PART FIVE
第五部分
BOYS AND GIRLS OF OTHER LANDS
异乡的男孩女孩
 
 
The Sea That Comes to Meet My Hand
ANNETTE WYNNE
 
The sea that comes to meet my hand
Is rolling on some foreign land;
And some small child in that far place
Is looking out to see my face.
 
海，触手可及的海
安妮塔·薇恩
海，触手可及的海，
在异乡的土地上卷起来千层浪；
远方的孩子们啊，
正期盼见到我的面庞。
 
 
All Nations Are Neighbors
Our neighbors are those who live near us. Generally we know them best; often they are our closest friends. Have you ever stopped to think that slowly but surely all the people of the world are coming to be neighbors? Swift airplanes and trains, giant steamships, the radio and the telegraph are bringing the nations of the world closer and closer together.
The people of Japan suffer death and destruction from a terrible earthquake. In a few hours the whole world knows about it, and nations rush to the rescue with food, money, and messages of sympathy.
 
所有的国家都是邻居
邻居就是住得离我们很近的人。我们对他们最了解。你有没有想过世界上所有的人也会渐渐地成为邻居？迅捷的飞机、火车、轮船、广播和电报正让世界各国的人们变得越来越亲密。
一场地震给日本人民带来了死亡和毁灭。但不到几个小时，消息传遍了全世界。于是，各个国家都伸出援手，向日本提供食物、资金和问候。
 
 
Boy Scouts from all over the world meet in a great “jamboree,” and James Brown from America finds that Ivor Stannik from Poland, Giacomo Spadoni from Italy, and Ole Sjostrand from Sweden are much like himself and the boys he knows at home.
In times of long ago, before the news of the world could travel so swiftly and people could journey great distances so easily, every stranger was an enemy. Tribes and nations were almost always at war. But now we live so close together that we must be friends if this is to be a happy world. We must understand and respect the people of other nations. When you read about people of foreign lands, notice that they have qualities that make you want to be friends with them. You may find some of them much like yourself.
来自世界各地的男孩童子军聚在一起参加少年团体大会。美国的詹姆斯.布朗发现来自波兰的艾弗.斯坦尼克、意大利的吉柯姆.斯帕德尼、瑞典的欧乐.斯特兰德和他自己以及家乡的小伙伴没什么两样。
很久以前，在新闻还不能快速传遍世界、人们还不易长途跋涉的岁月里，陌生人都被当成了敌人。部落之间，国家之间，处处都是战争。但是现在我们却如此紧密地生活在一起，因此要想建设一个快乐的世界，我们必须成为朋友，我们必须了解和尊重异国的朋友。当你阅读到异域人文的时候，请注意他们也有吸引你并让你愿意与他们交朋友的特质。你可能发现他们和你很相像。
 
 
In the stories you are now to read, you will visit some young citizens of other countries. Think of them as distant but friendly neighbors.
接下来的故事中，你会去拜访几位异国的年轻朋友。把他们想象成遥远而又友好的邻居吧。
 
 
THE SPANISH BOOTBLACK
CAROLINE MABRY
When you studied the history of America, you read a great deal about Spain and the Spaniards. You remember those great explorers—De Soto, de Leon, and Coronado. Perhaps you remember also that when we won our freedom, Spain owned nearly all the land from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Even today there are thousands of Spanish-speaking people in our country.
The story you will now read tells something of life in Spain today. In the company of Pepin, the bootblack, you will travel to Seville and Granada, two of the most famous cities in the world.
 
西班牙鞋童
卡罗琳·麦宝瑞
如果你研究美国史的话，你会读到很多关于西班牙以及西班牙人的材料。你会记起那些伟大的开拓者——迪索托、德里昂和科罗拉多。也许你还记得当我们美国刚独立的时候，西班牙拥有着从密西西比河到太平洋几乎全部的领土。而直至今日，美国还有着成千上万说西班牙语的人。
你现在读的这个故事是有关西班牙当下生活的。鞋童裴平将会带着你游览西班牙最著名的两大城市：塞维利亚和格拉纳达。
 
NO WORK IN RONDA
Pepin was a bootblack in Spain. He lived in Ronda near the great bridge which stretches across a chasm so deep that on one side four hundred steps are carved in the rock leading down to the valley. They are old steps, cut in an early day when the Romans had besieged Ronda, and they were made so that the water carriers could slip down them secretly and bring water from the stream to the thirsty town. Now Ronda lay peacefully in the sunshine, and boys played on the steps, hiding in the caves along the way.
Pepin, usually the jolliest of them all, had not joined the boys today. His heart was heavy. He stood leaning over the high bridge looking out across the valley where the river turned the wheels of the grist mills. In his pocket was only one “little dog,” which is a small coin with a lion
 
隆达镇无事可做的鞋童
裴平是西班牙的一名擦鞋童。他住的隆达镇坐落在一座大桥的附近。这座大桥横跨峡谷，峡谷很深，其中一边的岩石上凿了四百级台阶通往谷底。石阶十分古旧，那还是当年罗马人包围隆达时镇里为方便运水人秘密从山谷下取水而凿的。眼下，隆达镇正静静地沐浴在阳光里，男孩们要么在石阶上玩耍，要么躲进沿途的石洞里嬉戏。
往常最欢快的裴平这次却没有和其他孩子们在一起。他的心情很沉重，他倚在大桥边，眺望着峡谷，看着靠溪流推动磨坊的水车。他的口袋里只有一枚“小狗”币
 
 
on it. It was the last one Pepin had, for there had not been many boots to black lately in Ronda. They needed blacking just as they had before, for the paths of Spain are dusty and rough with pebbles. But the crops had not been good this summer, and everyone was poor—too poor even to pay Pepin a few pennies to shine dusty shoes.
 
了。事实上，这是一枚印着一只狮子的硬币，也是裴平仅有的一枚硬币了，因为最近隆达镇实在没有多少擦鞋的生意。西班牙的路大多铺着粗糙的鹅卵石，而且灰尘很大，人们都需要擦鞋。但是今年的庄稼收成不好，每个人都很穷，穷得连几个擦鞋的子儿都付不起了。
8
He stood now with his work box set on the railing of the bridge, begging the passers-by to let him polish their shoes. But they shook their heads, and with a kind word went on their way. Up the steep road that led from the valley, Pepin could see his older brother coming from the grist mill where he worked. With lagging steps, Pepin went to meet him. As they stopped at the door of their house right at the edge of the bluff, Pepin sighed.
“Why are you so sad today?” his brother asked kindly.
“No work. I ask and ask, and there’s nothing to do,” Pepin answered. “If I could only go to some other town, to one of the cities, where there are more people and where they aren’t so poor!”
“Why can’t you?” his brother asked.
 
