季狗窝的束缚，如痴如狂。它们又被套上雪橇，兴奋地嗷叫着，欢快地往前拉。摄影师又拿出了照相机，在找不到更好的拍摄对象时，他们会拍下企鹅走路的情景：直挺挺地一摇一摆，就像年老尊贵的绅士；要么就拍逆戟鲸，它
 
 
killer-whales which began to push their long, slender snouts through the melting ice of the bay; or of a seal spinning in a frenzy with his mouth full of a half-swallowed fish that would neither go in nor out; or of the airplane hangars and their machine shops slowly coming out from under their coverings of snow. Little America had become a whirlpool of activity!
 
们开始将细长的鼻子从海湾里正在融化的冰块中伸出来；要么就拍一只疯狂打转的海豹，它嘴里还叼着一条鱼，既不吞下去也不吐出来；要么就拍飞机棚和机械铺，它们从雪被底下慢慢露出来。小亚美利加变成了一个纷乱忙乱的旋涡！
 
 
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
1. Name three ways of travel that Admiral Byrd and his men used from the time they left New York.
2. To see whether you know what Little America was like, write on your paper the words that belong where the letters are in the lines below. Your answer for the first letter is (a) Ross Ice Field.
Little America was built on the ....(a).... in the....(b).... polar region. In June it is ....(c).... in Antarctica, while it is ....(d).... in our country. The buildings were arranged in ....(e).... to avoid the danger from....(f).... After the snows came, only the high ....(g).... of the ....(h).... could be seen. Then the men passed from one building to another through ....(i).... Except for the moonlight, it was dark during the months of ....(j).... During the long night the men could do little out of doors because of the ....(k).... and ....(l)....
 
注释与问题
1．列举出海军上将伯德和他的部下离开纽约之后使用过的三种出行方式。
2．为了检测一下你对小亚美利加是否了解，请在下面这段话中写有字母的地方填上合适的词。字母a处应该填写“Ross Ice Field”。
Little America was built on the (a) in the (b) polar region. In June it is (c) in Antarctica, while it is (d) in our country. The buildings were arranged in (e) to avoid the danger from (f) After the snows came, only the high (g) of the (h) could be seen. Then the men passed from one building to another through ( i ) Except for the moonlight, it was dark during the months of ( j ) During the long night the men could do little out of doors because of the (k) and ( l )
 
 
3. Which of these animals and birds did the men see?
Eagles, wolves, seals, walruses, whales, horses, penguins.
4. Below are eight words, and eight sentences with letters in them. Choose the right word for each letter.
Vanished   community   fitting   frenzy
Leisure    equipment    visible   compelled
Hunger ....(a).... them to eat grass and roots.
During vacation we have plenty of ....(b)....
The village of Lakeside is a pleasant little ....(c)....
The automobile ....(d).... in the darkness.
Father bought all kinds of camping ....(e).... for our trip.
The night was so dark that the road was not....(f)....
 
3．探险队成员都见到了哪些飞禽走兽？
Eagles, wolves, seals, walruses, whales, horses, penguins.
4．下面有8个词语，8个句子，请把合适的词填写在句子中由字母标示的空白处。
Vanished community fitting frenzy
Leisure equipment visible compelled
Hunger (a) them to eat grass and roots.
During vacation we have plenty of (b)
The village of Lakeside is a pleasant little (c)
The automobile (d) in the darkness.
Father bought all kinds of camping (e) for our trip.
The night was so dark that the road was not (f)
 
 
America is a ....(g).... song to sing on the Fourth of July.
Elephants threw the horses into a ....(h).... of excitement.
Get the habit of using the Glossary that begins on page 417 to find the meanings of words. Use your dictionary, too.
 
America is a (g) song to sing on the Fourth of July.
Elephants threw the horses into a (h) of excitement.
417页上有一个词汇表，养成习惯用它来查找单词的意思。同时别忘了使用字典。
 
 
BALTO, THE BEST LEAD-DOG IN ALASKA
FRANCES MARGARET FOX
Perhaps you think that dogs are used only as pets. Do you know that for hundreds of years dogs have been helpers of man? They have hunted food for him, carried his loads and messages, and guarded his home. In this story you will read how faithful dogs helped brave men in a time of great need.
 
Balto was a dog of the United States Postal Service in far-off Alaska. In the city of Nome, one black morning, he stepped into the world’s Story-Book of Shining Deeds. That picture-book opened wide and took him in forever.
 
