PART ONE
THE OUTDOOR WORLD
第一部分
户外世界
 
Woodland Whispers
CLINTON SCOLLARD
 
Deep in the woodland you will hear,
If you but lend attentive ear,
A murmurous talk from time to time,
And all the words will run to rhyme.
By light of sun and light of star,
The wind and trees the gossips are;
In whispers to the questioning trees
The wandering wind tells all he sees,
For he can roam and roam and roam
While all the trees must stay at home.
 
林之细语
科林顿·斯克兰德
在森林深处，
侧耳倾听，
那阵阵细语喃喃，
所有言语随着韵律飞扬。
无论是在阳光里还是在星辰下，
风与树总在低声细语。
好奇的树儿轻声提问，
游走的风儿将他见到的一切一一诉说。
因为他可以不停地漫游，
而所有的树木都必须待在自己的地方。
2
The Book of Nature Never Disappoints
A very great man once said that the Book of Nature is the only book whose pages never disappoint the reader. What did he mean? Theodore Roosevelt could have told you; he found the world of birds, animals, and flowers so fascinating that even in his busy life he spent many hours studying the wild things of Nature.
Now of course, if you are going to read the Book of Nature, you must understand its language. You can learn its language by reading and observing. Men and women who have spent years studying the out-of-doors have written about the wonderful things they have seen.
 
自然之书永不让人失望
一个非常伟大的人曾经说过，自然之书是唯一一本不会让读者失望的书。他的言下之意是什么呢？西奥多.罗斯福（1858-1919，美国历史学家、政治家，第26任美国总统。——译者注）说，花鸟鱼虫的世界如此奇妙，以至于他在忙碌的生活之余还会花许多时间研究自然界的野生动植物。
当然，你如果打算阅读自然之书，你必须懂得它的语言。你可以通过阅读和观察学习这门语言。那些年复一年进行户外研究的人记录下了他们所看到的很多美好的事物。
 
 
Here are some of the strange things they have told us about: Bees were the first paper-makers. A certain kind of flower eats meat. There is a deep-sea fish that carries a lantern. Birds save the lives of all of us by eating insects which would in a few years destroy all plants, from which we get our food.
As you learn more about flowers and birds and animals, you will become interested in preserving them instead of destroying them. Perhaps you can tell some other people about reasons why we should not pick wild flowers or collect birds’ eggs.
 
他们告诉了我们许多奇闻逸事：蜜蜂是最早的造纸工；有一种花儿以肉为食；深海中有一种鱼总是提着灯笼；鸟类通过捕食昆虫拯救了我们，因为昆虫可能会在几年内摧毁所有植物，而植物是我们的食物来源。
当你掌握了更多关于花鸟鱼虫的知识，你就会乐于保护它们而不是伤害它们。也许你还会告诉其他人为什么我们不应该采摘野花或者收集鸟蛋。
 
 
In this first part of your book you will see the outdoor world through the eyes of some famous students of Nature, and you will learn some things about saving wild life. These stories are only samples, put in this book to help you have eyes that see when you go out of doors, and to let you know what fascinating reading awaits you in books that tell about the world of Nature.
 
在本书的第一部分，你将通过几个著名的大自然学生的眼睛观察户外世界。同时，你也将学到一些有关拯救野生动植物的事情。这些故事仅仅是范例，把它们编入此书的目的是让它们指导你在走出家门的时候多多留意观察，并让你知道在自然之书中还有哪些美妙的事情在等着你。
 
本单元前两篇HUNTING ELEPHANTS WITH A CAMERA（《摄像机猎象记》）和TIGER, TERROR OF THE JUNGLE（《老虎，丛林恐怖之王》），创作年代距离今天比较远，当时的人们还不具备野生动物保护意识，文中涉及的猎杀大象和老虎的内容，与现在的野生动物保护法相悖。因此请读者在学习这两篇文章时，屏蔽对野生动物任意猎杀的意识，汲取其他有益知识。——译者注
 
 
HUNTING ELEPHANTS WITH A CAMERA
MARTIN JOHNSON
Perhaps you have thought that the only way to hunt animals is with a gun, but Martin Johnson and his wife, Osa, spent many years hunting them with a camera. In this story he tells you why camera- hunting is far more dangerous and thrilling than hunting to kill. He also tells some most surprising things about elephants.
 
A CLOSE CALL
My wife, Osa, and I were “camera hunting” in Africa. Boculy, the native whom we had engaged to find elephants for us, came running into camp greatly excited. He was out of breath and raised and lowered his hands exclaiming jerkily in Swahili, his native language: “Big el-
 
摄像机猎象记
马丁·约翰逊
也许你认为捕猎野生动物的唯一方式是带上枪，但是马丁. 约翰逊和他的妻子奥萨常年以来却一直在使用一台摄像机捕猎大象。在这个故事里，他会告诉你为什么用摄像机捕猎动物比猎杀更加危险，更加刺激。同时，他也介绍了关于大象的一些不为人知的事情。
 
近距离接触
在非洲，我的妻子奥萨和我是“摄像机猎手”。我们邀请的帮我们寻找大象的当地人鲍可利激动地冲进营地。他气喘吁吁地挥舞着手臂，用他的母语斯瓦希里语，激
 
 
ephants-big elephants-all together-very quiet-come quickly!”
In a few moments we had our gun bearers and camera boys with their heavy loads under way. Shortly after, we came up with the herd. There were seven animals quietly feeding on the edge of the forest. Three were cows, and two were bulls-big fellows. Two “totos,” or babies, wandered about in the tall grass.
The elephant herd was ideally placed for still pictures, but we wanted action; so leaving Osa at the camera, I walked forward to stir things up a bit. As I approached, the big bull, sensing danger, goose-stepped forward a few paces. Then he saw me. Instantly his trunk went up and his ears spread. For the space of five seconds we gazed at each other silently. Then his feet stamped angrily, and he snorted with rage. I knew what
 
动地大声喊道：“大象——大象——全在一起——非常安静——快跟我来！”
几分钟后，我们叫上帮我们保管枪支和摄像设备的男孩，带着重重的行囊上路了。不久，我们便追上了象群。在森林的边缘，我们一共发现七头大象在安静地进食。三头母象，两头公象，这都是些大家伙。旁边，还有两头“图图”，也就是小象，徜徉在高大的热带草丛中。
要是拍静态照片的话，那么象群现在的状态就十分理想，但我们需要它们动起来。我把奥萨安排在摄像机跟前拍摄，而我自己走上前，想让大象们稍稍动起来一点儿。当我靠近它们的时候，大公象嗅到了危险，它昂首挺胸，向前迈了几步。接着，它看到了我。它的象鼻子立刻扬了起来，大耳朵也舒展开了。我们默默地注视着对方，大约停滞了五秒。忽然，它生气地跺跺脚并且愤怒地喷起鼻息。我知道等
 
 
was coming and prepared myself as, with a furious grunt, the big tusker lowered his trunk and charged. I turned and ran for my life while Osa cranked away with a will.
It was by the use of such methods that we sometimes obtained our best pictures, but this time I had gone too close, and this old bull
 
待我们的将是什么，我做好了准备。这只长牙兽愤怒地哼了一声，把象鼻降下来，然后向我猛冲过来。我转过身，拼命地跑。就在这时，奥萨努力转动摄像机拍摄。
通过这种方法，我们有时才能得到最好的图像。但是这一次，我走得太近了，这只
 
 
seemed particularly revengeful. The other six elephants came tearing after him, and then to my surprise and dismay a dozen more burst out from the woods behind and joined the stampede. The world seemed suddenly filled with elephants, and they were all headed in my direction.
I ran toward the camera, while Osa continued turning the crank. Not that she was enjoying it, but she knew she was getting a wonderful bit of film, and there was nothing she could do for me yet. As I tore up to the camera, she snatched her rifle from her gun boy and fired. The big bull stumbled, nearly knocking over the camera as he crashed by, and fell with a mighty thud. Fortunately for us, the balance of the herd split and passed on.
 