现在他就站在那里，擦鞋的工具箱就摆在桥的栏杆上。他祈求着每一个过往的人来擦鞋。路人们要么摇摇头，要么婉言谢绝。沿着峡谷陡峭的山路望去，裴平看见他的哥哥正从工作所在的谷坊走来。于是，他拖着蹒跚的步子，迎了上去。在断崖处的房门口相遇后，裴平叹了一口气。
“今天怎么这么难过啊？”哥哥和蔼地问道。
“没生意。我不停地问，可还是没人擦鞋，”裴平回答道，“要是能去外地，到城市里去该多好啊！那儿会有很多有钱人！”
“那为什么不去呢？”哥哥反问道。
 
 
“No money, only one little dog, and it wouldn’t take me far on the train, hardly to the next station.”
“Pepin, could you go if I’d loan you my donkey?” his brother asked.
“Yes, but how would you get back and forth to the mill?”
“I’ll walk,” his brother offered.
 
THE WONDERS OF GRANADA
A few days later Pepin set out toward the mountains, on the donkey. His mother had filled one of his saddle bags with food enough to last until he could earn more money, and in the other bag he carried an old quilt to cover him when he slept along the road at night. Behind him was strapped his boot-blacking box, ready for any work he might pick up along the way.
 
“没钱，就剩一个子儿了，不够坐火车，一站都不够坐。”
“如果我把我的驴子借给你，你能去吗？”
“能的，但你怎么去磨坊呢？”
“我走路。”哥哥答道。
格拉纳达的奇迹
几天之后，裴平骑着小毛驴向大山进发了。他妈妈将他鞍囊的一只挂包里塞满了食物，足够他支撑到挣到钱的时候了。另一个挂包里是一床旧被子，以便他路上在夜晚露宿时用。裴平将他的擦鞋箱背在身后，路上有生意的话，随时都可以用。
 
 
For several days Pepin rode steadily westward through the mountain passes toward Granada. He was sure he could get work there; it was a larger city than Ronda, and many travelers came to see its fine old palace, the Alhambra. Snow covered peaks rose high above Pepin’s head, as the donkey with sure feet made its way over the stony paths. At last they came to Granada.
On a hill above the town, Pepin could see the palace walls. As he rode toward them, he stopped before a shop with embroidered shawls and brass candlesticks in the window. A man was coming out of the door, followed by two ladies, and from their talk Pepin knew that they were Americans, for he had heard other Americans talking, who had come to see the bridge in Ronda. In soft Spanish words Pepin asked to black their shoes. They did not understand what he said, but they saw his box and knew its meaning.
 
裴平骑着小毛驴一连几天稳稳当当地穿过西面山峦，走向了格拉纳达。他确信在那里有活干。格拉纳达可是个大城市，许多旅行者都慕名去参观那古老而别致的阿尔罕布拉宫殿。小毛驴嗒嗒地踏着石头路，穿行在高耸的冰雪覆盖的山峰中。最后，他们来到了格拉纳达。
裴平伫立在城镇不远的一座山上，望见了宫殿的墙。他继续向宫殿方向行进，在一个卖刺绣丝巾和铜烛台的商店前停了下来。这时一名男子走了出来，后面跟着两名女子。从他们的口音，裴平判断出他们是美国人，因为之前在大桥的时候，他曾听过美国人说话。裴平用轻柔的西班牙语询问他们是否要擦鞋。他们听不懂，但是从裴平的工具箱猜出了裴平的意思。
 
 
“Here’s a bootblack wanting a job,” the man said, turning to the others. “We may as well stop for a shine.”
Pepin tried to catch the word he had used, but he couldn’t quite say it. Still, he tried as he rubbed the dust from the man’s shoes.
“Bo——ot,” was as far as Pepin could go.
“Bootblack,” the man repeated.
“Bootblack,” Pepin said, his brushes flying.
He said it over and over again, for if he knew a word familiar to Americans, it would be easier to persuade them to let him shine their shoes. With the pennies from his work jingling in his pocket, Pepin rode up the hill and through the gate that leads to the mountain on which the palace stands. Trees arched over his head, and streams trickled down the hill, making soft music. It was easy to find the road, for many were going toward the Alhambra. As he came to the
 
“这儿有个鞋童想做活，”男子对另外两个人说道，“要不我们擦个鞋吧。”
裴平试着学男子说话，可是却说不好。尽管如此，他还是一面去擦男子鞋上的灰，一面费力地复述男子的词句。
“鞋——子。”裴平只能说成这样了。
“擦鞋子。”男子重复道。
“擦鞋子。”裴平跟着说了一遍，刷子在鞋上刷得飞快。他反复重复着这个单词，因为学会这个英语单词，更方便他招揽生意。裴平揣着赚得的几便士，穿过宫殿所在的山门，骑着毛驴上了山。一路上，树木缠绕，枝叶遮顶，潺潺的溪水吟唱着欢快的歌曲。山路不难寻觅，因为很多人来这参观。不久，
 
 
outer wall, Pepin found a place to tie his donkey. He passed under the Gate of Justice, with its hand carved in stone, and mounted a flight of steps.
He faced a garden with a fountain playing in it. There were travelers resting on the stone benches. He polished some of their shoes. He saw people coming and going through the door that led into the palace, and he joined them. But there he found that he would have to pay to enter. He was out of food now, and he needed to save his money. Through the palace door he could see a long hall leading to an archway shaped like a horse shoe, and the walls gleamed with tiles of many colors. He wanted to enter, but he turned away. Some other time perhaps.
 
裴平来到了宫殿的外墙，找了个地方拴住驴子。随后，他穿过了石刻的正义之门，爬上了台阶。
随即展现在他面前的是一座带有喷泉的花园。有些旅行者正坐在石椅上休息。给他们擦完鞋之后，他看见了进进出出的人群，于是也加入了进去。不过发现想进殿门要交钱，但现在自己食物也已经吃完，得把钱攒下来才行。殿门朝里是一条通向马蹄形拱门的长廊。廊壁镶着五彩斑斓的瓦片。他很想进去看一看，不过最终还是放弃了。兴许以后还有机会。
 
 
Pepin found a cottage near by facing an olive grove, and the owner of the cottage would let him stay there for a few cents a day. And so Pepin made it his home while he was in the city. It was a three-room plaster house, and his room opened on a balcony that looked over the town of Granada, far below. In the hillside between him and the town there were gypsy caves, and at evening the gypsies came out to dance. Graygreen olive trees stretched beyond the house, and flowers bloomed under his balcony. To the left he could see snow covered mountains, and he often watched the sunset turn them to pink and gold.
 
裴平找了间面朝一片橄榄树林的房子住了下来。房东只收他一天几分钱的房租。就这样，裴平把这里当作自己在城里的家。这是一座三间房的灰泥房，他的房间带着阳台，在阳台上可以俯眺格拉纳达城。城镇与住所之间的山坡上是吉卜赛山洞。每到晚上，吉卜赛人便从山洞出来载歌载舞。房子周围满是大片的橄榄树，阳台下花团锦簇。往左望去，是冰雪覆盖的山峦。裴平喜欢欣赏日落，看着夕阳将雪山染成粉色和金色。
 
 
Every day he went to the palace gate to polish shoes. His pennies were growing, for the Americans liked the little bootblack who could ask for work in their own language. And then the day came when he felt he could spare the money to pay for a ticket at the palace door. Pepin had never seen anything so wonderful. Fountains splashed in the courtyards, and the walls gleamed with little tiles set with jewels. Their plaster was covered with delicate designs so that every inch of them was beautiful.
 