巴尔图，阿拉斯加最优秀的领头狗
弗朗西斯·玛格丽特·福克斯
或许你认为狗只是宠物。可是，你知道吗？狗成为人类的帮手已有数百年之久。它们为人类猎取食物、运载货物、传递信息、看家护院。在这个故事中，你将读到在危急时刻狗如何帮助了勇敢的人类。
 
巴尔图，是在偏远的阿拉斯加服务于美国邮政的一只狗。在诺姆城一个阴沉的早晨，它出发了，朝着入选《世界光辉事迹》的路出发了。《世界光辉事迹》是一本开放的图画书，它将巴尔图带入了永恒。
 
 
It was mid-winter, and an epidemic of diphtheria had broken out in Nome. They called it the “Black Death” up there, for the disease carried off not only the children but their fathers and mothers. Indeed, whole families were swept away during the time of that dreadful sickness. If the disease could not be stopped in Nome, it was likely to spread over all the territory of which that city was the center—to the east one thousand miles, and north even as far as the Arctic Ocean. In this region there lived eleven thousand people. To care for them there was in Nome but one doctor, who with his little band of nurses belonged to the United States Public Health Service.
 
那是在隆冬时节，诺姆城爆发了一场大规模的白喉疫情。那时候人们把这种病称为 “黑死病”，因为这种病不仅会夺走小孩的性命，就连他们的父母也不能幸免。实际上，在疾病肆虐期间，很多都是全家死亡。如果疫情在诺姆城不能得到控制，就会以这个城市为中心向周围的区域扩散——向东能够传播一千英里，向北可以远达北冰洋。在这个地区，生活着一万一千名居民，但是整个诺姆城只有一名属于美国公共卫生署的医生和数名护士为他们提供医疗服务。
 
 
Far away in the United States there was a cure for diphtheria, called antitoxin serum. The doctor sent out a frantic appeal for help. A twenty- pound package of the precious serum for fighting diphtheria would save the children, the families at Nome, and all the surrounding territory from the Black Death.
 
在国内距离诺姆城比较远的地方，有一种治疗白喉的特效药，叫做抗病毒血清。医生发出了紧急求助。20磅宝贵的血清就能够从白喉手中抢回孩子的性命、拯救诺姆城无数的家庭、抢回被白喉疫情控制的周围区域。
 
 
Immediately the serum was rushed toward Alaska. Without loss of time the railroad carried the package of serum from Seward to Nenana. Dog-teams must continue the journey six hundred and sixty-five miles by trail westward to Nome. Never before that time had the journey from Nenana to Nome been made in less than nine days. The heroic drivers of the dog-teams risked their lives by taking cross-cuts, never attempted in such weather before. The serum reached Nome in five and one-half days!
But for the glorious deed of the dog, Balto, in the last sixty miles of the dash for Nome, this remarkable feat could not have been accomplished. However, If It had not been for the work of other heroic dogs and their drivers, big black Balto would not have had his chance to reach Nome with the serum and thus save hundreds of lives.
 
血清立刻被送往阿拉斯加。铁路系统一刻没有耽搁地将血清从西沃德运到内尼拉。从这往西到达诺姆城的665英里就只能靠狗拉雪橇来完成了。以前还从来没有人能够在9天内从内尼拉到达诺姆，那些英勇地驾着狗拉雪橇的人，冒着生命危险选择了以前从来没有人在这种天气下尝试过的捷径。血清只用了5天半就到达了诺姆城。
如果没有巴尔图——在前往诺姆城的最后60英里的冲刺中的领头狗——的出色行动，也不可能有这样的丰功伟绩。然而，如果没有勇敢的其他雪橇狗和雪橇夫的齐心协作，黑色的大块头巴尔图也不可能独自将血清送到诺姆城，从而得以挽救数百人的生命。
 
 
It was the driver Leonard Seppala who chose to cross the entrance to Norton Bay, instead of following the long shore-line around the bay. Because a hurricane was raging and the ice was breaking up and drifting out to sea, Seppala was warned not to try the short-cut across the bay. He thought of the long bay stretching up into the land, with a shore-line requiring days to travel, while children were dying at Nome— children whose lives might be saved if only the precious serum could reach them in time. The brave man and his twenty dogs crossed the bay in that frightful storm, with Scotty and Togo in the lead. He admitted to the next driver, Charlie Olsen, that he had a bad trip across the bay.
 