老象看起来报复心特别重。其他六头大象也跟在它的后面奔跑。接下来更令人惊讶和沮丧的是，又有一打多大象从树林里冲出来，加入到了奔袭的队伍中。这里一下子变成了大象的世界，而且它们全都朝我冲过来。
我朝着摄像机跑去，而奥萨仍然转动着摄像机不断地拍摄，并不是她喜欢这样，她只知道自己正在拍摄非常棒的影像，而且此时她并不能为我做什么。当我狂奔到摄像机旁，她从拿枪的男孩那里抓过步枪，开了一枪。猛冲在前面的大公象踉跄了一下，差点儿撞翻摄像机，接着轰然倒地。幸运的是，整个象群的协调一致也随之瓦解了。
 
 
When it was all over, Osa sat down. And I must confess that my own knees felt a trifle wobbly. It had been a close call, and I would probably not have taken such foolish chances had it not been for my confidence in Osa’s marksmanship. She is a better shot than I am and seldom misses her mark even under conditions that would shake the nerves of an experienced hunter. She shoots only when the need is desperate, or when we collect an unusual specimen for the museum; and of course for food when necessary.
 
当一切都结束的时候，奥萨坐了下来。我必须承认，现在我有些站立不稳。这是一次距离非常近的接触，要不是对奥萨的枪法有信心，我绝对不会这么鲁莽的。她的射击能力比我强，在这种情况下，尽管是经验丰富的猎人也会气馁，而她很少失手。不过，只有在非常需要或者在我们要为博物馆搜集一种新物种时，当然还有我们急需食物的时候，她才会出手。
 
 
ELEPHANT CITIZENS OF THE JUNGLE
I like elephants. They are fine citizens of the jungle. They mind their own business, fight little among themselves, are intelligent in bringing up their young, and have a real sense of loyalty to the tribe. They lead a quiet family life, and never prey on other animals.
Years of work in Africa have given me a close understanding of elephant character. As a rule, I don’t think they live much longer than a century. Age and size give them a great dignity. I think the old legend that elephants are blind must come from the fact that they plod along much of the time as though half asleep, paying little attention to other animals. They are so powerful that they are secure from attack and have grown careless through the years.
 
丛林中的大象公民
我喜欢大象。它们是丛林中的模范公民。它们只关心自己的事，相互之间很少发生争斗。它们在养育下一代方面很有智慧，而且对于自己的部族，它们绝对忠诚。它们过着一种安静的家庭生活，从不捕食其他动物。
多年在非洲工作的经验让我对大象的性格有颇深的了解。一般来说，我认为它们的寿命不会长于一个世纪。年龄和体形赋予它们很高的尊严，我觉得那个说大象是瞎子的古老传说一定是因为它们大多时候都是拖着沉重的脚步缓慢行走，就好像睡着了似的，从不注意周遭其他动物。它们孔武有力，使得自身可以免遭其他动物的袭击，长年自由生长，从不担心周遭的威胁。
 
 
One day Osa asked Boculy how long elephants live. He could only say, “Many years.” He couldn’t count far enough. And of course he did not know. I think one hundred years is a very old age for them.
With most game, the larger the herd the less chance there is of getting a good picture, for they stampede too easily. But with elephants the opposite is true; a single elephant is always on the alert, but a herd is usually more careless.
 
一天，奥萨问鲍可利大象能活多久。他只是说：“很多年。”他不会数数，当然他也不知道。对它们来说，我觉得100岁是一个相当大的年龄了。
对于大多数动物而言，群体越庞大，获得好图像的概率就越小，因为它们很容易因受惊而集体奔逃。但是对于象群来说却正好相反：一头象永远处于保持警惕的状态，而象群却非常随意。
 
 
I once had to shoot a charging elephant to save my life. He was mortally wounded, and I prepared to shoot again to save him from suffering; but before I could raise my gun, two of his companions came on either side of him as if to support him, and he tottered away into the forest. This incident shows how loyal elephants are to members of their tribe. I have seen a mother elephant punish her toto with her trunk, push it into line when it was staggering with weariness, and squirt mud over it when it was crying from the heat. Generally they are very patient with their totos, but when punishment is needed, it is given.
 
BOCULY, THE ELEPHANT GUIDE
We were fortunate to have employed Boculy for our elephant guide. I believe he knows more about elephants than anyone in the world.
 
有一次，为了保命，我不得不开枪射击一头狂奔而来的大象。它受了致命伤，随后我准备再开一枪，结束它的痛苦。但当我举起枪的时候，它的两个同伴从两侧跑了出来，似乎是来救援的，然后我看到这头大象踉跄着进了森林。这充分体现了大象对它的族群成员的绝对忠诚。我亲眼看到过一头幼象因为困倦蹒跚而行的时候，一头母象用鼻子惩罚它，迫使它走直线；我也见过幼象因为温度太高而哭泣时母象把泥巴浇在它身上的情形。一般来说，母象对自己的孩子很有耐心，但该惩罚的时候，它们也会照做不误。
“象导”鲍可利
我们很幸运能找到鲍可利做我们的“象导”。我相信他比世界上任何一个人都了解大象。
 
 
Boculy is a very important person in his own land. Somewhere in the wilds he has a thousand cattle and two hundred fifty camels which some of his wandering tribe tend for him when he is on safari with the white men. He knows all the languages of the plains and the desert, and in some curious way he can get aid from any of these people when we need it. There is a mystery in his wise old face, and his knowledge of wild animals is indeed remarkable. Elephants are his strong point. We call Boculy “little half-brother of the elephants.” If he told me I’d find elephants in front of the New York Public Library, I’d believe him, for Boculy knows. He could find “tembo,” the elephant, when every other hunter, white or native, would say that no beast could be found. He could see things that are invisible to the rest of us. A bit of mud dropped from a passing hoof was full of meaning to him. He could
 
在这片大陆上，鲍可利是一个非常重要的人。在大草原的某个地方，他养了1000头牛和250只骆驼，当他与白人外出旅行的时候，他便让他所在的游牧部落的族人为他放养。他通晓平原和沙漠上的所有语言，并且当我们需要帮助的时候，他总能以某种奇妙的方式向这些部落中的任何一个寻求帮助。他苍老而智慧的脸上始终带着一丝神秘，他对野生动物的语言也十分了解。这一点在大象身上表现得尤为明显。我们称鲍可利为“大象的兄弟”。就算他说纽约市的公立图书馆前有大象，我也深信不疑，因为他太清楚大象的一举一动了。当其他的猎手，不论是白人还是当地人，都说找不到这种巨兽的时候，他仍然能发现“腾扑”，即大象【作者对非洲大象的称呼，Tembo（腾扑）是非洲刚果的地名，因此称生活在非洲大陆、带有非洲特色的象为“腾扑”。——译者注】。他总能看到其他人看不到的东西。即使是从路过的野兽的蹄子上掉下来的一块泥土上，他也能发现很多东西。他能够辨别出这
 
 
tell what animal had dropped it. The bending of grass told him the kind of game that had passed, what direction it had taken, and even, at times, how long ago it had left its mark.
Many of the plainer signs can be learned by anyone who spends much time in the wilds. But the slight differences in the ways trodden grass falls to the ground, the different kinds of mud, and other seemingly unimportant traces left by passing jungle folk were full of meaning to Boculy, when to us they were almost invisible. It fascinated me to keep up with him in the field whenever I could, for his knowledge was so amazing and interesting. And the way the old boy had of telling me things made it even more so. He would point out to me the different footprints—the sharp cut of the buffalo’s hoof, which kills the grass it touches; the huge, soft print of tembo, the elephant, which simply bruises the
 