裴平每天都会来到宫殿门口擦鞋。他挣的钱越来越多，因为美国人喜欢这个操着英语揽生意的小鞋童。终于有一天，裴平觉得自己可以买一张去宫殿的门票了。在那里，他见到了从未见过的神奇美景。院子里喷泉溅涌，墙壁上珠宝夺目。每一寸的墙面都精致地布满了各种漂亮的装饰。
 
 
Pepin wandered from room to room, stopping beside the pools to look up at the latticed windows, from which princesses had peeped when the Moorish kings lived here. He found the Court of Lions, where twelve stone lions guard the fountain. They are very old, and have guarded it for many, many years. He looked through arched windows into the courtyards. Pepin’s heart was filled with beauty.
 
裴平徘徊在不同屋子之间，随后驻足在水池旁，目光停在了上方的一扇格子窗上。摩尔王时期，公主们就是通过这个窗户向外窥望的。他还参观了狮院，那儿有12座石狮看护着喷泉。这些古老的石狮子在这里守护了很多很多年。裴平透过拱窗向院内望去，那里的美景让他感到窒息。
 
 
PROSPEROUS DAYS IN GAY SEVILLE
But less happy days followed. The crowds who came to see the palace had grown very small. There was less work to do, and when Pepin asked the reason, he was told that all the world was going to Seville for Holy Week. There the streets would be crowded with people. Well, then, he must go to Seville. It was a long journey, but Pepin mounted the donkey and urged it on so that he would not be late. For a number of days the road led through mountain passes and valleys; then finally it made its way down to the low, broad plain of the Guadalquivir River, on whose banks the city of Seville is situated.
 
塞维利亚的富裕日子
接下来的日子就没那么如意了。参观宫殿的游客越来越少，裴平没什么生意可做了。一打听，才知道原来人们都去了塞维利亚参加圣周祭祀。那里已经人山人海了。好吧，那么裴平一定要去！塞维利亚路途遥远，不过裴平还是跨上驴背，匆忙赶过去，生怕错过了生意。他骑着毛驴，穿山越岭，几天之后终于踏上了平坦而宽阔的瓜达尔基维尔河平原。塞维利亚就坐落在河畔。
 
 
When he reached Seville, it was crowded with more people than Pepin had imagined there were in the world. All day long through the streets parades of masked men were coming and going. They followed floats on which some figures of the Virgin Mary were carried.
The figures wore rich velvet robes embroidered in jewels, and they were borne on the shoulders of many men. Beside them ran boys like Pepin, carrying goat skins of water to quench the thirst of those who marched.
Pepin was so interested in the crowd that he followed all the way to the cathedral. Inside, the shadows were lighted by hundreds of candles. Boys wearing red robes trimmed with lace were marching and singing. Others were ringing bells that hung above the choir. The organ pealed, and its rich music was mingled with the voices of the singers.
 
塞维利亚的人比裴平想象的要多得多。大街上穿梭着各种戴着面具的游行人群，他们跟在放着许多圣母玛利亚像的花车后面。
玛利亚神像身着镶有珠宝的天鹅绒长袍。很多人将它们扛在肩，走在街道上。旁边跟着很多像裴平一样大的男孩，他们手持山羊皮水囊，方便游行人群解渴。
裴平对游行的队伍非常感兴趣，于是他索性一路跟着来到教堂，并走了进去。教堂被百余支蜡烛照得通亮，身着蕾丝镶边红袍的男孩们边走边唱，另一些男孩则击打着悬于唱诗班上方的钟。风琴奏起，和着他们的吟唱。
 
 
Pepin stood near the tomb of Columbus, who had discovered the land from which Pepin had learned the word “bootblack.” Four statues of trumpeters bore the tomb of Columbus on their shoulders, and one of their long trumpets stretched above Pepin’s head. A black veil was drawn over the gilded altar, but as the choir boys went toward it singing the veil parted. Pepin looked on with wondering eyes.
As the crowds came and went, he strolled with them past the bell tower—the tallest in all the world. In its belfry chimes were ringing, and all of Seville was glad and joyous. Pepin wandered through a garden where roses climbed the hedges around him and peacocks spread their tails before a fountain. There was so much to see that it was hard to stop and work, but remembering the box hanging from his shoulder, Pepin turned back to the crowded streets.
 
裴平站在哥伦布的墓前。正是这位英雄发现了新大陆，而裴平的“擦鞋”一词就是跟新大陆的人学的。哥伦布的棺木被4位号手雕像扛在肩上，其中一位所持的长号甚至高过了裴平的头顶。镀金祭坛的上方悬着一方黑纱，当唱诗孩童朝它走去的时候，黑纱便会分开。裴平眼睛都看直了。
随着人群的进进出出，裴平经过了钟塔——那可是世界上最高的钟塔。钟楼里飘出报时的钟鸣，整个塞维利亚城都沉浸在欢乐喜悦之中。走着走着，裴平进入了一个布满玫瑰的花园，花园里的孔雀在喷泉前炫耀着美丽的尾巴。这里的美景目不暇接，他哪里还顾得上擦鞋！但是转念一想到背在身后的鞋箱，裴平不得不转身返回热闹的街市中。
 
 
He came to the Street of the Serpents, so narrow that only foot passengers were allowed within it, and yet it is the main shopping street of Seville; Pepin knew that he would find work here. He took up his stand near the post box, where letters were dropped through the mouth of a carved lion. And now Pepin was busy cleaning shoes. He rubbed and polished, and his pockets jingled with pennies.
 
他来到了大蛇街，这里街道异常狭小，只够路人步行过去，然而这里却是塞维利亚主要的商业区。裴平知道自己一定能在这儿找到活儿干。他在一个邮筒旁支起了摊，这个石狮状的邮筒张开大嘴，将每封投递的信吞进了肚子里。这会儿，裴平不停地刷鞋，忙得不亦乐乎。刷啊刷啊，钱袋也随之鼓了起来。
 
 
Easter passed, but the crowds still lingered in Seville, for now it was time for the fair. The streets were hung with flowers and colored lights. Booths had been built along the way, where friends greeted friends. There were dancing and singing. There were merry-go-rounds and slides for the children. Every one was happy, and shoes must be polished neatly so as not to shame the gay shawls and lace head dresses which the Spanish girls wore so prettily. Pepin worked and played and worked some more.
When the fair was over, he had earned enough money to last him through the summer. He hid the money in his saddle bag, and remounted the donkey. Then he turned its head toward Ronda, and began his long journey, for he must take the donkey back to his brother who had been walking to the grist mill so that Pepin could ride.
 