雪橇夫莱纳德.斯帕拉决定从诺顿海湾的入口穿过去，而不是沿着海湾周围长长的海岸线前进。因为飓风正在肆虐，断裂的冰层漂入海中，大家纷纷劝阻斯帕拉从海湾抄近路。想着海湾那深入陆地的长长的海岸线，还有诺姆城那些挣扎在死亡线上的孩子们——如果能够将血清按时送达，这些孩子的性命就能够得到拯救——这个勇敢的人和他的20条狗在那场可怕的暴风雪中穿过了海湾。当时的领头狗是斯科蒂和多哥。他向下一名雪橇夫查理.奥森承认道，穿越海湾是一段极为艰难的路程。
 
 
At the village of Bluff, Charlie Olsen found Gunnar Kasson waiting with his dog-team, headed by Balto, the best lead-dog in Alaska. So cold was it then, and the wind was blowing so hard, that the men feared the serum might freeze. They took it into a cabin to warm it. There Gunnar Kasson waited, hoping the wind would go down. Instead, it blew faster, and the cold grew more intense. Two hours passed. The wind blew faster than the men had ever known it to blow before, and the temperature had gone down to twenty-eight below zero. Suddenly Kasson decided that it was useless to wait any longer.
 
在布拉夫村，查理.奥森与贡纳尔.卡森以及他的雪橇狗接上了头。领头的是阿拉斯加地区最好的领头狗巴尔图。当时气温出奇地低，狂风怒号，两人为了避免血清结冰，便把它放在一个木屋里面。贡纳尔.卡森也在那里等着，希望风力能够减弱一点儿。然而事与愿违，风力更猛，气温骤降。两个小时过去了。风速已经到达前所未有的程度，温度也已经降至零下28摄氏度。卡森当即决定，没有必要再继续等下去了。
 
 
The dogs were hitched and he started, hoping to reach Safety, the station thirty-four miles away, before the trails were too deeply buried under the fast-falling snow. It was then ten o’clock on Sunday night. Kasson was dressed in sealskins from top to toe, but the wind was blowing so hard it went through the fur.
At Safety another driver with a dog-team would be waiting to carry the serum on through the last twenty-one miles. But before Kasson arrived, the driver at Safety sent word to Nome that the wind was blowing eighty miles an hour, with snow coming down in such heavy whirling drifts that no man or dog could keep the trail.
 
卡森套上狗出发了，他希望能够在积雪还不是太深之前到达34英里之外的另一个站点——斯福提。出发的时候是周一晚上10点。卡森用海豹皮从头到脚对自己进行了武装，但是强劲的风力仍然能够穿透皮毛直达皮肤。
按照计划，应该有另一名雪橇夫带领雪橇队在斯福提等候卡森，运送血清走完最后的21英里。但是在卡森到达之前，斯福提的那名雪橇夫就已经向诺姆城传递了消息，说现在的风速已经达到了每小时80英里，狂风吹着暴雪，这种情况下，没有人或者狗还能够沿着正确的方向前进。
 
 
In the meantime, Balto struggled on through the drifts with Gunnar Kasson. Six hundred feet up a hill, he and the other dogs climbed in the storm; and then down the other side in the lashing wind, to a spot where for six miles the traveling was hard in any weather. The driver could not see his dogs, not even the nearest one. He could hardly see his hand before his face. Then he knew that he was lost. He could not even guess where he was.
More than half-way between Bluff and Safety there was a station called Solomon. There a message from Nome was waiting for Balto’s driver, warning him to stop. The night was so cold and the storm was so furious that it was believed that man and dogs would surely perish in the blizzard if they attempted to go on.
 
此时，巴尔图和贡纳尔.卡森正一起苦苦挣扎着穿行在暴风雪中。巴尔图和其他的雪橇狗在风雪中将雪橇拉上了600英尺高的一座山，然后又在如同鞭子抽打一样的寒风中下了山，在一个即使天气好也很难走的地方前进了六英里。雪橇夫看不到自己的狗，就连离自己最近的那条狗都看不到。他甚至看不到自己放在脸前的双手。接着他意识到自己迷路了——根本不知道身在何处。
在布拉夫村和斯福提之间有个站点叫所罗门。在那里，有一则从诺姆城传来的消息正等待着卡森和巴尔图，让他们就此停止前进。在这样的夜晚，天气严寒，风雪狂暴，人们认为人和狗如果继续前进，肯定会死在暴风雪里。
 
 
Long before the sled reached Solomon, Balto was in charge of the journey. He alone knew in what direction to continue traveling. Regardless of darkness, cold, and blinding snow, the dog scented out the trail on the windswept ice and traveled on and on past Solomon. The bewildered driver missed the message from Nome; and in the face of the worst wind that he had ever known, Kasson followed blindly the leading of Balto.
Many times the sled tipped over and spilled everything in the soft snow. Again and again the driver straightened the sled and begged Balto to go on through the blackness, where no human being could have found the way.
 