是从什么动物身上掉下来的。通过草的弯曲程度，他能够知道什么样的野兽刚刚从此经过以及要去往何处。他有时甚至可以判断出某些痕迹是多久之前留下来的。
长期生活在原野上的人对许多动物留下的痕迹非常熟悉。但是动物踩踏野草的轻微差异，泥土的些微差异以及其他一些看起来不是很显著的痕迹都能为鲍可利提供充足的信息，但对我们而言，这些痕迹完全是不可见的。他这方面的知识实在是让我觉得太有趣甚至不可思议，因此我也非常努力地想要达到他的水平。这个老伙计向我传授这些知识时，他的说话方式更是让我着迷。他能够给我指出各种不同的动物的脚印：水牛蹄的边缘十分锋利，被它所踩过的野草像被刀削过一般；大象脚印巨
 
 
blades; the four-leafed clover print of the hyena; the water-lily mark of the leopard. As for “simba,” the lion, he leaves little trace of his weight. One rarely finds his footprints. Swiftly and silently he slips through the grass, and it rises again, concealing his passage.
No other African I have ever known approached Boculy in knowledge and skill. Boculy, with his naked eye, would pick out an animal that I could barely find with field glasses. The “little half-brother of the elephants,” like the tembo for whom we named him, would shuffle along muttering to himself. Then when you thought he was half asleep, he would stoop, pick up a bit of mud or a leaf, sniff the trail, and say, “Over by the Old Lady Waterhole you find five bull tembo, four cows, and three totos.” And we would. That was the amazing part of it. Boculy was always right.
 
大而柔软，会在叶子上留下淤痕；土狼脚印犹如长了四片叶子的苜蓿草；豹子的脚印则像睡莲一般。至于“辛巴”，也就是狮子，它留下的痕迹根本看不出它的实际重量，因此很少能够找到它们的足迹。狮子总是快速而安静地滑过草地，然后再一跃而起，完全隐匿了它的行踪。
在知识和技能方面，我遇到的非洲人没有人能比得上鲍可利。鲍可利单凭他的肉眼就能发现我用双筒望远镜都发现不了的动物。这位“大象的兄弟”就和大象一样，走起路来总是拖着脚步，走得又平又缓，而且一边走，一边嘴里还咕哝着什么，因此私下里我们就叫他“腾扑”——当地土话中“大象”的意思。当你觉得他快要睡着的时候，他会弯下腰，捡起一块泥土或者一片叶子，闻闻地上的足迹，然后说道：“走过去，到老婆婆水洼，你就会发现五头公象、四头母象和三头小象。”然后，我们果真遇到了。这才是最神奇的地方。鲍可利总是对的。
 
 
Once when I had finished a lot of good elephant film, I gave a picture show for Boculy and the boys. With Boculy on a box next to us, we ran off several thousand feet of film. It was a joy to watch his wrinkled old face. He had never seen a movie, and I doubt if he had understood what we had been doing with our camera in all our crazy wanderings through the jungle. All he could say when he saw the pictures-in many of which he appeared-was “Ah-h-h, Ah-h-h!” He was overcome with feeling.
I enjoyed myself greatly that night. At last I was even with Boculy, for my magic of the camera was even more of a mystery to him than his magic knowledge of the jungle and its ways was to me.
 
有一次，当我完成了一部关于大象的电影的一大半拍摄时，我特意给他和那些男孩们留了个镜头。鲍可利坐在我们旁边的一个箱子上，我们给他放了一下这部胶片有几千英尺长的电影，然后观察他的反应。事实上，看着他那张布满皱纹的脸是一件很美妙的事情。他从来没看过电影，我甚至怀疑他是否能够理解我们用摄影机拍下我们疯狂的丛林之行的意义。看到那些有自己的镜头，他说的唯一的话就是 “啊……啊……啊……啊……”看来，他也乐在其中了。
那一晚我很开心。我和鲍可利的账最终也两清了，因为他告诉我说，他对充满魔力的摄像机的兴趣比我对他神奇的丛林知识的兴趣还要浓。
 
 
CAMERA HUNTING
Hunting with the camera has become more important to the study of wild life than hunting with the rifle. Osa and I seldom shoot except for food or to save ourselves or our workers in times of great danger. Osa usually holds the gun, and it is my faith in her nerve that has made possible most of our best pictures. Twice she has dropped elephants at my feet. Once a lion charged me in the open. I kept cranking because she held the gun. At fifteen feet she fired. It didn’t stop him. She fired again, and the lion dropped so close that I could touch his mane with my toe.
I usually become so interested in the pictures I am getting that I don’t realize the danger. Osa looks out for that.
 
摄像机捕猎
对于研究野生动物而言，用摄像机捕猎要比用步枪捕猎重要得多。奥萨和我很少开枪，只有在食物短缺或者性命攸关（保护自己或处于危险中的工作人员）的时候，我们才选择开枪。奥萨经常拿着枪，正是我对她的信任才使得我们记录下了这么多美妙的画面。她已经两次在大象快要撞到我的时候，放倒了大象，救了我的命。还有一次在野外，一头狮子向我冲来。我不断地绕着弯儿跑。奥萨拿着枪，大概在狮子离我只有15英尺的时候，她开枪了。可枪声并没能阻止它。奥萨又开了一枪，狮子倒在了离我很近的地方，以至于我的脚都能碰到它的鬣毛了。
我对那些自己已然陷入危险之中但仍浑然不觉时拍到的图像尤其感兴趣。奥萨常为我放风，提醒我。
 
 
Photographing wild life is a very dangerous business for the person who hasn’t had wide experience and who does not know just what chances he can take with safety. After spending years in the jungle, one comes to know how a particular animal is likely to act. But we take every care, because there is always some uncertainty as to what wild animals will do.
Camera hunting is a life work that I would not advise for many people. It is thrilling if you like it; but for every thrill there may be days, perhaps weeks, of dull, tiresome preparation. Often after endless labor of tracking animals, planning with care, lugging cameras and other things, and coming right up on the beasts you are looking for, you do not get a good film. Then again, you secure a picture that makes you want to stand out in the middle of the desert and shout the tidings to the world.
 
对于那些没有什么生活经验且不知道如何抓紧机会让自己转危为安的人来说，拍摄野生动物是很危险的。在丛林中生活的时间长了，人们慢慢就会知道什么动物很可能会干什么。不过，尽管如此，我们还是得小心翼翼，因为野生动物的行为总有很多不确定性。
我并不提倡将摄像机捕猎当成终身的职业。如果你喜欢它，你会觉得很刺激；但是在获得一次刺激之前，你需要几天甚至几个星期的准备。这种准备费心费力。很多时候，你已经追踪到动物，小心地计划着行程，扛着摄像机一步一步跟在后面，好不容易来到了你想找的动物面前，但你却没能拍到一部好的纪录片。不过，再努力一下，你就能获得一个精彩的镜头了。那种成功的感觉会让你觉得自己像是站在了广袤沙漠的中心或者站在了世界的制高点。
 
 
Boculy found so many elephants for us that we gradually became accustomed to the big beasts and set our cameras many times for them without fear. On one such occasion, when we were in our blind at night, a long file of elephants came down for water. As they approached our flashlight apparatus, they stopped. For several minutes they hesitated, their trunks waving in the air. Then one elephant left the herd. As he moved away, he would stop every fifteen or twenty feet to wave his trunk. He seemed greatly puzzled and finally went back to the herd. The elephants held a conference at which there was not a sound. Finally they went to the water by another route. We got no pictures that night.
 