复活节过去了，可是游客们依然流连忘返于塞维利亚的街道，因为现在是赶庙会的日子。街道上张灯结彩，沿街搭建起一个个的小房间以方便人们在那里访亲会友。街上载歌载舞，有的还专门为孩子们准备了旋转木马和滑梯。每个人都沉醉于欢乐中，这个当口，鞋子是必须要打理的，否则就要和西班牙姑娘们鲜艳的披巾和蕾丝的头巾相形见绌了。裴平一边工作，一边享受着眼前的一切，工作也更加有力了。
等到集会结束的时候，裴平也赚足了钱。这笔钱足以支撑他过完整个夏天了。他将钱藏在挂包里，骑上毛驴，朝着隆达，又开始了漫长的返程，因为他还要把毛驴还给为了让裴平有坐骑可乘而自己每天踩着石子路去磨坊的哥哥。
 
 
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
1. From what is said on page 7, how would you know that Ronda is a very old town?
2. On what do most of the people in and around Ronda depend for a living?
3. If you went to Ronda, what two things would you want to see?
4. Through what kind of country did Pepin travel on his journey to Granada?
5. Write the words “Seville” and “Granada,” and under each write from the list below the things Pepin saw in that city.
Alhambra     fountain with stone lions
tomb of Columbus     a great cathedral
 
注释与问题
1．根据第7页的内容，你是如何知道隆达是一个古老的小镇的？
2．隆达以及附近的居民大多以什么为生？
3．如果你去隆达，最想看的两样东西是什么？
4．裴平去格拉纳达的路上途经了什么样的美景？
5．写下“塞维利亚”和“格拉纳达”这两个城市的名字，然后将下列裴平的所见所闻归列在每个城市下方。
阿尔罕布拉   石狮喷泉
哥伦布墓    大教堂
 
 
Holy Week parades         boys with goatskins of water
Court of Lions             a tall bell tower
Gate of Justice             gypsy caves
Street of Serpents           a fair
6. From this story what do you think is the most famous building to see in Granada?
7. How do you know that the mountains Pepin saw are very high?
8. At what time of year did Pepin make his journey? There is one sentence on page 21 that tells you almost exactly when he visited the cities.
9. From a geography map draw or trace the southern part of Spain. Show Ronda, Granada, and Seville and a large river on which Seville is located. Draw lines to show Pepin’s journey.
 
圣周狂欢       持羊皮水袋的男孩
狮院           高耸的钟塔
正义之门         吉卜赛山洞
大蛇街           庙会
6．从这个故事中，你觉得哪一个是格拉纳达最有名的建筑？
7．你是如何知道裴平所见的山是非常高的？
8．裴平的旅程是在一年中的什么时节进行的？第21页有一句话能够准确地告诉你他去往城市的时间。
9．请从西班牙南部地图上找出隆达、格拉纳达、塞维利亚以及塞维利亚所在的河流，并画出裴平的行程路线。
 
 
10. Be ready to read lines that tell—
(a) What Pepin saw in the Alhambra.
(b) What he saw in the cathedral.
11. On page 16 mention is made of the Moorish kings. If you do not know who they were, find out something about them—where they came from, when they ruled in Spain, etc.
 
10．请朗读
(a) 描述裴平在阿尔罕布拉宫的见闻；
(b) 描述裴平在大教堂的见闻。
11．在第16页提到了摩尔的国王。如果你不知道他们是谁，请去翻阅资料，弄清楚他们从哪里来以及他们统治西班牙的时间等事情。
 
RIMFA, AFRICAN HERD-GIRL
ERICK BERRY
In the first story in this book you went to Africa with Martin Johnson to photograph wild animals. Now you will journey again to that great continent. This time you will visit a little African herd-girl, see something of life in her village, and learn how she proved her courage, skill, and faithfulness in a time of great danger. Perhaps you will feel that Rimfa was not so different from the boys and girls in our country.
 
非洲牧牛女芮姆佛
艾瑞克·白瑞
在这本书的第一个故事里，你与马丁. 约翰逊一起去非洲拍摄了野生动物。现在你又将去那个伟大的大陆旅行。这一次你将访问一个非洲小牧牛女，看看她村庄的一些情况，并了解她是如何在面临巨大危险时证明她的勇气、技能和忠诚的。也许你会觉得芮姆佛与我们国家的孩子们没什么两样。
 
 
HERDING THE CATTLE
It was yet three hours until the time of sundown and driving in the cattle. Now was the hottest part of the long day in West Africa. Rimfa, the little herd-girl, yawned as she lay in the shade of a huge tree, the only large tree in sight for miles and miles. Before her spread out her father’s herd of cattle, fifty slow-moving white cows, each with horns a man’s height across and a huge hump between its shoulders. They lay now in such small shade as they could find, contentedly chewing their cud and calmly looking out over the blazing plain. A cowbird, crowds of which follow the cattle herd, hopped nearer, and made bold by Rimfa’s stillness, pecked at a weed near her foot; but at this, Biri, her pet monkey, suddenly sprang up and let out a shrill chatter of rage.
 
放牧
离日落赶牛回家还有3个小时，现在可是西非漫长的一天中最热的时候。芮姆佛，这个小牧牛女正躺在一棵大树的树荫下，打着哈欠。这可是数英里内唯一能见的大树了。她还没有散开父亲的牛群——50头慢悠悠的白色奶牛，每头牛的角大得出奇，足有一个成人的身子那么长，而且在肩膀的位置高高耸起一个巨大的驼峰：它们现在躺在这样的小树荫下，心满意足地咀嚼反刍着食物，平静地眺望着炽热的平原。一只燕八哥，跟在牛群后面，蹦来跳去。它见芮姆佛不作声，便大胆地啄她脚边的杂草；然而，她的宠物猴子比瑞看到这些，突然跳起来，发出阵阵愤怒而刺耳的尖叫声。
 
 
Herding would have seemed a dull life to anyone not accustomed to it, but Rimfa preferred it to the usual work of the girls of her tribe, to pounding corn and spinning, and cooking over the tiny fire in front of a hut in the narrow little village. Herding cattle was boys’ work. At present her brother, Burum, was down with the measles. For this reason the only daughter of the family was allowed the task of watching the herd.
The little African girl was tall for her age. The girls of her tribe are very slim, and their skins are lighter than the usual African native’s. She wore a cloth of brilliant blue, wound round and round her hips like a short skirt. Lying in the shade of the tree, she had taken off her headcloth, and her crisp black hair was braided in the two plaits which came in front of the huge, round, brass earrings which all the girls wore. Brass finger rings and a green bead necklace completed the hot-weather costume.
 