在远没有到达所罗门之前，巴尔图就已经掌控了整个行程。它知道应该继续往哪个方向前进。尽管周围一片黑暗，奇冷无比，而且还有迷眼的风雪，巴尔图还是嗅出了道路，带领大家继续前进，并越过了所罗门。分不清方向的雪橇夫就这样错过了从诺姆城传来的消息。卡森在他所遭遇过的最糟糕的风雪面前，把自己完全交给了巴尔图。
有很多次，雪橇倾倒，将运载的东西撒在软软的积雪上。雪橇夫一次又一次地扶正雪橇，祈求巴尔图能够走出黑暗。要知道，在这么个地方，任何人都不可能找到路。
 
 
At last the trail turned, so that the wind was behind the travelers, and helped them instead of hindering. Then, when the dogs reached Safety, the wind went down. The little house at Safety was dark; so instead of awakening the relay driver and wasting time, Kasson and his dog-team dashed by with the serum.
It was twenty-one miles from Safety to Nome, and the trail along the sea was heavy with drifted show. By this time, though, it was no longer so dark, and the driver could see the trail. At thirty-six minutes past five on that wild dark morning, the half-frozen team, headed by Balto, arrived at Nome with the life-saving serum.
 
最后，路向终于变了，风从他们身后吹来，开始帮助他们前行。等他们终于到达斯福提之后，风力终于开始减弱。斯福提站的小屋是黑乎乎的。为了避免浪费时间，卡森没有叫醒下一个驾驶员，而是和他的雪橇队带着血清继续前行。
从斯福提到诺姆有21英里。沿海的路线上到处都是厚重的积雪。这个时候，天不是那么黑了，雪橇夫已经能够看清楚路线。那个阴沉沉的早晨，5:36分，巴尔图带领下的几乎冻僵了的雪橇队，带着救命的血清，终于来到诺姆城。
 
 
No wonder the driver almost wept, as he knelt in the snow and began pulling the slivers of ice from Balto’s torn and bleeding feet. For it was Balto alone who had known the trail that stormy night and had carried the serum safely through to suffering Nome. Perhaps if the noble dog could speak he would merely repeat words he had heard over and over in Alaska from the brave men who serve the United States Government through sunshine and tempest, and who say, “It is all in the day’s work for Uncle Sam.”
 
卡森跪在雪地上，眼含热泪，从巴尔图那撕裂流血的脚爪中拔出冰碴儿。那个暴风雪的夜晚，因为巴尔图知道正确的路线，血清才得以安然无恙地送达苦难中的诺姆城。那些无论阴晴雨雪都英勇地服务于美国政府的人们说：“这都是为了山姆大叔一天的工作。”如果这条高贵的狗会说话，它肯定也会像他们一样讲出这句自己听到过无数次的话。
 
 
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
1. What great danger faced the people of Nome? Find the lines that tell just what the trouble was. Be ready to read them, or to tell what they say.
2. Find lines that tell exactly what Balto did that saved the serum. Be ready to read them, or to tell in one sentence how Balto saved the serum.
3. Find the lines that tell how one driver took a cross-cut that saved time. Be ready to read them, or to tell what the driver did.
4. On a wall map show just where the serum was carried in Alaska. Or make an outline map of Alaska and draw a line to show how the serum was carried from the time it reached Alaska .The map on page 31 will help you.
 
注释与问题
1．诺姆城居民面临什么样的危险？从文中找出描写这一危险的相关文字，并进行朗读或者复述。
2．从文中找出描述巴尔图如何将血清安全送达的文字并朗读，或者用一句话概括出巴尔图的英勇行为。
3．从文中找出介绍雪橇夫如何抄近路节约时间的文字并朗读，或者讲一讲雪橇夫都做了些什么。
4．在挂图上标出在阿拉斯加运送血清时的路线。或者画一个阿拉斯加的轮廓，在上面画出将血清送至阿拉斯加之后经过的路线。31页的地图可以为你提供帮助。
 
 
5. Do you know a story of a dog who helped his master? Tell it to the class.
Did you find some hard words in this story—words like epidemic, disease, feat, bewildered? Don’t forget to use the Glossary that begins on page 417 to find the meanings of words.
 