鲍可利为我们找到了很多大象，以至于我们逐渐习惯了这些庞然大物，在设置摄像机准备拍摄的时候也不再害怕。有一次，那是一个漆黑的夜晚，一大群象走向水边。接近闪光灯的时候，它们停了下来。它们犹豫了几分钟，不停地挥舞着象鼻。接着，一头大象离开了象群。它每走15～20英尺就会挥舞一下象鼻。它看上去很困惑，最终又回到了象群。象群举行了一个小型会议，尽管没有发出一丁点儿声音。最终，它们沿着另一条路线走向了水边。那一晚，我们的拍摄没有成功。
 
 
One old female got the habit of breaking into our vegetable garden. She particularly liked sweet potatoes and was quite orderly about securing them. Every night she would pick over a space about ten square feet, eating everything in that area and going away without damaging anything else.
 
有头老母象养成了闯入我们菜园的习惯。它特别喜欢甜土豆，但觅食的时候非常规矩，它每天晚上都会找一块十尺见方的土地，吃掉这个地方的所有东西，走的时候也不会毁坏其他东西。
 
 
We found that this old lady was entering the garden at a hole which she had made in the hedge beside a great yellow-wood tree. Here we rigged up our wires and camera with everything so set that the elephant would spring the flash light herself. We had scarcely gone to bed when we heard a boom. We dashed out only to find that she had disappeared. We were too excited to wait till morning to develop the plates; so we rushed to do this task at once. The pictures were wonderfully clear. What a thrill we camera hunters got from every good picture—a greater thrill than any mere game-hunter can know.
Although we doubted that she would return, we set up the apparatus again the following night. Again we heard the flashlight boom and again werushed to develop the film.
 
我们发现这头母象在一棵黄桑树旁边的树篱里凿了一个洞，它总是从这个洞进来。于是，我们在这里布上了电线和摄像机，万事俱备，只等大象自己触发闪光灯。我们一听到快门声的时候就睡不着了，但当我们冲出去的时候，发现它已经不见了。我们按捺不住心中的激动，一个晚上都等不了，连夜冲洗了相片。洗出来的相片十分清晰。每拍出一张好照片，摄影捕猎者都会无比激动！这种快感对于一般的捕猎者来说是体会不到的。
尽管我们怀疑它不会回来了，但在接下来的晚上我们还是把摄像机放在了那里。结果，我们再一次听到了快门的声响。然后，我们又迫不及待地洗出了照片。
 
 
The third night we heard the crashing of branches on the edge of the forest. There was the old lady contentedly feeding. When she had finished her meal, she strolled slowly down the line of houses where my gun bearers and camera boys slept, quietly ripping off the thatched roofs as she went. In a moment the natives came tumbling out of their huts, greatly frightened. The old tembo disappeared.
One astonishing thing about elephants is the way they can vanish so noiselessly into the forest, in spite of their great size. I have seen them melt out of sight with little or no movement that could be noticed. I say again that I like elephants. The majority of them are kind; they know their place in life and are content to keep it.
 
第三天晚上，我们听到树林边有冲撞树枝的声音。那只老母象在安静地觅食。当它饱食一顿之后，慢悠悠地走过帮我们保管枪支和摄像设备的男孩们睡觉的房屋。母象一边走着，一边安静地扯着茅草屋顶。这几个小男孩吓得不轻，跌跌撞撞地冲出了茅草房。接着，这只老“腾扑”（大象）就消失了。
大象另一个令人惊讶的地方是，尽管它们体积十分庞大，但总能无声无息地消失在森林深处。我见过它们淡出我们的视野，动作很小很轻，难以察觉。我要说，我喜欢大象。它们中的绝大部分是非常友好的；它们知道自己在生活中应该扮演什么角色并且一直知足地演绎着这个角色。
 
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
1. Give at least one reason of your own to explain-
(a) why taking motion pictures of savage animals is dangerous.
(b) why motion pictures of animals are valuable. Perhaps you can give more than one reason for each.
2. (a) What dangerous thing that Martin Johnson did is told about in the first part of this story?
(b) Why did he do it?
(c) What two things saved his life and the lives of the others?
3. For what three reasons did the Johnsons kill animals?
4. Give four facts about elephant character that made Martin Johnson like them.
 
注释与问题
1．至少给出一个你自己的答案来回答以下问题：
(a) 为什么拍摄凶猛的动物是危险的工作？
(b) 为什么动物的影像是有价值的？
也许每个问题，你都可以给出不止一个答案。
2．(a) 在故事的第一部分，马丁.约翰逊做了什么危险的事情？
(b) 他为什么要这样做？
(c) 哪两样东西救了他和其他人的命？
3．约翰逊夫妇会因为哪三个原因杀死动物？
4．找出大象所具有的四种性格特征，并给出马丁喜欢大象的原因。
 
 
5. (a) About how old do elephants grow?
(b) Why do they seem so careless, and even sleepy?
6. (a) To what African tribe did Boculy belong?
(b) What two things are told about Boculy that would lead you to believe that his home was not in the dense, tropical jungle forests?
7. What were the two main things about Boculy that made him so valuable to Martin Johnson?
8. What signs of wild life can you read and understand, such as animal tracks, different bird songs, etc.? Make a list of them.
9. How are elephants valuable to men? You may have learned this in your geography. If not, look up the answer.
 
5．(a) 大象能活多久？
(b) 为什么它们看起来那么随意甚至显得有些困顿呢？
6．(a) 鲍可利属于非洲哪个部落？
(b) 哪两件事情让你认为鲍可利的家不在繁茂的热带雨林之中？
7．哪两件事情使得鲍可利对于马丁.约翰逊来说是不可或缺的？
8．你能辨认出野生动物特有的标志吗？例如动物的脚印、各种鸟儿的歌声，请列出一张表来。
9．对于人类来说，大象有多重要？你可能在地理课上学到过。如果没有的话，请自行找一下答案。
 
 
10. Find and be ready to read-
(a) a paragraph that shows the intelligence and loyalty of elephants.
(b) a paragraph that tells what a skillful tracker Boculy was.
(c) a paragraph that tells of some of the problems and rewards of camera hunting.
11. In some reference book, look up facts about Boculy’s tribe. Be ready to tell where they live, what they do, etc.
 
10．找出并朗读以下段落——
(a) 展现大象智慧和忠诚的段落。
(b) 说明鲍可利追踪技能高超的段落。
(c) 提到摄影捕猎的问题与回报的段落。
11．查阅相关参考书，找些鲍可利所在部落的资料，查查他们住在哪里以及他们从事什么工作，等等。
 
 
TIGER, TERROR OF THE JUNGLE
MARY HASTINGS BRADLEY
 
To us in America the tiger is an interesting animal; but to the people of the jungle he is a constant terror, inspiring fear in every living thing. This story tells how one feels when he meets a tiger face to face in the jungles of Asia.
Mary Hastings Bradley, the author of the story, and her husband Herbert, live in Chicago. They are both great lovers of the out-of-doors, and have made many trips to Africa and Asia to study the animals and the wild tribes who live there.
 