对任何一个不习惯的人来说，放牧很枯燥，但芮姆佛喜欢；相反，她一点也不喜欢部落别的女孩的平时工作，像捣玉米啊、织布啊或是在狭窄的村庄小屋前的小火上做饭什么的。放牛是男孩的工作。目前，她的哥哥布鲁姆得了麻疹起不来，因此家中才让唯一的女儿来放牛。
这个非洲小女孩在同龄人中个儿算高的。部落里的其他女孩都很苗条，她们的皮肤也没有一般非洲土著那么深。她身穿一块碧蓝的衣布，像短裙一样一圈一圈地裹在臀部上。躺在树荫下的她已然摘掉了头巾，黑色卷发上扎了两个小辫子，搭在大大圆圆的铜耳环前——部落所有女孩都戴了这样一副耳环，她也不例外。手指上的黄铜戒指和一个绿珠项链合在一起就是炎炎烈日下最好的装束。
 
 
As the sunset began to turn the sky into a great ceiling of gold, and purple shadows lay over the brown stubble of the land, Rimfa stretched herself. Clicking to her pet, she jerked Biri’s short strap, and the monkey leaped lightly to her shoulder. The largest animal of the herd, old Moy, clambered slowly to his feet, a signal for the other cattle to follow. Moy was a huge beast. His horns spread more than six feet from tip to tip, and his beautiful white coat was spotted with black. He stood waiting patiently for Rimfa to mount him. No other man or woman could approach him, not even her brother who usually tended the herd. But Rimfa had clung to his tail, clambered to his hump since she was a small ginger colored baby, and he understood almost everything that she said to him.
 
太阳下山了，天空渐渐变成一个大大的金色帐篷，紫色的阴影慢慢笼罩在铺满棕色小草的大地上。芮姆佛伸了伸懒腰，敲了敲宠物比瑞，猛地一拉短绳，猴子轻盈地跳上她的肩膀。老莫伊，牛群中最大的一头，也缓缓地爬了起来，这就等于给其他的牛儿发出了回家的信号。莫伊体形巨大，它的两个角加起来超过了6英尺，浑身黑色的斑点点缀着漂亮的白色皮毛。它站在那儿，温顺地等着芮姆佛骑到背上。没有其他人可以靠近它，哪怕是经常照看它的哥哥也不行，但芮姆佛是个例外。自打芮姆佛是个姜黄色的婴儿开始，她就喜欢抓着莫伊的尾巴不放，还喜欢爬到驼峰上玩耍，老莫伊几乎能听懂她所说的一切。
 
 
Now she leaped to a place just behind his hump, and hung on to it, her bare heels digging sharply into his side to urge him forward. The monkey chattered, and Moy shook his long horns angrily as at some pestering fly. He hated Biri; and long ago he would have gored the little beast with his huge horns if the monkey had not been far too nimble for him and hid behind Rimfa’s skirts.
 
现在，她猛地跳到驼峰后面的脊背上，紧紧抓住鬃毛，她的赤裸双脚夹紧牛的腹部并用脚跟击打牛儿催促它向前快速前进。猴子咯咯作响，莫伊摇着长角，愤怒地驱赶着烦人的牛蝇。它不喜欢比瑞，要不是比瑞太过敏捷而且每次都躲到芮姆佛的裙子后面，它早就用长角顶死这只猴子了。
 
 
LIFE IN RIMFA’S VILLAGE
Slowly the herd gathered and fell in behind Moy and the little girl, wandering leisurely back across the darkening plain toward the village above it. A collection of beehive-shaped huts of roughly woven straw showed dark against the sunset. Cooking fires lighted up, briefly, a face or a moving figure, as the village women bent over the evening meal or passed to and fro carrying wood for the fires. A larger group showed where the men squatted together, smoking and talking in quiet tones.
Rimfa was hailed by various members of the tribe as she rode in. Driving the cattle within the small corral of thorn bushes, she tied Moy’s rope to a stake and found her way to her own fire, as she was hungry after her long day in the open. The African native eats only two meals a day as a rule.
 
芮姆佛的村庄生活
牛群缓缓地聚集起来，跟在莫伊和小女孩后面，悠闲地穿过黑黢黢的草原，走向村里。一排排简陋的草屋聚拢成蜂窝形状，在落日下显得模糊黑暗。做饭的火很快就生起来了，火光照亮的是一张张匆忙的面庞以及闪烁的身影，那是村里的妇女们弯腰准备晚饭或是跑前跑后抱柴禾添火做饭的样子。一大群男人则蹲坐在一起，一边吸着烟，一边小声地聊着天。
当芮姆佛骑牛进村时，许多部族成员高兴地起身欢呼。她把牛群赶进布满荆棘的小畜栏里，把莫伊拴在桩上，找到去往自家火堆的路，在外一天，她真是饿了。非洲土著人习惯一天只吃两顿。
 
 
That night, after the dinner was finished, Rimfa’s father said, “Your brother will be well enough in a few days now to take over the care of the herd.”
“But father—” she commenced in protest, but her father broke in:
“It is more fitting that you stay at home and learn the duties of a woman. You are almost of the marriage age. No man will care for a wife that has worked as a boy works, and knows nothing of household duties.”
“But I can spin, and pound the corn as well as any girl in the village,” Rimfa replied.
“It is near the time for the tornado,” her father went on to explain. “It is the task of a man, not a girl, to drive the cattle in the storm season. It is enough. I have spoken.”
 
那天晚饭后，她爸爸对她说：“你哥哥再有几天就好了，能去放牛了。”
“可是，爸爸——”她有些不满，然而爸爸却打断了她：
“你待在家里学一些女人的手艺更合适。都快到嫁人的年纪了，没有哪个男人会娶一个跟男人干活儿、一点家务活儿都做不好的女人做老婆的。”
“但我也会和村里别的女孩一起织布、捣玉米啊。”芮姆佛反驳说。
“龙卷风的季节就要来了，”她的父亲继续解释说，“在雨季放牛是男人的活儿，不是一个女孩的事。这一点我已经说得够多的了。”
 
 
“It isn’t as though the herd were not safe with me,” thought the little girl as she walked away. “He knows I can take as good care of it, better, in fact, than any boy in the village.”
Only a few more days of her life under the hot blue sky; of watching the crown birds flap heavily, with shrill voices, across the sun-baked country; of drowsily lying, almost asleep, yet awake for every movement of the herd, beneath the shade of the huge tree; of watching the tornadoes sweep up across the plains. It was early in the season yet, and the rains had not, so far, touched the plain. Only a few more long golden sunsets, and windy dawns when the sun came up golden through a haze of desert dust. Then back to the life of the village, shut in by hot high
 
“好像牛群跟我在一起不安全似的，”小女孩一边走，一边自言自语，“爸爸知道我能放好牛的，真的，我比村里的男孩做得还要好。”
炽热蓝天下，芮姆佛要么看着皇冠鸟扑扇着翅膀一边穿过炙烤的村子一边使劲地尖叫，要么懒洋洋地躺在大树下似睡非睡地享受分分秒秒的牧牛时光，要么亲眼目睹龙卷风横扫大草原的壮观景象。不过这样的好日子没有几天了。现在只是雨季初期，大草原还没有下过雨。欣赏草原的金黄日落以及拂晓起风时金灿灿太阳透过朦胧沙漠的尘土缓缓升起的美景的日子也不多了。之后就是回村中窝在高耸闷热的草
 
 
walls of matting. To Rimfa, long hours at the spindle or working on the little farm back of the village were hateful. Worst of all, she would see her favorite Moy only for the few brief moments when he was brought in at night. Between her and the huge beast there was a close friendship, and with no one else was he so gentle, so well behaved.
 
