英语知识小品【7】一头不相信自己的长颈鹿 2007-9-24 21:12:40 　·7．A Giraffe that Did Not Believe in HimselfIn Africa I heard a story about a giraffe that did not believe in himself．The giraffes mother bad left him when he was a few days old because she couldnt feed him． For three years he lived in the wardens house and played with the children．Then he grew too large for the house．The family decided that he should return to his fellows．They took him to join a herd of wild giraffes．One look was enough for the giraffes small brain．He could not believe that such…… 英语知识小品【8】南极——终年冰封的不毛之地 2007-9-24 21:12:29 　·8．The Antarctic，a Desert of Ice All Year RoundThe antarctic is actually a desert．It is the only continent on the earth without a river or a lake．The antarctic is all ice all year round．The warmest temperature ever recorded there is zero，at the South Pole．Explorers used to think that a place so cold would have a heavy snow－fall．But less than ten inches of snow falls each year．That is less than half an inch of water．Ten times that much moisture falls in parts of the Sahara．The little snow that fal…… 英语知识小品【9】小黑蚁——大自然的清道夫 2007-9-24 21:12:25 　·9．The Small Black Ants，Natures Clean—up CrewThe small black ants that we see running back and forth in the grass are the same ants that annoy us by coming to our picnics uninvited．They are not trying to make pests of them－selves，but are only doing the housekeeping job they were made for．They are natures clean－upcrew．One of these ants，scouting in the grass，finds the trail of an injured beetle．In some mysterious way the news spreads．Soon there are two ants，then a few more．Then a dozen or more are …… 英语知识小品【10】加利福尼亚近海的海獭 2007-9-24 21:12:18 　·10．Sen Otters off the Coast of Californiasea otters off the coast of Californiahave an unusual method of getting food．They dive to the floor of the sea to find the shell－fish they like．When an otter brings a shellfish to the surface of the water，he floats on his back and puts the shellfish on his chest．Then the otter digs the meat out of the shell with his teeth．Sea otters are especially fond of shellfish with a very hard shell．When the otter brings up one of these，he also brings a stone．He puts…… 英语知识小品【11】月球上的气温变化 2007-9-24 21:12:13 　·11．A Temperature Change on the MoonAstronomers can tell just how hot the surface of the moon gets．The side of the moon toward the sun gets two degrees hotter than boiling water．The night side reaches 243 degrees below zero．In an eclipse，the earths shadow falls on the moon．Then the moons temperature may drop 300 degrees in a very short time．A temperature change like this cannot happen on the earth．Why does it happen on the moon？Astronomers think that the surface of the moon is dust．On the earth，r…… 英语知识小品【12】伊瓜苏瀑布是怎样被发现的 2007-9-24 21:12:06 　·12．How the Falls of Iguassu Was DiscoveredIn 1542，Alvar Cabeza de Vaca and his small band of soldiers guided their boats down a jungle river．It was the Iguassu，which now marks the boundary between Brazil and Argentina．Never had the explorers seen a river so beautiful．At one point the men heard a strange rumble in the distance．It grew louder as they went on．Puzzled and afraid，they rounded a bend．Directly ahead of them the river vanished，plunging with a roar over the brink of a great chasm．The men…… 英语知识小品【13】猪鼻蛇——自然界的一名丑角 2007-9-24 21:12:02 　·13．The Hognose Snake，One of Natures ClownsThe hognose snake，sometimes called the puff adder，is one of natures clowns．Some people think that he is deadly poisonous．Actually，hes just a harmless fellow who spends most of his time huntingtoads．The puff adder gets his name from being a terrific bluffer．He will swell up，hiss，and strike viciously to frighten you away．If that doesnt work，he will flatten out，making his head look like a cobras．He has one more trick——playing dead．He goes limp，opens his mou…… 英语知识小品【14】制造红雨的龙卷风 2007-9-24 21:11:57 　·14．A Tornado that Makes Red RainA tornado can do a lot of damage The wind of a tornado rushes at great speed around a funnel—shaped cloud．It travels in a path a few hundred feet wide and about twenty－five miles long．As the wind circles counterclockwise，the funnel spirals higher and higher．The force of the wind sucks up water，dirt，and objects，and carries them along with it．It may drop them again many miles away．Houses and huge trees have been drawn into tornado funnels．At sea，ships have been near…… 英语知识小品【15】假如乔治·华盛顿能参观今日的美国 2007-9-24 21:11:49 　·15．If George Washington Could Visit the United States NowIf George Washington were able to travel back and forth in time，he would feel much more at home in ancient Babylon，3700 years before his time，than in our modern age，200years after he lived．Torches，chairots，and rough streets，like those of Babylon in 2060 B．C．，would not surprise him．He read by candlelight and rode in carriages on unpaved roads．He never saw a building more than four stories high．Electric lights，autos，high－ways，and skyscrapers…… 英语知识小品【16】对人畜两利的甘草 2007-9-24 21:11:45 　·16．Licorice Good for Both Man and BeastLicorice can be used for other things besides candy．Some of the powers of the licorice plant have been known since ancient times．