老虎，丛林恐怖之王
玛丽·海斯汀·布莱德利
对于生活在美国的人来说，老虎是一种很有趣的动物；然而，对于生活在丛林里的人来说，它却是一种让你每时每刻都感到恐惧的动物，它能让所有生物感到恐惧。这个故事讲述一个人在亚洲的丛林中与老虎面对面时的感受。
本文作者玛丽. 海斯汀. 布莱德利和她的丈夫赫伯特生活在芝加哥。他们非常热爱户外生活，曾多次去非洲和亚洲旅行，研究生活在那里的动物和原始部落。
 
 
A DAY OF WAITING
Before dawn we were up, in the blackness of the early tropic hours, buckling on cartridge pouches and seeing to the guns, in order to start the moment the light permitted tracking. Suddenly a native appeared like a ghost out of the darkness by our tents. The tiger had eaten of the dead buffalo with which we had hoped to bait him!
Excitement gripped us. A tiger—our chance at last! “Are you sure that it is a tiger which has eaten?” we wanted to know, remembering the day when we had waited and waited and a giant reptile, not a tiger, had appeared.
 
一天的等待
黎明之前，我们就起床了。现在是热带丛林的早上两三点钟，四周一片漆黑。我们一边扣着身上的子弹带，一边检查手上的枪，只等着追踪动物的信号灯亮起。突然，一个土著像幽灵一般从黑暗中冒了出来，来到我们的帐篷前。老虎已经吃了我们用来做诱饵的死水牛。
我们兴奋不已。一只老虎上钩了！机会终于来了！“你确定那是老虎吃的吗？”我们想知道答案，尤其是想到之前的有一天，我们等啊等，结果等到的不是老虎，而是一只巨大的爬行动物。
 
 
The tracker was positive. The buffalo had been eaten as a tiger begins eating—at the tail. The tiger must be somewhere near, ready to return. We must hurry to reach our bush before the light came. Hastily we swallowed some hot coffee and snatched a bite or two of bread while the horses were led up; then we mounted and set out, the tracker running along ahead of us as guide.
The land was ghostly with the first signs of morning, and through the grayness the giant pines rose darkly like columns in some dim underground vault. The guide circled in and out the trees, and our horses followed closely. Then we dismounted and stole through the brush on foot till we were on the edge of the ravine, directly above the dead buffalo. More than halfway down the steep slope was the bush; across
 
那个跟踪的人给出了肯定的答案。那头水牛被吃掉的是尾巴部分，老虎都是这样开
始吃的。老虎一定就在附近，随时都会回来。我们必须在太阳出来之前到达灌木丛。在当地人为我们准备马匹的时候，我们匆匆喝了一杯咖啡，啃了几口面包；接着，我们上了马，开始出发了。那个跟踪的人跑在我们前面，给我们带路。
大地在清晨第一道光的照耀下显得十分诡异，一棵棵巨松矗立在灰蒙蒙的大地上。在黑暗中，它们犹如支撑起昏暗无光的地下墓室的圆柱一般。向导在树林中绕来绕去，我们的马儿紧紧地跟着他。接着，我们下了马，徒步穿过丛林，来到山涧，正下方躺着的就是那只死水牛。往下的山坡非常陡峭，大部分都是灌木丛。穿过灌木
 
 
which a screen of reeds had been built, and the buffalo was a hundred and fifty feet beyond that, directly in front of the green wall of the jungle.
Down the slope we crept, crouching low, and being as silent-footed as possible in the attempt to deceive the stealthy beast, who might be in any bush before us at the moment. If he saw us, the hunt was probably finished before it was begun. We should spend our weary hours there in vain.
We reached the shelter of the blind and cautiously raised the leaves that covered the tiny holes left for peepholes. There was a long stretch of tall, waving grass sloping down before us with bushes on each side, then the dark blue that we knew to be the dead buffalo, and beyond, the blotting darkness of the jungle.
 
丛的小路上长满了芦苇，那头水牛就在芦苇丛那边150英尺远的地方，正好在树丛组成的绿墙的正前方。
我们弯着腰，在斜坡上缓慢地行走，尽可能不发出一点儿声响，因为这样才不会惊动在我们前方某灌木丛中潜伏的野兽。要是让它看到了我们，捕猎可能还没开始就要结束了。那样的话，我们之前的辛苦准备就白费了。
我们摸黑来到了隐蔽的地点，小心翼翼地掀开覆盖在窥视孔上的树叶。在我们前方还有一排上下起伏的长长的杂草朝我们所在的方向倾斜。我们的两边是茂密的灌木丛，而前方那个深绿色的东西就是死水牛。更远的地方则是犹如被墨汁染黑的丛林深处。
 
 
My husband, Herbert, and I took our positions, each with an eye at a peephole, our guns leaning beside us. The tracker squatted on his heels at our side, patient and motionless. It was growing lighter and lighter; the darkness paled as the brightness gained in the east. There were little morning noises, the familiar sounding crow of the wild cock, the cropping of a family of wild pigs on the grassy slope to the right, the bark of a distant deer.
 
我的丈夫赫伯特和我各就其位，目不转睛地盯着窥视孔，枪就斜放在我们身边。那个跟踪老虎的人一动也不动地蹲在我们这边。天越来越亮了，黑暗渐渐被东方的光亮所吞噬。清晨没有一丝噪声，只是偶尔能听到野公鸡那熟悉的啼鸣声、几只野猪在长满草的斜坡上的啃咬声以及遥不可及的鹿儿的吠叫声。
 
 
The sun seemed to shoot up in the sky, and its heat poured out on us as if a door had been opened from a furnace. We stood still there, motionless, staring out intently. There was nothing to do but stand and wait and watch. I kept telling myself that somewhere out in that green into which I was straining my eyes was the great striped beast we had hunted so long, sleeping, or perhaps padding about on stealthy feet, staring through the jungle at us.
Six o’clock. Seven o’clock. Eight o’clock. Nine o’clock…Our friends, the Kings, had got their tiger at a quarter to nine; so I had decided that nine would be our lucky hour, but nine o’clock passed with nothing happening. Then I remembered a story I had heard about a tiger that had been seen at eleven o’clock, and I set eleven as the time at which things would happen.
 
太阳在天空射出耀眼的光芒，热流涌动，就像熔炉忽然间开了一扇门。我们静静地站在那里，一动不动，专心地凝视着前方。除此之外，我们什么都没做。我不断地告诉自己，视线所及的那一片绿林中就有我们一直渴望捕猎到的动物，这只浑身满是条纹的巨兽不是在睡觉，就是正踱着轻盈的步子在丛林的某个角落看着我们。
6点、7点、8点、9点……我们的朋友金一家在8：45的时候就已经捕到了一只老虎；因此我觉得九点将会是我们的幸运时刻，但是九点过去得平淡无奇，什么也没发生。于是，我想起了一个故事说一只老虎在11点的时候被发现了，于是我把11点定为某件大事即将发生的时刻。
 
 
The minutes passed with unbelievable slowness. The sun burned hotter and hotter. We would not stir. One of us could have rested while the other watched, but we were too excited for that. Our nerves were tense.
Eleven o’clock. Nothing happened. Then twelve. The sun was high overhead. I felt burning up; the blood throbbed in my temples. I thought of the nights on an African mountain when we had stood on guard against plundering elephants, shivering with cold on the windswept heights, and I wondered why I had ever objected to cold and wind.
 