房里的生活。对芮姆佛来说，长时间的织布以及在村后的小农场里工作是最不可接受的。而且最糟糕的是，她只能在晚上短暂的片刻休息时看到她最爱的莫伊。老莫伊和她最亲密了，对谁都没有对她那么温柔、那么温顺。
 
 
RIMFA MANAGES THE RUNAWAY HERD
It was late in the afternoon several days later, and Rimfa lay under the big tree, the monkey asleep at her feet—facing the south. She turned slowly, rolling over on her elbow, and glanced back at the sky, then sprang to her feet. A dark thick cloud was rising rapidly in the east. Long tongues of lightning flickered from it into the band of solid gray beneath, a gray band that meant rain. She watched it for only a moment. It was quite surely not going to swing north as the others had done, and it held the first of the season’s tornadoes, that swift, terrible storm full of destructive wind and lightning.
Even as she watched it, the cloud spread, and the flashes increased. Already the cattle were commencing to stir uneasily. Moy came slowly and clumsily to his feet.
芮姆佛与失控的牛群
几天后的一个下午晚些时分，芮姆佛正躺在那棵大树下，猴子睡在她的脚边，面朝南。她慢慢翻了个身，侧枕着胳膊，瞥了眼天空。她突然跳了起来。一团浓黑的厚厚云层迅速向东部集结。闪电长长的火舌不停地闪烁，消失在深灰色黑云里，要下大雨了。她盯着云层只看了仅一小会儿。肯定错不了，和以前不同，这次雨云肯定不会向北走的，况且这是雨季以来的第一次龙卷风。这种可怕的风暴移动迅速，还会带来强风和闪电，破坏性极大。
甚至就在她仰望着天空的时候，乌云已经向四处蔓延，闪电也越来越频繁。牛群开始有些躁动不安了，连老莫伊也笨拙地慢慢站了起来。
 
 
“Come, Biri, we must run for shelter,” Rimfa cried, and jerking the monkey to her shoulder, she fled down the short slope to where the herd, now thoroughly aroused, was scrambling up. Moy awaited her impatiently. She pushed through the others, hitting them lightly with a short stick, pushing their rough dust-stained sides, and swung to Moy’s back.
“Forward! Go! Swiftly!” she commanded him, though he was already breaking into an easy run.
Low rumbles of thunder came from the ever- growing cloud behind her. The darkening plain was hushed. There was no sound of cricket or bird, and the white flock of cowbirds that usually chattered so cheerily, flew low and silently, though still following the herd. If they hurried, they might yet reach the village before the windstorm broke, certainly before the rain came.
 
“快，比瑞，我们必须赶快找藏身的地方。”芮姆佛一边大喊着，一边把猴子拉上她的肩膀，仓皇逃下小山坡，来到放牧的地方。此时，受了惊的牛群不停地往山坡上乱跑。莫伊不耐烦地等着她。芮姆佛一边用短棍轻轻敲打满是尘土的牛群，一边用力挤出一条道路，最后来到莫伊身边，翻身跳到了它的背上。
“快走！快！快跑！”她对莫伊大吼道。莫伊开始一路小跑了起来。
在她身后，从越来越大的乌云深处传来低沉的隆隆雷声。黑暗的大草原死一般的寂静。此时，再也听不见蟋蟀或鸟儿的鸣叫。平常叽叽喳喳地叫个不停的白色皇冠鸟也停下了争吵，跟着牛群低飞。如果赶快的话，有可能会在风暴来临之前到达村里，当然也会赶在雨来之前到达村子。
 
 
Moy swung into a long lope that covered the ground rapidly, and the rest of the herd, with a swift stumble of hoofs followed close behind. They were halfway to the village, entering a hollow so that the houses were hidden from them and crowding along between two walls of grass that brushed against the girl’s bare feet. She crouched closer to the hump of Moy, when suddenly Biri gave a shrill scream of terror. Moy, who at his best hated the pet, now made nervous by the approaching storm, threw up his head in fright. Almost as soon as the monkey he, too, had caught the scent, the stale, sharp odor of lion. Like a flash Moy turned and crashed, head down, into the bush, the herd pounding after.
 
莫伊也开始大步跑起来，地被踏得咚咚直响，其他的牛群忙不迭地紧随其后。在回村途中，他们躲进一个山谷，这里的房子都隐藏其中并掩映在两边草墙之间。杂草不时地抽打着姑娘赤裸的双脚。她蜷缩在莫伊的驼峰里。突然，比瑞发出一阵恐怖的尖叫。最讨厌比瑞的莫伊现在也被逐渐迫近的风暴弄得心神不宁。惊恐之中，它扬起了头。几乎就在猴子闻到狮子腐臭而浓烈的膻味的同时，老莫伊也闻到了这股味道。莫伊犹如闪电一样，掉转身，低着头，撞进了草丛中，而其他牛群仓皇地跟随其后。
 
 
A lion had undoubtedly passed through the grass that morning, but there was none in sight now; in fact, all sight was being rapidly blotted out. The sun was completely hidden. A chill wind, stronger every second, whipped at Rimfa’s bare shoulders. For a moment the herd was partly sheltered by the tall grass, but this was not the way home.
“Moy! Moy!” she shrieked, above the voice of the storm, pounding desperately on his hump. Biri clung, with jabbering fear, to her skirts.
Following Moy blindly, the herd was rushing away from the smell that had frightened it. Below the level of the plain and between the grazing ground and the village, there was a watercourse, dry at this season of the year. Into this, the herd, led by Moy, bolted.
 
毫无疑问，那天早上有只狮子的确穿过了草丛，但现在却没有了踪影；事实上，所有的视线都被快速遮盖了，因为太阳完全被乌云遮住了。一阵冷风袭来，一秒强似一秒，不断吹打在芮姆佛裸露的肩膀上。一部分的牛躲到了高草之中，但那不是一条回家的路。
“莫伊！莫伊！”她尖叫起来，声音盖过了风暴声。她拼命地敲打莫伊的驼峰。比瑞吓得叽叽乱叫，紧紧抓住她的裙子。
牛群盲目地跟着莫伊，仓皇逃离那令它们害怕的气味。在牧场与村庄之间，有一条低洼的河道，每年一到这个季节就会干涸。牛群在莫伊引领下急匆匆地逃到了那里。
 
 
Rimfa continued to shout above the roar of the oncoming storm, but the thunder, together with the monkey’s screeches, and the terrific wind, was too much for her. Since a slip would have sent her beneath the feet of the stampeding herd, she clung tight to Moy and waited.
The high grass had given way to low stubble, and then to the sandy bed of the stream. There was a brief lull in the wind, which foretold that the rain would soon be upon them. Rimfa was frightened, and her teeth chattered with cold. She clutched the monkey with one hand to keep him quiet for a moment and then held him tightly beneath one arm. With the other she still clung to Moy’s neck.
 
