幾篇英語(yǔ)知識(shí)美文欣賞
英語(yǔ)知識(shí)小品【3】誰(shuí)是冰淇淋的首創(chuàng)者』
3．Who First Made Ice Cream
Most Americans think that ice cream is as American as baseball and apple pie．But ice cream was known long before America was discovered．
The Roman emperor Nero may have made a kind of ice cream．He hired hundreds of men to bring snow and ice from the mountains．He used it to make cold drinks．Traveler Marco Polobrought back recipes for chilled and frozen milk from China．
Hundreds of years later，ice cream reached England．It is said that King Charles Ienjoyed that treatvery much．There is a story that he bribed his cook to keep the recipe for ice cream a royal secret．
Today ice cream is known throughout the world．Americans alone eat more than two billion quartsa year．
3．誰(shuí)是冰淇淋的首創(chuàng)者
大多數(shù)美國(guó)人認(rèn)為，冰淇淋像棒球和蘋(píng)果餅一樣，是屬于美國(guó)的。但是，早在人們發(fā)現(xiàn)美洲大陸之前，冰淇淋就已經(jīng)問(wèn)世了。
古羅馬國(guó)王尼祿可能配制過(guò)一種冰淇淋。他曾雇用幾百人從山上搬來(lái)雪和冰，用以制作冷飲料。旅行家馬可波羅也曾從中國(guó)帶回了冷凍奶和冰奶的配方。
幾百年后，冰淇淋傳到了英國(guó)。據(jù)說(shuō)國(guó)王查理一世十分欣賞這種食品，他曾賄賂御廚，要他把制作冰淇淋的配方作為皇家秘密，守口如瓶。
今天全世界都知道冰淇淋了，僅美國(guó)人一年的消耗量就超過(guò)20億夸脫。
英語(yǔ)知識(shí)小品【5】人類(lèi)儲(chǔ)存肉的三種方法』
5．The Three Ways of Man to Preserve Meat
Finding enough meat was a problem for primitive man．Keeping it for times when it was scarce was just as hard．Three ways were found to keep meat from spoiling：salting，drying，and freezing．
People near salty waters salted their meat．At first they probably rubbed dry salt on it，but this preserved only the outside．Later they may have pickled their meat by soaking it in salt water．
In hot，dry lands，men found that they could eat meat that had dried while it was still on the bones．They later learned to cut meat into thin strips and hang it up to dry in the hot air．
Men in cold climates found that frozen meat did not spoil．They could leave their meat outside and eat it when they pleased．
5．人類(lèi)儲(chǔ)存肉的三種方法
對(duì)原始人類(lèi)來(lái)說(shuō)，獲得充足的肉是件難事，而把肉類(lèi)儲(chǔ)存到缺肉的時(shí)令也同樣不容易。人們找到了防止肉類(lèi)變腐的三種辦法：鹽腌、風(fēng)干和冷凍。
靠近咸水地帶的居民用鹽腌肉。起先，他們可能是把干鹽擦在肉上，但這只能使肉的外部不腐。后來(lái)，他們也許就改用咸水浸泡的辦法來(lái)腌肉了。
在炎熱、干燥的地方，人們發(fā)現(xiàn)他們可以食用已經(jīng)變干、但仍連在骨骼上的肉。后來(lái)，他們學(xué)會(huì)把肉切成薄條，懸掛起來(lái)，讓它在炎熱的空氣中變干。
生活在寒冷氣候下的人們則發(fā)現(xiàn)凍肉不腐。他們可以把肉置于室外，高興時(shí)隨時(shí)可吃。
英語(yǔ)知識(shí)小品【4】幫助改良土壤的蚯蚓』
4．Earthworms that Help Improve the Soil
The earthworm is a useful animal．Out of the ground，it is food for other animals．In the ground，it makes rich soil for fields and gardens．
Earthworms dig tunnels that loosen the soil and make it easy for air and water to reach the roots of plants．These tunnels help keep the soil well drained．
Earthworms drag dead leaves，grass，and flowers into their burrows．When this plant material decays，it makes the soil more fertile．
No other animal is so useful in building up good topsoil．It is estimated that in one year fifty thousand earthworms carry about eighteen tons of fine soil to the surface of an acre of land．One worm may add three quarters of a pound of earth to tho topsoil．
4．幫助改良土壤的蚯蚓
蚯蚓是一種有益的動(dòng)物。來(lái)到地面上，它成了其他動(dòng)物的食品，而在地里，它卻為田地和花園制造著肥沃的土壤。