5．你是否知道其他忠狗救主的故事？讲给同学听。
在本篇故事里，你有没有遇到一些比较难的词汇？——比如epidemic, disease, feat, bewildered？别忘了使用 从417页开始的词汇表，找出这些词的意思。
 
 
 
THE MAIL MUST GO THROUGH
MERLIN MOORE TAYLOR
The same bravery and faithfulness that made Gunnar Kasson, Leonard Seppala, and their dogs carry the serum to Nome were in the hearts of the men and horses of the Pony Express long years ago. In spite of Indians and blizzards and dangerous mountain trails, the Express riders carried the mails two thousand miles from the Missouri River to California. William Saunders was only a boy, but he did a man’s work when duty called him to carry the mail.
 
邮件必须送达
梅林·摩尔·泰勒
贡纳尔.卡森、莱纳德.斯帕拉以及他们的雪橇狗历尽千难万险将血清送到了诺姆城，他们这种英勇与忠诚同样也在多年前小马快信的工作人员以及马匹身上得到了体现。尽管他们当时面对的是印第安人、暴风雪以及危险山路的挑战，快信的骑手还是能够策马两千英里将邮件从密苏里河送至加利福尼亚。威廉.桑德斯只不过是个孩子，但是在职责召唤他送邮件时，他承担起了一个男人的责任。
 
THE FIRST PONY EXPRESS RIDER
In a log house at St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 3, 1860, half a dozen men were gathered around a rough pine table. At the head of the table stood William Majors, manager for the firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell. This company operated a line of stagecoaches and wagon trains which carried passengers and freight across the western plains and the Rocky Mountains to California, two thousand miles away.
The railroad from the eastern part of the United States ended at St. Joseph; travelers desiring to reach the gold fields and fertile lands of the Far West faced a weary trail of many weeks over plains and mountains. Every foot of the way was full of danger, mostly from the Indians.
 
小马快信的第一名骑手
1860年4月3日，在密苏里圣约瑟的一座原木房子里，6个人聚集在一张粗糙的松木桌子周围。站在桌首的是威廉,梅杰斯，拉塞尔、梅杰斯&沃德尔公司的经理。这家公司主要经营运输业务，用公共马车车队运载着乘客或者货物穿过西部大草原和落基山脉，将他们送至两千英里之外的加利福尼亚。
美国东部的铁路线只铺设到圣约瑟。想去美国远西部淘金或者开荒种田的乘客要翻山越岭好几周才能到达目的地。路上每一步都危机四伏——危险主要来自印第安
 
 
It was Russell, Majors and Waddell who made that trail as safe as it could possibly be made, who kept in touch with weather conditions and the temper of the redskins, and whose men guided the coaches and wagon trains across the wilderness.
 
人。拉塞尔、梅杰斯&沃德尔公司让这条路线变得安全。他们随时了解天气状况以及印第安人的动向，而且还派专人为苍茫大草原上的马车队带路。
 
On this day Russell, Majors and Waddell were sending out the first riders of the famous Pony Express. Up to that time the mails between the east and west coasts of our country were months on the way. It had become important that the time should be made shorter. Russell, Majors and Waddell had agreed to carry the mails west from St. Joseph.
Hundreds of fleet horses were purchased and distributed in strong corrals placed every ten or fifteen miles along the trail to California, each corral in charge of two or three men. From among the most skillful plainsmen, scouts, and Indian fighters riders had been chosen for these animals. Each man was given a stretch of the road about sixty miles long.
 
在这天，拉塞尔、梅杰斯&沃德尔公司准备派出著名的小马快信的第一批骑手。那个年代，东西海岸之间的邮件要在路上走好几个月。所以，当务之急就是能够把路上的时间缩短。拉塞尔、梅杰斯&沃德尔公司同意运送从圣约瑟往西的邮件。
公司在前往加利福尼亚的路线上，每隔10～15英里设立一个畜栏；还购买了数百匹快马，并且将这些马匹平均分配到每个畜栏。每个畜栏有2～3名工作人员。骑手们都是从最优秀的平原居民、侦查员以及抗击印第安人的勇士中挑选出来的。每个人负责大约60英里的路段。
 
 
Receiving the mail pouch, containing no more than ten pounds of letters, each rider was expected to gallop away to the next relay station and then turn it over to the next rider. At each corral he passed, the rider leaped from his horse, pouch in hand, sprang upon the back of another horse already saddled and in waiting, and was off as hard as he could go. There was no time for more than “Hello” and “Goodby,” or perhaps a brief warning that the Indians were coming; the regular schedule of nine days between St. Joseph and the western coast had to be kept. Night and day, rain or shine, the mails must go through as nearly, on time as possible.
 