芮姆佛仍然大叫着，想压过即将到来的风暴声，然而雷声连同猴子的尖叫声以及可怕的风声，淹没了她的吼叫。而且稍不留神，她便会葬送在沉重的牛蹄之下。于是，她死死抓住莫伊等待着。
高草已经只剩下低低的短茬，小河只剩下沙床。风暂时平静下来，大雨很快就要降临在他们身上了。芮姆佛十分害怕，冷得牙齿也咯咯作响。她一只手抓住猴子，让它安静一会儿，然后紧紧地把它抱在胳膊下，另一只手依然紧抓着莫伊的脖子。
 
 
Softly she began to coax and pat the great beast. “Moy, Moy,” she begged, “be not afraid. It is I, Rimfa, that clings to thy back. Be still, great one. Be not afraid!” And she pushed hard on his left side with her knee, reaching out to give a similar push on his left horn. Gently she pushed again. Softly she coaxed.
Desperately she steadied herself on Moy’s back. Knowing that the torrent of rain was not far off, she tried again. This time the great beast responded slightly, wheeling a bit to the right. Then more and more he changed the course of the runaway herd. They were running now where the waterway spread out, to a firm shallow beach. Moy’s pace slowed. Then a sharp spatter of rain stung Rimfa’s back. There was a sudden blinding flash of lightning, and immediately a great crash of thunder seemed to split the sky apart.
 
她又开始轻轻地拍打着莫伊，哄着它往前走。“莫伊，莫伊，”她央求着说，“别怕，是我，芮姆佛，在紧抓着你的脊背。别害怕，你能行的。别怕！” 她用膝盖使劲地拱着它的身体左侧，并伸出手推动它的左角，一边轻轻地推着它的牛角，一边开始轻哄着它。
她拼命地让自己在莫伊背上坐稳。知道倾盆大雨即将到来的她再一次尝试去安抚莫伊。这一次莫伊略有了一丝回应，身体向右边移了移，渐渐改变了失控牛群的行进路线。它们现在正在沿着河道奔跑，朝着一个坚固的浅滩方向跑去。莫伊的步伐放缓了。就在这个时候，一阵急雨飞溅到芮姆佛的后背上。突然天空中出现了一道炫目的闪电，接着是一记惊雷，就好像要把天空劈开似的。
 
 
Moy tore forward again, but it was no longer in a straight line. He kept turning to the right, and the herd, following as always, turned with him, till soon the cattle crashed against the sandy wide banks of the watercourse.
The stampede was over. Rain was coming in torrents, but the big cattle were used to rain, with flash after flash of lightning making an almost continuous flare across the sky. By this light, Rimfa, breathless and shaken, slid to the ground and stood leaning a moment against Moy’s soaked flank. Her knees were shaking with fatigue and excitement, but there was a feeling of triumph. No boy of the village could have done better, nor, perhaps, as well.
 
莫伊再次前行，脚步已略显疲惫，而且走的也不再是一条直线。它不停地向右跑，整个牛群也总是跟着它转向右侧直到撞向了河道宽阔的沙堤下面。
你追我逐的踩踏终于结束了。大雨倾盆而下，然而牛群已经习惯了下雨。一道道闪电划过天空，几乎形成了一个连续的耀斑。这时芮姆佛也已经吓得屏住呼吸，浑身颤抖，滑倒在地，继而爬起来斜靠在莫伊湿透了的身旁歇息片刻。由于劳累和兴奋，她的膝盖一直在颤抖，但她也有一种胜利感。村里没有哪个男孩能像她那样把牛群保护得那么好，或许，永远也不会有。
 
 
RIMFA WINS MOY
She was too weary, when she finally drove the tired cattle into the corral, to seek her father that night, but gulping down a few handfuls of hot porridge and curling up in her blanket within the shelter of the hut, she went immediately off into a dreamless sleep to the sound of the cool pattering rain on the thatching.
 
芮姆佛征服了莫伊
她太累了。那天夜里，她最终还是赶着同样筋疲力尽的牛群回到了畜栏，然后找到了她父亲，囫囵地吃了几碗热粥，裹了毯子，蜷缩在棚屋里，伴着茅屋外淅沥的冷雨声，很快就睡着了，一夜无梦。
 
 
In the morning when she woke, she could tell by the brilliant sunlight streaming in through the doorway that it was late. Why had they let her oversleep? Why had no one wakened her? Frightened and wondering, for the cattle always left at dawn, she wrapped her short skirt around her hips, tucking it in at the belt to keep it in place, and slipped out of the house. Breakfast was over long ago and the men were at work in the fields, but a covered gourd was set among the ashes, keeping her breakfast warm. The village seemed deserted, and when she looked out, the corral was empty. Moy and the others had been taken out for the day, and she was not with them!
 
早晨醒来时，看到射进门口的灿烂的阳光，她知道自己起得已经很晚了。为什么他们让她睡过头呢？为什么没有人唤醒她呢？牛群总在黎明赶去放牧啊。充满着恐惧和疑惑，她穿上短裙，系好皮带，整理好衣衫，溜出房子。早饭时间早就过了，大人们都在田里干活，不过炉灰中有个带盖葫芦，里面的早饭还是温的，是专门给她留的。村子似乎没有人了。她抬头看了看畜栏，空的。莫伊和其他牛儿白天已被赶出去了，但是她却被落下了！
 
 
Swallowing back her tears, she ate breakfast and looked up to see her father entering the yard. He came directly to her and sat down beside her on the warm ground.
Rimfa at once asked, “Is it then that my brother has taken out the cattle for the day, my father?”
“Ay-e-e. Yes. It is so.” Her father smiled and paused.
“My child,” he said, “I am proud of you. Yesterday’s work was well done.” Rimfa looked up, surprised. “Two of the boys of the village saw what was done. They had found shelter under a tree above the bank when you turned the herd. They told me of it last night.” Rimfa looked pleased, but the unspoken question was in her mind. Why, then, had he sent the herd out with her brother again?
 