一分一秒都过得难以置信的慢。天气越来越热，我们并没有受到任何影响。一个人在监视的时候，我们中的另一个本来是可以休息的，但是我们实在太兴奋了，顾不上休息。现在，我们的神经都绷得紧紧的。
11点到了，什么也没发生。接着是12点，太阳升得老高，我感觉全身快要燃烧起来了，血液直冲太阳穴。我想起了我们在非洲的一座大山里经历过的一个夜晚。那时候，我们在山地的寒风中颤抖着防备象群的进攻，我惊诧自己曾经那么能抵御寒冷和大风。
 
 
From the jungle beyond us came the sound of splashing water. Tigers play in water. Was it the tiger—or was it the herd of wild cattle we had seen the day before? I looked questioningly down at the tracker; he grinned back at me as if he, too, thought it were a tiger.
A little later it seemed to me that I could see the gleam of a striped face for an instant between the green jungle growths. It was gone even as I thought I saw it, and I told myself that it was all a trick of my straining eyes. I was getting so that I could see tigers all over the place.
 
远处的丛林中传来水花四溅的声音。老虎们在水中嬉戏。究竟是老虎？还是我们前天看到的那群野牛？我疑惑地看着追踪者。他冲我笑了笑，好像他认为那是老虎。
过了一小会儿，我似乎看到一张满是条纹的面庞在绿色的丛林中闪了一下。它一下子就消失了，我觉得我好像看到了它。我告诉自己，那不过是不堪重荷的眼睛给我开了个玩笑，渐渐地我甚至感觉自己在这个丛林中任何地方都可以看到老虎。
 
 
At two o’clock came a rush of clouds, which gave warning of the storm that was sweeping up toward us. The darkness shut swiftly in about us, the heavens opened overhead, and all the waters in them came crashing down on us. The tracker shivered and slipped softly away up the ravine. We put our guns under our coats to keep them dry, and for the next two hours we stood there in the soaking downpour, wondering if we had really been nice and dry and hot a short time before. Then the rain ceased and the sun came out more faintly; the tall grass about us, bending with rain, began to straighten, while the glistening, beaded drops on it dried. We now took turns sitting down close by the blind, cautiously stretching a cramped arm or leg. There was little hope—just determination left.
 
下午两点的时候，天空突然出现了乌云。这是上天的提醒：暴风雨就要来了。阴霾迅速布满整个天空，云层也变得越来越厚，大雨倾盆而下。追踪者打了个哆嗦，拖着软软的步子，颤颤巍巍地走上山涧。为了不让枪受潮，我们把枪放在衣服下。就这样，我们在滂沱大雨中站了两个小时。那时候，我们一直在想，我们之前是否真的经历了一段干燥而炎热的美好时光。过了一会儿，雨停了，太阳出来了，不过光芒变弱了。长长的草在大雨中被打弯了腰，但在大雨过后，它们又挺拔了起来。草叶上晶莹的成串的水滴也干了。现在我们轮流坐在隐蔽的地方，小心地伸展了一下酸痛的胳膊和腿。此刻已经没了希望，只剩下捕猎的决心。
 
 
THE TIGER COMES
The day was fading fast. Five-thirty… Five-forty…In a few minutes it would be too dark to see to shoot if anything did come. As soon as it was dusk, the tiger might begin to prowl, and do his prowling anywhere about us. We began to glance over our shoulders rather cautiously.
Only fifteen minutes more in which it would be possible to shoot, I thought, glancing at my wrist watch. It was just five forty-five. I was at the blind, peering through the peephole at Herbert’s side, and Herbert was directly behind me, sitting down. There was a feeling in the air that the day was done. And then, as I looked out, realizing that every moment was slipping by bearing away forever the chances it might have held—I saw something.
老虎来了
天黑得很快。5点半、5：40，再过几分钟，即使确实有什么动物来了也会因为太黑而无法射击。一到黄昏，老虎很可能就会开始在我们周围的任何地方悄然潜行。我们开始谨慎地观察四周。
天黑了，我看看表，再过15分钟就不能打猎了。现在是5：45，在隐蔽点，我透过赫伯特边上的窥视孔观察周围，赫伯特坐在我正后方。弥漫在丛林中的气息似乎传来了今天就要结束的讯息。当我认为时间正在流逝，机会正在远离我们的时候，透过窥视孔，我突然看到了什么。
 
 
Out of the wall of distant shadows came a gleam of gold and black—vivid as lightning against the green—and the tiger walked out of the jungle!
Never in my life had I seen such a picture. Elephants by moonlight, lions at dawn, gorillas at blazing noon I had seen, but nothing was ever so beautiful and so glorious as that tiger walking out of his jungle. He was everything that was wild and savage, lordly and sinister. For a moment I could imagine I was dreaming. He stood clearly outlined against the background of the forest, and he looked enormous. The great striped roundness of him was like a barrel. Then he moved, and seemed to flow along the ground, nearer and nearer.
He stopped, and looked up at our bush. I could hardly breathe. If he should take alarm! He stared with a threatening look; then, as if satisfied, he turned his head toward the dead buffalo and walked over toward it.
远处，犹如黑墙一般的阴影深处突然一闪，那金黄和黑色在丛林绿色背景的映衬之下显得格外耀眼——老虎走出了丛林。
在我之前的生命中，我还从未见过这种情景。我见过大象漫步在月光之下，狮子游走在黎明之中，猩猩在灿烂的午后嬉戏，但还从未见过老虎走出丛林掩映时美丽而壮观的情景。它凶猛高傲，不可一世。一时间，我觉得自己是在做梦。它就站立在森林前，四肢分明，看起来十分庞大，身上环形的斑纹使它看起来像一支枪管。接着，它开始移动，就好像潮水流动一般，贴着地面一下子涌了上来，离猎物越来越近。
它突然停了下来，看着我们所在的灌木丛。我几乎不能呼吸了。它发现了吗？只见它用一种威胁的目光盯着这边。不过，它似乎很满意，随即把头转向了那头死牛，并且朝着那个方向走去。
 
 
Then I dared let the leaf go back into place while I turned to Herbert behind me. My lips formed, “Tiger here,” and over Herbert’s face came a look of deepest pity. “Poor girl,” he thought, “she has dreamed tigers and she has looked for tigers—and now she thinks she is seeing them!”
Then his face changed. He rose, and I moved to his side as he stepped forward to his place. Noiselessly we lifted the leaves over our peepholes and raised our guns to fill the opening. My eyes raced down the barrel of my rifle in frantic fear lest the tiger be gone.
The tiger was there, to the right of the buffalo, a picture of savage life and death. So he must have stood many times over his kills, cautious, yet bold in his great strength, lording it over all the jungle and inspiring terror in every living thing.
于是，我壮着胆子把叶子放回原处，并转过身，看着坐在我后面的赫伯特。我嘴唇动了动，对他说：“老虎来了。” 不料，换来的却是赫伯特一脸深深的同情。 “可怜的女孩，”他一定是在想，“成天梦着老虎，寻找老虎，现在居然觉得自己看到了老虎！”
接着，他的脸色变了。他站了起来，回到了自己的位置，我也走到他身边。我们悄无声息地取下覆盖在窥视孔上的树叶，将枪口对准了那块空地。我的眼睛迅速扫过步枪的枪管，生怕老虎会消失。
而老虎就在那里，正好停在水牛的跟前，俨然一幅野兽生死相博的景象。它已经很多次这样站在战利品前，正是因为它有强大的力量，因此它才成为森林中的王者，能使每一个活物都感到害怕。
 
 
I dared not extend my gun as I wished; I leveled it as best I could, stepping backwards, and aimed at the head for the brain-shot I had been told was the best. “Ready?” I breathed; then, before Herbert’s signal came back, the tiger began to move his head from side to side, looking up at us.
 