蚯蚓挖掘風(fēng)洞，使土壤變松，并使空氣和水容易抵達(dá)植物的根部。這些風(fēng)洞有助于土壤迅速排水。
蚯蚓把枯樹(shù)葉、草和花朵拖進(jìn)自己的洞中，這種植物性物質(zhì)腐爛后，便使土壤變得更肥沃了。
在制造優(yōu)良的表面土壤方面，沒(méi)有別的動(dòng)物能像蚯蚓這樣有用。據(jù)估計(jì)，一年中，5萬(wàn)條蚯蚓能把大約18噸的細(xì)壤送到1英畝土地的表面，一條蚯蚓也許能把3／4磅的土壤加到地表層。
英語(yǔ)知識(shí)小品【6】夏威夷群島是怎樣形成的』
6．How the Hawaiian Is lands Were Built
Volcanoes have been erupting on the earth for millions of years．More than five hundred still erupt today．These are called active volcanoes．Volcanoes are located in belts or chains．They are found where the earth's crust is weak．The weak spots let the hot rock escape when the volcano erupts．
Many volcano belts are mountain ranges along the edges of continents．One belt runs along the western coast of South America up through the western part of the United States．Other volcanoes are found in ocean basins．
About three－fifths of all active volcanoes in the world are in the Pacific Ocean．Many of these volcanoes erupt under the water．The Hawaiian Islands were built by volcanoes that began erupting under water and finally reached the surface of the ocean．
6．夏威夷群島是怎樣形成的
火山在地球上噴發(fā)已有幾百萬(wàn)年的歷史。有500多座火山至今還在噴發(fā)，這些火山叫做活火山。火山呈帶狀或鏈狀分布，它們一般位于地殼脆弱的地段�；鹕絿姲l(fā)時(shí)，灼熱的巖漿便從脆弱的地點(diǎn)流出。
許多火山帶是一些大陸邊緣的山脈。有一個(gè)火山帶沿南美洲的西海岸向北，穿過(guò)美國(guó)的西部。另一些火山位于海洋盆地中。
世界上大約有3／5的活火山在太平洋，這些火山中有許多在水下噴發(fā)。夏威夷群島便是由從水下噴發(fā)、最終達(dá)到洋面的火山而形成的。
英語(yǔ)知識(shí)小品【2】領(lǐng)帶的滄�！�
2．The Necktie through Thick and Thin
From hat to shoes，men's clothes are useful．Only one piece of clothing is worn just for decoration．It is the necktie，or cravat．The necktie is left over from the time when men wore ruffles，ribbons，and tassels．
Beau Brummel was an Englishman of the early 1800's．He was famous for his fancy clothes．The story is told that he used to invite guests just to watch him knot his white cravat．
Now，perhaps，even the necktie is going out of style．It has been getting smaller and smaller for hundreds of years．It started out as a piece of lace and turned into a silk bow．Then it became a triangle that was tied around the neck．Now many neckties are no wider than a piece of string．
2．領(lǐng)帶的滄桑
人的衣物，從帽子到鞋，都有實(shí)用價(jià)值。唯有一樣完全是為了裝飾，那就是領(lǐng)帶，或者叫“克拉瓦特”。領(lǐng)帶是人們從佩戴飾邊、緞帶和帽穗的時(shí)代遺留下來(lái)的。
博·布倫美是19世紀(jì)初葉的一位英國(guó)人，因穿著的花哨而出名。傳說(shuō)他常邀請(qǐng)客人專(zhuān)程去觀看他給自己白色的領(lǐng)帶打結(jié)。
現(xiàn)在，也許連領(lǐng)帶也快不時(shí)髦了。幾百年來(lái)，領(lǐng)帶變得越來(lái)越小。當(dāng)初，它只不過(guò)是一段帶子，后來(lái)變成絲制的蝴蝶結(jié)，以后又演變?yōu)槔p在脖子上的三角形飾物�，F(xiàn)在許多領(lǐng)帶的寬度只不過(guò)相當(dāng)于一根繩子的粗細(xì)罷了。
異國(guó)的陽(yáng)光其實(shí)并不遙遠(yuǎn)
What day is it today? Is it Tuesday or Thursday? This thought raced through her mind as she sat back with her studentsgoing over the lesson that never seemed to end. Didn’t I just do this yesterday? Or was it a year ago? Hell, everything seemed to jumble together anymore. "Miss Smith
can I go to the bathroom?" Jorge asked, as he proceeded to jump from one foot to another, holding himself. How many times have I heard this? She wondered as she abruptly said, "Yes" and watched as he raced out of the room.