她咽着眼泪，吃着早餐。这时，她的父亲走进院子，径自来到了她身边，坐在暖和的地面上。
芮姆佛立即问道：“今天是哥哥在放牛，爸爸？”
“啊，啊，是的，没错。”她的父亲笑着说道。
“我的孩子，”他说，“我为你感到骄傲，你昨天表现得很好。”芮姆佛抬头看了看父亲，有些惊讶。“村里的两个男孩看见你护牛的情形。当你赶牛群时，他们在河堤上的一棵大树下躲雨。他们告诉了我昨晚的一切。” 芮姆佛看起来很高兴，但她的脑海里还有很多问题要问。那为什么爸爸又让哥哥出去放牛呢？
 
 
Her father answered the question before she spoke. “I have decided to let you have your way,” he said. “You shall have your herd, but it shall be your own, not your brother’s. Stay quietly with your mother for the rest of the month till the new calves are older. Then you may have the calves for a herd of your own.”
Rimfa’s face showed her joy, but her father held up his hand. “One thing more. You shall have Moy for your own. I give him to you. Your brother couldn’t drive him,” he added with a laugh.
 
还没等她开口，父亲就回答了这个问题。“我已经决定让你出去放牧，”他说， “你将拥有你的牛群，那是属于你自己的，而不是你哥哥的。这个月余下的日子里，你要安心和妈妈待在一起，等到新的牛犊长大！这些牛犊将组成你自己的牛群。”
芮姆佛的脸洋溢着喜悦，但她的父亲举起了手。“还有，莫伊也是你的，我把它给你。”他笑着补充说：“你哥哥可驾驭不了它。”
 
 
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
1. Make a list of eight things in this story that are very unlike things we see and do in our country.
2. Name two or three of our States where you would find country that looks like the country in which Rimfa lived.
3. If you were going to tell someone this story, there would be certain main points to remember. Others might be interesting but not so necessary. From the list below choose five points that would be most necessary in making someone else understand.
(a) The kind of cattle Rimfa tended
(b) What the village was like
(c) Who Rimfa was
 
注释与问题
1．从这个故事中找出8件和我们国家完全不同的见闻。
2．说出我们国家的两到三个州的名字，在这几个州可能会找到类似芮姆佛居住的乡村。
3．如果你要给别人讲这个故事，要记住某些要点。其他的可能会很有趣，但不是那么必要。从下表中选出5个理解故事最不可缺的要点。
(a) 芮姆佛照看的是哪种牛
(b) 村庄是什么样的
(c) 谁是芮姆佛
 
 
(d) How she dressed
(e) Why she was guarding the cattle
(f) What caused the stampede
(g) Rimfa’s pet monkey
(h) How Rimfa saved the herd
( i ) Rimfa’s reward
( j ) What Rimfa’s country was like
4. Now take each of the five points you have chosen, and in one sentence explain it. When you have finished, you will have a paragraph that will make clear what the story is about.
5. We in America might call Rimfa’s people savages, but perhaps you can find in this story ways in which they acted and felt much as we do. Name two such ways.
 
(d) 她穿着什么衣服
(e) 她为什么守护着牛群
( f ) 是什么造成了踩踏事故
(g) 芮姆佛的宠物猴
(h) 芮姆佛是如何拯救牛群的
( i ) 芮姆佛的奖励
( j ) 芮姆佛的国家是什么样的
4．现在把你所选择的5个要点都用一句话来解释一下。当你完成后，你将它们连在一起来讲这个故事。
5．在美国，可能认为芮姆佛的族人是野蛮人，但在这个故事中你或许会发现他们的所思所行也是和我们一样的。 请找出两个例子来说明这一点。
 
 
6. In this story there are a number of “word pictures” in which the author makes us see as if we had been there. Choose one such picture and be ready to read it aloud.
7. Make a list of ten words or phrases that help us see, hear, or feel—words like blazing plain, shrill chatter, etc.
 
6．故事中有一些生动的文字，通过语言的描述，作者让我们有种身临其境的感觉。选择这样的一段话并大声地朗读。
7．列举10个有助于我们去看、去听、去感觉的单词或词组（如blazing plain, shrill chatter等）。
 
 

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。

目  录
 
PART FIVE BOYS AND GIRLS OF OTHER LANDS
第五部分 异乡的男孩女孩...................................................................... 1
 
The Sea That Comes to Meet My Hand
海，触手可及的海..................................................................................... 2
All Nations Are Neighbors
所有的国家都是邻居.................................................................................. 3
 
THE SPANISH BOOTBLACK
西班牙鞋童............................................................................................... 6
RIMFA, AFRICAN HERD-GIRL
非洲牧牛女芮姆佛..................................................................................... 25
THE WAY OF A POLISH LAD
波兰小子之路........................................................................................... 49
MINA AND KARSTEN OF NORWAY
挪威的米娜和卡斯滕.................................................................................. 72
A Backward Look
 
内容回顾.................................................................................................. 92
 
 
PART SIX WORKERS AND THEIR WORK
第六部分 工人和工作.............................................................................. 95
Work
工作........................................................................................................ 96
CONTENTS
Workers Are Conquerors
劳动者即征服者........................................................................................ 97
THOMAS ALVA EDISON:
LIGHT’S GOLDEN JUBILEE
托马斯. 阿尔瓦. 爱迪生：电灯50 周年庆.................................................... 99
WALTER DAMROSCH:
MUSIC MASTER OF THE AIR
瓦尔特. 达姆罗什：空中的音乐大师.......................................................... 125
THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH
乡村铁匠................................................................................................ 143
TIM CROGAN, THE STAR APPRENTICE
明星学徒克劳根...................................................................................... 147
FOREST PRODUCTS:
FROM WOODLAND TO FACTORY
森林的产品：从林地到工厂....................................................................... 172
 
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 188
 
 
PART SEVEN FAMOUS HEROES OF ADVENTURE
第七部分 英雄大冒险............................................................................ 191
 
Here Pass Most Wondrous Sights
这里有最奇妙的仙境................................................................................ 192
Great Heroes Live Forever
伟大的英雄永垂不朽................................................................................ 194
 
ROBIN HOOD AND HIS MERRY MEN
罗宾汉和他的绿林好汉............................................................................. 196
A SONG OF SHERWOOD
舍伍德之歌............................................................................................. 242
ACHILLES, FAMOUS LEADER OF THE GREEKS
希腊人民的杰出领袖阿喀琉斯................................................................... 245
THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES
尤利西斯历险记...................................................................................... 294
 
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 354
 
 
PART EIGHT HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS
第八部分 假日和节日............................................................................ 357
 
Christmas Eve
平安夜................................................................................................... 358
Holidays Are Remembering Days
节日是值得纪念的日子............................................................................. 359
 
THANKSGIVING AT TODD’S ASYLUM
托德收容所里的感恩节............................................................................. 362
THE PUMPKIN
咏南瓜................................................................................................... 388
THE CHRISTMAS TRUANTS
圣诞逃学................................................................................................ 390
THE BISHOP’S VALENTINE
主教的情人节.......................................................................................... 422
THE WAY OLD GLORY GOES
昔日荣光之路.......................................................................................... 432
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
星条旗之歌............................................................................................. 433
 
A Backward Look
内容回顾................................................................................................ 437
 
GLOSSARY
难词表................................................................................................... 439