一接到邮袋——每一个邮袋装的信件不得超过十磅——骑手就要立刻骑马奔向下一个站点，将邮件交给下一个骑手。每经过一个畜栏，骑手就会从马上跳下来，手里拎着邮袋，跳上另一匹已经备好马鞍在此等候的马，继续全速前进。人们连说声 “你好”和“再见”的时间都没有，甚至都没有时间警告对方印第安人的逼近。从圣约瑟到西海岸最多只能用9天时间。日夜兼程，风雨无阻，邮件必须尽可能按时送达。
 
 
The half-dozen men who had gathered with Majors in his office on this day were there to find out which of them should have the honor of carrying the first pouch of mail on the first relay to the West.
Majors set his hat upon the table upside down.
“Boys,” he said solemnly, “it is a great thing we are undertaking this day. Our government has entrusted to us the safe carrying and delivery of its mails. I have only this to say to you: Come what may, the mail must go through. In my hat I am placing a slip of paper for each of you. Upon one of the slips I have marked a cross in pencil. He who draws the cross shall carry the first pouch. Draw!”
Eagerly they crowded around him and drew.
 
应该由谁来完成第一批送往西部的邮件的首段接力？那天聚集在梅杰斯办公室的6个人正是为此事而来。
梅杰斯将自己的帽子帽口朝上放在桌子上。
“小伙子们，”他庄严地说，“我们今天要做的是一件大事。我们的政府将安全运送邮件的任务托付给了我们。对此，我只对你们说一句话：无论如何，邮件必须送达。我在帽子里放了些纸团，其中一张纸团上面我用铅笔画了个‘十’字。抽到画有‘十’字纸条的那个人来送第一个邮袋。抽吧！”大家都急切地围在他身边开始抽纸团。
 
 
“I’ve got it,” yelled Johnny Frye joyfully. One after another, his fellows stepped up to shake his hand and wish him luck, in spite of their own disappointment.
“Now for the horse that shall bear you,” said Majors. “You shall have your pick from the corral. William!”
Out from the corner where he had been an interested listener, William Saunders, a sturdy boy of sixteen, approached his employer. His blue eyes glowed with excitement. Through his veins the blood was racing madly with the thrill of knowing that he had a part, small as it was, in this great day. He held his head high; he had been employed by Russell, Majors and Waddell to take charge of the horses kept ready for the riders of the Pony Express between St. Joseph and the first relay station on the long trail westward.
 
“我抽到了！”约翰尼.弗莱兴高采烈地叫道。他的伙伴们尽管都很失望，但还是一个个走上前来和他握手，祝他好运。
“接下来再给你选一匹马，”梅杰斯说道，“你可以从畜栏里自行挑选，威廉！”
一直饶有兴趣地在旁边听大家说话的威廉.桑德斯从角落里走向他的雇主。这是一个16岁的男孩，长得很结实，蓝色的双眼闪着激动的光芒，热血沸腾。他高昂着头，因为他知道，在这个重要的日子里，自己角色虽小，却也是一部分。这个小家伙受雇于拉塞尔、梅杰斯&沃德尔公司，主要任务就是为来往于圣约瑟和第一个接力站之间的小马快信的骑手们准备马匹。
 
 
“William,” Majors ordered, “take Johnny Frye to the corral and let him look over the ponies. You will see that the one he chooses is properly groomed, saddled, and bridled, and is on hand at the railroad station when the train from the East arrives.”
Proudly the boy conducted the honored rider out of the log house to the corral. Frye looked over the ponies with a shrewd eye.
“Good horses, those,” he voiced his opinion. “Any one of them suits me, but I’d like to have the best.”
“Then,” said William Saunders quickly, “you will take that bay pony over there in the corner. I’ve ridden them all, and he’s my favorite. I should like to see you pick him. Please, Mr. Frye. I know horses, and there isn’t a better pony in the settlement.”
 