Sitting at the table she gazed at her students while thinking of what she would do after work. Maybe I’ll go to the gym or stop at the market for something to eat tonight. Mechanically she continued with her lesson on the short letter "a" with her students. "The letter "a" makes what sound?" "a, a, a", the students sang together going through the empty motions. The clock dragged away the minutes teasing her with the tediousness of the day.
Won’t it end? She thought as the phone rang out its morse code for her room. Sighing she stood up and walked through the maze of students desks to get to the phone. Picking up the receiver the other voice seemed a hundred miles away. Oh, how I wish I were anywhere but here. Here mind wandered to the hot exotic beach of Cabo, Mexico, where she had spent her last summer break. She still remembered the cool breezes that caressed her skin as she lay on the gritty sand.
"Miss Smith did you hear me?" the secretary annoyingly asked her. "Oh, sorry. What did you say?" "Can you send Carla to the office?" the secretary impatiently asked. "Oh, course" she replied as she hung up the phone. She turned from the phone and yelled out Carla’s name. Carla, who was one of the many who always seemed so needy that were in her class this year. Carla looked up from her desk, her hair hanging like a matted displaced doll. Her face was lined with dirt that gave her the appearance of one of those munchkins from the Wizard of Oz. "You need to go to the office", she said while Carla slowly rose from her desk. "Why do I have to go?" whined Carla. "It’s between you and the office—just go up" she hastily turned her back as Carla walked out of the room. Like having free school uniforms is the answer. It would be nice if just once someone called saying something nice or thanking me for all the endless crap I have to deal with. With a sigh she walked back to her other students who were clustered at the back table patiently waiting her return.
The rest of the afternoon blurred into one long endless repetition. Finally the bell rang as a relief. As she led her students out the door they walked behind her as baby chicks returning to their fold. She noticed that their mother hens clucked to them behind the iron gate. As she proceeded to walk down the corridor, the air, which rose with the musical tingle of Spanish coloring everything that touched it, greeted her. She watched with a touch of envy as the children left her to return to those homes that probably were filled with laughter and warmth while she would once again return to the same endless march of boredom.
"Senora, un momento por favor" She turned her head and noticed the small shriveled man, his brown face lined with a map to places only he knew. "Thanks for helping my grandson Julio to read" the gentleman said in his faltering broken English. She immediately thought of Julio, who once as unreachable as a hardened walnut, slowly cracked opened to reveal the eager child inside. She thought of the inner struggle Julio must have had as he tried to make sense of the foreign letters and the sudden joy when he had unbroken the mysterious code. Was the grandfather the same? She looked up at this elderly gentleman, probably his grandfather, and quickly recognized the sameness of the two. "Gracias Senora" a weathered hand came out and firmly grasped hers with warmth that radiated from his soul to hers. Just as abruptly he removed his hand and left her. As he walked away she thought of that exotic sun and realized maybe it was closer to her than she thought.