我不敢按我所想的那样，伸出枪口。我鼓足勇气，往后退了几步，然后举起步枪，瞄准了它的头部，因为有人告诉我头部是最佳的位置。“准备好了吗？”我深吸一口气说道。这时，还没有等赫伯特发出信号，老虎突然转过头，看着我们。
 
 
I had been told to wait till he began to eat, when I would have a chance for a clear aim, but I dared not wait. I shifted my aim hastily from the brain to a black stripe across the backbone at the top of the shoulder. I never felt so cold and tense in my life.
“Ready,” breathed Herbert. I was to fire at any time now, and he was to follow with his big gun in case mine had missed. He was giving me the shot, but we weren’t going to lose that tiger if we could help it.
I fired on the instant, and the roar of his gun followed mine. Then the roar of the tiger drowned them both.
 
之前，有人告诉我，得等到老虎开始吃东西的时候，我们才有机会获得一个清晰的射击目标，但是我真的不敢再等了。我迅速把瞄准点从它的头部移到肩胛最高处脊椎骨上的一条黑色斑纹。我还从来没有如此紧张过。
赫伯特也深吸了一口气，回答道：“准备好了。”现在我准备随时开枪，他也一切准备就绪，要是我没有打中，他便会补上一枪。他想让我试试，但如果可以的话，我们都不想错过这只老虎。
我立刻开了枪，赫伯特也跟着开了枪。接着，老虎的吼声淹没了这两声枪击。
 
 
I tore out around the corner of the blind where I could see in the open, and Herbert plunged after me. The tiger was down; we could not see him in the deep grass, but his snarling roars told us he was out there.
“He’s down!” We said, and then, “He’s gone!” for now we had a clearer outlook and saw that he was gone from beside the buffalo. The snarls were going away.
THE END OF A TERRIBLE KILLER
Now we had been warned not to follow a wounded tiger, but to wait a few hours and then track him. It was good advice, but this was a case not for advice but for action. It was darkening each instant, and there was no time to waste.
 
我绕到隐蔽点一个能够看到空地的角落，赫伯特也冲了过来。老虎倒下了。我们看不到它倒在了哪一片草丛中，但它的咆哮声告诉我们它就在那里。
“它倒下了。”我们说道。但接着，我们又说：“它走了！”因为现在我们能看到更加清晰的全景，发现它已经不在水牛的旁边。吼声也随之渐行渐远。
 
可怕杀手的终结
有人曾经警告过我们，不要马上尾随一只受伤的老虎，而是应该等上几个小时再去追踪。这确实是个良策，但此时，我们需要的是行动，不是建议。建议会使每一秒都消磨殆尽，而我们已没有时间可以浪费了。
 
 
So down we went through that long grass, step by step, watching each side for there might be a tigress anywhere. We came to the buffalo and followed the flattened grass trail leading back into the jungle. It was dim in there, but there was light enough to see. The tiger was lying stretched out, about fifty yards from the buffalo. As we came up, he roared with fury, dying as he was. Every night of his life he had fed on some defenseless creature, and now a sudden, sharp blow had struck him down. He had been terrible in life, and he was terrible in death.
于是，我们沿着那条长长的草丛路走了很久，每迈出一步都会小心地观察草丛的两边，因为任何地方都有可能藏匿着一只雌虎。我们来到水牛旁并沿着压平的草丛小径进入了丛林。这儿很暗，不过，光线也能让人看清周围。那只老虎伸直身子躺在那里，离水牛大约有50码。虽然已经奄奄一息，但当我们走近的时候，它还是发出了愤怒的低吼。之前，它每晚都要捕食一些弱小的动物；而今，一次猛烈的突袭让它彻底倒下了。活着的时候，它令人畏惧；直至生命的尽头，它依然让人胆战。
 
 
With guns ready, we stood watching that last moment of his life, keeping ourselves on guard for the possible tigress. The native tracker had heard the shooting from the top of the ravine where he had come out to wait for us, and now he and his men came stealing in to us, the tracker with his own gun alert, for he, too, feared a tigress. When they were quite sure the tiger was dead, they all took hold of that great barrel of a body and staggered with it into the open. It was all the eight men could do to carry it.
He was a huge beast, big and fat, with a gorgeous skin. One shoulder, the left, was smashed from Herbert’s bullet. But my shot had gone to its mark, straight through the black stripe into the backbone. That tiger was a dead tiger the instant he fell, yet such was his dying strength that he had pushed himself fifty yards downhill into the jungle.
 
我们举起枪，站在那里，凝望着这只老虎耗尽了生命的最后一刻，同时也提防着可能躲藏在任何地方的雌虎。当地的追踪者从山涧上方听到枪声，他本已经出来在那里等我们，不过现在他和他的人尾随着我们，子弹也上了膛，显然他对雌虎也有所畏惧。确认那只老虎死亡之后，他们抬起它巨大而沉重的尸体，摇摇晃晃地走进了林中的空地。八个人一起才抬得动。
它是一头巨型野兽，又大又肥，有一身华丽的皮毛。左侧肩部被赫伯特的子弹击碎，我射的子弹没入了它的身体，径自穿过它身上的黑色纹路，射进了背骨之中。那只虎在倒地的瞬间就完了，尽管如此，它还是拖着身体走下坡进入50码之外的树丛，才耗尽了所有的力气，在它倒地的瞬间死去。
 
 
Quickly now and loudly we counted the whiskers and tied them with grass to protect them from the natives. For tiger whiskers are the most useful sort of magic—just one of them ground up and slipped into the food of a neighbor is considered a strong enough charm to kill him. From the anxious way in which the natives stayed about the tiger’s head we imagined that there were several unpopular neighbors in the village that they wished to work upon.
The size of that tiger gave us a thrill. We had grown so hopeless that we would have been thankful for any tiger, and here was a great killer in the strength of his powers, second, we found out later, to the record for height.
The natives were as excited as we were. A tiger, the overlord of the jungle, the enemy of everything with life, had been killed. Chanting and
 
此时我们大声地数着它的胡须，用草把它们绑在一起，免得伤着土著村民，因为虎的胡须是巫术中最有用的部分——据说只需将一点点碾碎的粉末投进邻居的食物，就足以成为一道致命的符咒。土著人对虎的头颅表现出极大的渴望，由此我们想到，他们有意要在村子里一些不受欢迎的邻居身上尝试一下这种巫术。
这只虎的体积让我们兴奋不已。之前，我们还比较绝望，对捕到老虎不抱什么希望，然而现在躺在这儿的是如此强大的杀手，强者中的强者。后来我们发现，就个头而言，这只老虎在我们所捕猎的老虎中可以排到第二位。
土著村民和我们一样激动。一只虎，丛林之王，一切生灵的死敌，已经被除掉了。
 
 
singing, they carried the tiger, slung to a pole, back to the camp. Night had now fallen, and we carried a light. We could see its reflection shining in the eyes of staring deer. Then, as they caught the scent of their dead enemy—or us—they would snort and fly.
Down before the tents the natives put the tiger; so livelooking was his pose that he seemed alive. There were wild doings of triumph about the natives’ fire that night, but there was great peace about ours.
All through the night I kept waking. The moon stood high overhead, its light white as snow upon the still earth. The shadows of the pines were like little pools of ink about the base of each tree. In the clear moonlight the great tiger lay brilliant in gold and black beauty, proud and perfect in his death as when he had stalked over those plains in life to seek his quivering prey.
 