“威廉，”梅杰斯命令道，“带约翰尼.弗莱去畜栏，让他自己挑马。你要为他挑选的那匹马梳毛刷洗喂食，套好马鞍和辔头，在车站等候东方来的火车到站。”
那名男孩骄傲地带领着那名荣幸的骑手走出木屋去了畜栏。弗莱用那双精明的眼睛打量着马匹。
“这些都是好马，”他说出自己的想法，“任何一匹都适合我，但是我肯定要挑一匹最好的。”
“那样的话，”威廉.桑德斯急切地说，“你最好挑选角落里那匹枣红马。这些马我都骑过，但是那匹马是我的最爱。我真希望你能选它，弗莱先生。我懂马，这里没有比它更好的马了。”
 
 
Frye nodded solemnly. “The bay it is, lad,” he agreed. “I’ll rope him, and we’ll slick him down between us; see that he is fed and watered, and you shall ride him to the station for me.”
Long before the train from the East, drawn by a queer, wood-burning locomotive, was due, every man, woman, and child in the settlement had gathered to see Johnny Frye start off on his first trip. There were several speeches, everybody shook Frye’s hand a last time, and they settled down to await the train.
At a spot where the baggage and mail car usually came to a stop, William Saunders stood holding the bay pony. On the ground near by lay Frye’s saddle. The rider himself, in a new flannel shirt, buckskin trousers, high boots, and widebrimmed hat, caressed the pony’s nose, making friends with the animal.
 
弗莱严肃地点了点头。“就是那匹枣红马了，小伙子，”他表示同意，“我先把它拴住，然后我们为它梳毛，给它喂饱料喝足水。然后你替我把它骑到车站去。”
那个年代的火车头很奇怪，是烧木头的。在来自东部的火车到达之前，定居点的男女老少都聚在车站等着看约翰尼.弗莱开始他的第一次行程。有人讲了话，每个人都和弗莱握了手，然后安静下来等着火车。
威廉.桑德斯牵着那匹枣红马站在行李邮件车厢通常停靠的地点。旁边的地上放着弗莱的马鞍。骑手穿了件崭新的法兰绒衬衫，一条鹿皮裤子，一双高腰靴，头上还戴了一顶宽檐帽。他抚摩着马儿的鼻子，想和它建立起感情。
 
 
Far down the shining twin rails of steel sounded the piercing whistle of the locomotive. Frye seized his saddle, clapped it upon the pony’s back, tightened it with quick, skillful motions, saw that the bridle was in place, his rifle in its holster and pistols in his belt, and sprang into the saddle just as the train came in. From the train the mail pouch for California was tossed out. Willing hands caught it in mid-air and handed it to Frye.
“I bid you Godspeed in this your first journey, and now I say ‘Go’!” yelled the mayor of St. Joseph, and he brought the broad palm of his hand down smartly upon the bay pony’s flank. As if he had been shot from a gun, the animal sprang away and galloped toward the big ferryboat that waited at the bank of the Missouri River to carry man and pony across.
 
顺着两条闪闪发光的铁轨，从远处传来火车头发出的刺耳的汽笛声。弗莱抓起马鞍，将它扣上马背，又用娴熟的指法将它系紧，接着又检查了一下辔头，枪套里的步枪、腰带里插着的手枪。火车一进站，他立刻飞身上马。发往加利福尼亚的邮件袋被人从火车上扔了下来。周围的人伸手接住邮袋，将它递给了弗莱。
“愿你在第一次行程中拥有神赐的速度。现在，出发！”圣约瑟的市长高声叫着，宽阔的手掌一下子拍在枣红马的侧腹上，马儿就像是出膛的子弹，嗖的一下射向等待在密苏里河岸的一艘大渡船——一人一马就要靠这条船过河。
 

引入本套教材的初衷，是让国内的英语学习者，尤其是初学者，从一开始就接触正宗的美式英语，透过美国原版教材，近距离接触美国原味文化。
这是一套完整系统的原版美国小学教材读本，全套教材提供了一系列生动有趣的故事，故事的情节和长度，以及句子的长短表述方式，随着阅读者年龄的增长呈现出一定的梯度。孩子们循序渐进地阅读学习下去，会在不知不觉中大大提高英语水平，同时通过故事增长很多知识，获得许多乐趣，并在潜移默化中滋养了情感。
这是一套美国成功教材的典范，曾经在上世纪被长时间广泛使用，影响了几代美国人。作为语言教材，它具有非常严谨的规范性、科学性和系统性，而里面的故事又非常活泼有趣，因此它非常适合孩子们阅读和学习，也很受他们们欢迎。