今天是星期幾？星期二還是星期三？她和學(xué)生進(jìn)行那似乎永無(wú)休止的復(fù)習(xí)，課間休息時(shí)，這個(gè)念頭在她腦子里轉(zhuǎn)了好幾圈。我是不是昨天才做完？或者那已是去年的事了？該死，好像什么事都攪到一塊兒來(lái)了。“史密斯小姐，我可以去一下洗手間嗎？”喬治正要邁腿，又停下問(wèn)道。我是第幾次聽(tīng)到這個(gè)了？她想著這個(gè)問(wèn)題，隨即說(shuō)道：“去吧”，看著他跑出了教室。
她坐在桌邊，眼睛盯著學(xué)生，腦子里卻在想，下了班該去哪里。也許該去健身，或者去市場(chǎng)買(mǎi)點(diǎn)東西晚上吃。她機(jī)械地上著課，給學(xué)生講字母“a”�！啊產(chǎn)’怎么念？”“a, a, a”學(xué)生們齊聲干巴巴地念著。時(shí)鐘一分分過(guò)去，似乎在嘲笑她這沉悶的一天。
該結(jié)束了吧？她正想著，教室的電話(huà)響了。她嘆了一口氣，站起身來(lái)，穿過(guò)學(xué)生的課桌去接電話(huà)。拿起話(huà)筒，那一端的聲音似乎從100英里以外傳來(lái)。天，要是身處異地該多好！。她神游到了充滿(mǎn)異國(guó)情調(diào)的墨西哥卡波海灘，去年暑假她就是在那兒度過(guò)的。她仍記得慵懶地躺在沙灘上，任習(xí)習(xí)涼風(fēng)親吻自己的肌膚。
“史密斯小姐，你在聽(tīng)我說(shuō)話(huà)嗎？”秘書(shū)有點(diǎn)生氣地問(wèn)道�！芭�，對(duì)不起，你剛才說(shuō)什么？”“叫卡拉到我辦公室來(lái)一下�！泵貢�(shū)更不耐煩了�！芭叮玫��！彼呎f(shuō)邊掛了電話(huà)。她轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身來(lái)叫著卡拉的名字�？ɡ墙衲晁嗌显S多貧困學(xué)生之一�？ɡ痤^，松散的頭發(fā)像一篷亂草。滿(mǎn)臉泥垢的她看起來(lái)像《綠野仙蹤》里的芒虛金。“你去一趟辦公室。”當(dāng)卡拉慢慢抬起頭的時(shí)候，她說(shuō)道。“為什么要我去？”卡拉囁嚅道�！叭チ司椭馈？烊グ伞！彼S即轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身，卡拉出去了。她是去領(lǐng)免費(fèi)的校服的。如果能有人打電話(huà)來(lái)，說(shuō)些好聽(tīng)的話(huà)或者感謝我做的這些討厭的`工作就好了。她嘆了口氣，回到后排那一群正耐心等著她的學(xué)生。
整個(gè)下午都在不斷重復(fù)著這不盡的單調(diào)。最后，救命的鐘聲終于敲響了。她帶著學(xué)生走出了教室，就像母雞帶著小雞回窩似的。她看到學(xué)生的媽媽正在鐵門(mén)后熱切等待著他們。當(dāng)她穿過(guò)走廊的時(shí)候，那帶著西班牙音樂(lè)氣息的空氣迎面撲來(lái)。她羨慕地看著孩子們離開(kāi)她，回到充滿(mǎn)歡笑和溫暖的家，而自己卻不得不再次回到這無(wú)盡的單調(diào)與無(wú)聊之中。
“您好，夫人，打擾你幾分鐘。”她轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)頭看到一個(gè)窘迫的男人，棕色的臉上布滿(mǎn)了皺紋�！爸x謝您對(duì)我孫子胡里奧的幫助。”他用蹩腳的英語(yǔ)說(shuō)道。她立即想起了胡里奧，曾經(jīng)外表看來(lái)那么不可接近，后來(lái)慢慢地敞開(kāi)了一個(gè)孩子熱切的內(nèi)心世界。胡里奧一定暗暗努力想學(xué)好外文，并且每次進(jìn)步都能令他欣喜不已。這位祖父也是這樣嗎？她抬頭看著這位也許是胡里奧祖父的老人家，很快就意識(shí)到他們兩人之間的共通之處。“謝謝您，夫人�！彼斐鲆恢伙柦�(jīng)風(fēng)霜的手，緊緊握住她，他的熱情深深地感染了她。他很快又縮回了手，走開(kāi)了。當(dāng)他離開(kāi)時(shí)，她想到了異國(guó)的陽(yáng)光，而且明白，異國(guó)的陽(yáng)光其實(shí)并不遙遠(yuǎn)。
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