人们高歌欢唱，将虎尸抛向高空再看着它落回地面。夜幕降临，我们点起火把。我们可以从目不转睛的鹿儿眼中看到闪烁的火光。随后，它们闻到了死去的天敌的味道——或者是我们的味道，打了几个响鼻，飞快地跑开了。
土著村民把老虎放在帐篷前，老虎一副不可一世的样子，仿佛还活着一般。那一晚，村民们围绕着篝火举行了很多庆祝活动，但我们内心平静如水。
那一晚，我彻夜未眠。明月当空，皎洁的月色如白雪般覆盖着寂静的土地。松枝的阴影像染上墨汁的细小水洼积在树枝底部。在清澈的月光中，那只巨大的虎静静地躺着，金色和黑色相间的花纹如此美丽。它的死亡如此骄傲、如此完美，正如它生前昂首阔步，俯视这片土地，寻找颤抖着的猎物。
 
 
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
1. Give one reason why you think Martin Johnson would not have called tigers good citizens of the jungle.
2. Find a short sentence on page 28 that best tells how the Bradleys felt at the thought of facing a tiger.
3. On page 30 the author calls the tiger a “stealthy beast.” Make a list of four other words or groups of words by which she makes us understand what this animal is like.
4. Here is a list of phrases that the author used to help us see what she saw and feel as she felt. In one column write the phrases that help us see. In another, write those that help us feel.
 
 
注释与问题
1．为什么马丁.约翰逊不认为老虎是丛林的良善之民呢？请给出一条你认为合理的理由。
2．在第28页上，找出最能表达布莱德利夫妇在面对老虎时所产生的想法的句子。
3．作者在第30页称老虎是“stealthy beast”（潜伏的野兽）。文中还有其他描绘虎的语言可以使我们更好地理解这种动物，请列举出另外的四个单词或短语。
4．下面列举了作者使用过的一系列短语，它们能让我们更清楚地了解作者的所见所感。将表现直观视觉的短语列成一列，再将描写感受的短语列成另外一列。
 
 
could hardly breathe          dim underground vault
appeared like a ghost          straining eyes
heat poured                  blotting darkness
gleam of gold                green wall of the jungle
blood throbbed               nerves Were tense
glistening, beaded drops        wall of shadows
clearly outlined                frantic fear
so cold and tense              reflection shining
like little pools of ink           great peace
5. What short paragraph describes the moment of greatest excitement in the story? Give the page number and the first four words.
6. What did the natives believe about the tiger that shows how deadly they considered him to be?
could hardly breathe          dim underground vault
appeared like a ghost          straining eyes
heat poured                  blotting darkness
gleam of gold                green wall of the jungle
blood throbbed               nerves Were tense
glistening, beaded drops        wall of shadows
clearly outlined                frantic fear
so cold and tense              reflection shining
like little pools of ink           great peace
5．故事中哪一小段描绘了最为刺激的时刻？请给出页数及开头的四个词语。
6．关于虎，当地土著人的哪些信仰表明他们认为虎是危险的动物。
 
 
7. For each word in the first list choose a word or words from the second list that mean the same. Write the pairs together.
(1) sinister, intently, tense, vivid, stealthy, cropping, prowl.
(2) strained, search cautiously, quiet and cautious, eating grass, earnestly, evil, brilliant.
 
7．从（2）中选出与（1）中意思相同的词语或短语，并将原词和你选出的词写在一起。
（1）sinister, intently, tense, vivid, stealthy, cropping, prowl.
（2）strained, search cautiously, quiet and cautious, eating grass, earnestly, evil, brilliant.
 

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。

小学六年级的孩子即将进入初中阶段的学习，他们在各方面的知识和经验都有了一定的积累，他们具有一定的探索精神，思考问题的能力明显增强。因此，本册给他们的故事一方面满足了他们的好奇心，引导他们更深入地思考问题；另一方面有利于巩固和加强他们的阅读兴趣与阅读习惯。
本级共有8 个主题单元，分为Ａ、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。

PART ONE THE OUTDOOR WORLD
第一部分 户外世界............................................................................. 1
 
Woodland Whispers
林之细语.................................................................................................. 2
The Book of Nature Never Disappoints
自然之书永不让人失望............................................................................... 3
 
HUNTING ELEPHANTS WITH A CAMERA
摄像机猎象记............................................................................................ 6
TIGER, TERROR OF THE JUNGLE
老虎，丛林恐怖之王.................................................................................. 27
CARL AKELEY BRINGS JUNGLELAND TO
AMERICA
卡尔. 埃克利将丛林带到美国...................................................................... 49
THE CARDINAL BIRD
红雀........................................................................................................ 73
THE FAMILY OF BOB-WHITE
山齿鹑一家............................................................................................... 75
BIRD-NESTING IN WINTER
冬季的鸟巢............................................................................................... 94
STARTING A WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
野生动物禁猎区的始建............................................................................... 98
THE FLOWERS
那些花儿................................................................................................ 111
THE DANDELIONS
蒲公英................................................................................................... 112
YELLOW LILIES: THE GOLD OF RAINBOW
SLOUGH
黄百合：金灿灿的彩虹谷.......................................................................... 114
PLANTING THE TREE
植树...................................................................................................... 129
SPRING PROPHECIES
春之预言................................................................................................ 131
MARCH
三月...................................................................................................... 133
 
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 135
 
 
PART TWO AIRWAYS AND ROADWAYS
第二部分 空路和陆路......................................................................137
 
The World Is Full of Roads
世界到处都有路...................................................................................... 138
“The Mail Must Go Through”
“邮件必须送达”..................................................................................... 139
 
FROM INDIAN TRAIL TO AIR MAIL
从印第安铁路到航空邮寄.......................................................................... 142
WEST WIND: THE YANKEE CLIPPER SHIP
扬基快艇：西风号................................................................................... 159
THE GLINT OF WINGS
翼之光................................................................................................... 188
HOW POTTS SAVED THE NIGHT EXPRESS
波茨如何拯救了那辆夜行列车................................................................... 216
 
A Backward Look
内容回顾............................................................................................ 233
 
 
PART THREE
STORIES THAT NEVER GROW OLD
第三部分 永远不过时的故事.......................................................... 235
 
My Book Treasures
我的书中珍宝.......................................................................................... 236
Stories Do Many Things for Us
故事对我们很有帮助................................................................................ 237
 
PANDORA'S BOX
潘多拉的盒子.......................................................................................... 240
THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER; OR,
THE BLACK BROTHERS
金河王或黑心兄弟的故事.......................................................................... 280
ABOU BEN ADHEM
阿布. 本. 阿德汗.................................................................................... 347
TOM AND HIS TREASURE CHEST
汤姆和他的宝箱...................................................................................... 349
 
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 396
 
 
PART FOUR YOUNG AMERICAN CITIZENS
第四部分 年轻的美国公民............................................................ 399
 
True Citizens
真正的公民............................................................................................. 400
You Have Citizenship Duties
履行公民的义务...................................................................................... 401
 
YOUTHFUL PATRIOTS OF COLONIAL TIMES
殖民时期的年轻爱国者............................................................................. 403
YOUNG GEORGE WASHINGTON
少年时代的乔治. 华盛顿.......................................................................... 423
ABRAHAM LINCOLN GROWS UP
亚伯拉罕. 林肯成长记............................................................................. 438
A LITTLE SONG OF LIFE
一首生活的小曲...................................................................................... 452
TO TOIL AND BE KIND
辛勤和仁慈............................................................................................. 453
IF LOVE WERE MINE
如果爱属于我.......................................................................................... 454
MARION ANDREWS, LIFE SAVER
救生员玛丽恩. 安德鲁斯.......................................................................... 456
THE WILL TO WIN
胜利的信念............................................................................................. 474
OUR COUNTRY—AMERICA
我们的国家——美利坚............................................................................. 500
 
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 502
 
GLOSSARY
难词表................................................................................................... 504