随着年龄的增长，孩子们的心智越来越成熟，他们越来越多地将眼光投向大自然和现实世界。本级读本继续提供不同类型、不同领域的故事，所选故事多为一流作家的作品。孩子们在精彩故事的吸引下，尽情享受着阅读的快乐。大量的阅读使学习语言、吸取知识、培养情感等成为潜移默化的过程。
本级全部故事被分成了8 个主题单元， A 册和B 册各包含4 个单元。

埃尔松，美国教育界权威性人物，教育理论家,教育实践家,小学语文教材的主要编写者。
格莱，美国教育理论与实践研究工作者，有丰富的教材编写和出版经验。

CONTENTS
目 录
PART ONE SKYWAYS AND HIGHWAYS
第一部分 空中航线与高速公路............................................................. 1
Knights of The Air
空中骑士.................................................................................................. 2
The World Is Growing Smaller
世界越来越小............................................................................................ 4
WITH ADMIRAL BYRD IN LITTLE AMERICA
与海军上将伯德同游小亚美利加.................................................................. 7
BALTO, THE BEST LEAD-DOG IN ALASKA
巴尔图，阿拉斯加最优秀的领头狗............................................................... 29
THE MAIL MUST GO THROUGH
邮件必须送达........................................................................................... 43
LINDBERGH, PIONEER AIR SCOUT
林德伯格，先锋空中侦察兵........................................................................ 76
AIR MAIL
航空邮件.................................................................................................. 97
A Backward Look
内容回顾.................................................................................................. 99
PART TWO THE OUTDOOR WORLD
第二部分 户外世界................................................................................ 101
I Love All of Out-of-doors
我热爱户外的一切................................................................................... 102
1
All The World Is A Zoo
整个世界就是个动物园............................................................................. 103
A MIDNIGHT LION HUNT
午夜猎狮................................................................................................ 106
PEMBE KUBWA, THE BIG TUSKER
长牙象彭博. 库巴................................................................................... 123
THE LITTLE AMERICAN WOODCUTTER
小小美国伐木工...................................................................................... 142
WASTE LAND: A WILD-LIFE PRESERVE
荒原：野生动物保护区............................................................................. 153
DUNCAN’S BIRD TENANTS
邓肯的鸟房客.......................................................................................... 163
THE BROWN THRUSH
棕鸫...................................................................................................... 173
THE FEATHERED MASTERS OF THE AIR
长羽毛的飞行大师................................................................................... 175
THE PINE CATERPILLAR
松毛虫................................................................................................... 182
FOUR-LEAF CLOVERS
幸运草................................................................................................... 195
THE WEATHER QUESTION
有关天气的问题...................................................................................... 197
THE LAKE AND THE SKY
湖泊与天空............................................................................................. 199
THE GLADNESS OF NATURE
大自然的欢畅.......................................................................................... 201
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 203
2
PART THREE SIDRIES WE ALL SHOULD KNOW
第三部分 我们应该知道的那些故事................................................... 205
My Story Book
我的故事书............................................................................................. 206
“Tell Me A Story!”
“给我讲个故事！”................................................................................... 207
GUILLAUME’S FLUTE
纪尧姆的长笛.......................................................................................... 209
THE GOLDEN TOUCH
点金术................................................................................................... 227
THE NUREMBERG STOVE
纽伦堡火炉............................................................................................. 268
HIAWATHA’S CHILDHOOD
海华沙的童年.......................................................................................... 299
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 314
PART FOUR YOUNG AMERICAN CITIZENS
第四部分 年轻的美国公民................................................................... 317
Song of Our Land
祖国之歌................................................................................................ 318
What Is A Good Citizen
怎样才算是一名好公民............................................................................. 319
A HERO FOR A FRIEND
为朋友而勇敢.......................................................................................... 321
BETSY FINDS A WAY
贝琪有办法............................................................................................. 349
3
GEORGE WASHINGTON
乔治. 华盛顿.......................................................................................... 368
ROBERT E. LEE:
FROM MANLINESS TO MANHOOD
罗伯特. E . 李：从男孩到男人.................................................................... 370
JOSIE’S HOME RUN
乔希的本垒打.......................................................................................... 385
HOW A BOY SCOUT BUILDS A CAMPFIRE
童子军如何生火...................................................................................... 406
LET THE FLAG WAVE
让旗帜飘扬............................................................................................. 413
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 415
GLOSSARY
难词表................................................................................................... 417