The Egyptians used it to cure sore throats，and an old Chinese story tells how licorice cured a dragon whose throat was sore from breathing fire．The armies of Alexander the Greatcartied licorice root as medicine on all of their campaigns．Modern medicine uses this old knowledge．Many of todays cough sirups contain licorice．It is good…… 英语知识小品【17】发霉的硬饼干和饥肠辘辘的士兵 2007-9-24 21:11:39 　·17．The Moldy Hardtack and the Hunyry SoldiersHardtack，hardtack，come again no more！Union soldiers sang this song during the Givil War，and they had reason to complain．Hardtack was a plain flour－and－water biscuit．These biscuits were hard——it sometimes took a strong blow of the fist to break them．Soaking only made them rubbery．Many times the hardtack was not fit to eat．It often became wet or moldy when it was stored．Sometimes it was full of maggots and weevils．When a soldier got a moldy biscuit，he c…… 英语知识小品【18】新的生命来自何方 2007-9-24 21:11:32 　·18．Where Did the New Life Come fromIn 1883 a small volcanic island blew up．It was Krakatoa，west of Java in Sunda Strait．Nothing was left alive except one kind of earthworm．Yet in time plants began to grow again．By 1928 many kinds of animals lived on the island．Where did the new life come from？The nearest land was almost twelve miles away．Only a few of the new animals could fly or swim so far．The bugs，flies，and spiders were probably carried by the wind．The lizards and rats may have floated there …… 英语知识小品【19】猎人是怎样逮住猴子的 2007-9-24 21:11:24 　·19．How a Hunter Captures a MonkeyFew animals other than monkeys have hand like paws．The monkey，like man，has an opposable thumb——that is，it can place its thumb opposite its other fingers．By pressing its first finger against its thumb a monkey can pick up things as tiny as a flea．Because other animals lack this thumb，it is difficult for them to pick up small things and carry them．The monkeys ability to grasp rice with its paw often leads to its capture．Hunters bait a coconut with a handful of rice…… 英语知识小品【20】英国的第一扇窗子 2007-9-24 21:11:16 　·20． The First English WindowThe first English window was just a slit in the wall．It was cut long，so that it would let in as much light as possible，and narrow，to keep out the bad weather．However，the slit let in more wind than light．This is why it was called“the winds eye”．The word window itself comes from two Old Norse words for wind and eye．Before windows were used，the ancient halls and castles of northern Europe and Britain were dark and smoky．Their great rooms were high，with only a hole in the…… 英语知识小品【21】从宇宙飞船登上月球表面 2007-9-24 21:11:00 　·21．Climbing Out of a Space ship onto the surface of the MoonWe have just climbed out of a spaceship onto the surface of the moon．Behind us is the ship，half in the sunlight and half in deep shadow．A few miles ahead is a wall of mountains towering against the black sky． And there，as though resting on the mountains，is a great ball of light，beautifully colored in blue and green and brown with a patch of dazzling white at the top．It is our own faraway world——the earth．We take a step and rise like pri…… 英语知识小品【22】埃及人首先开展球类运动 2007-9-24 21:10:56 　·22．The Egyptians First Played Ball GamesThe first true piece of sports equipment that man invented was the ball．In ancient Egypt，as everywhere，pitching stones was a favorite childrens game．But a badly thrown rock could hurt a child．Looking for something less dangerous to throw，the Egyptians made what were probably the first balls．At first balls were made of grass or leaves held together by vines．Later they were made of pieces of animal skin sewed together and stuffed with feathers or hay．Even th…… 英语知识小品【23】纽芬兰的冰山季节和轮船泰坦尼克号 2007-9-24 21:10:47 　·23．Iceberg Season of Newfoundland and the Steamship TitanicEach year about four hundred icebergs survive the long journey from Greenland and Baffin Bay and float into the warm waters off the coast of Newfoundland．In April 1912 the steamship Titanic struck one of these icebergs．It sank with a great loss of life．Shortly after，the Ice Patrol was founded to patrol the shipping lane near Newfound－land during the iceberg season．The patrol is carried out by one or two U．S．Coast Guard boats．They locate …… 英语知识小品【24】铜，人类学会冶炼的第一种金属 2007-9-24 21:10:43 　·24．Copper，the First Metal that Man Learned to MakeCopper was the first metal that man learned to make．In some mountainous lands there were rocks streaked with green minerals．One day some rocks were accidentally heated by a roaring fire．When the fire burned low，little beads of copper were seen on the rock wall．After that，men heated the rock deliberately to see whether more copper would appear．They soon found a good way to make copper．They would build a trench on a hillside and fill it with charco…… 英语知识小品【25】美国人怎样表达他们对爱迪生的敬意 2007-9-24 21:10:30 　·25．How Americans Showed Their Respect for EdisonThomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American．When he died in 1931，Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him．One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout．All electric power would be shut off in homes，streets，and factories．Perhaps this suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions meant to them．Electric power was too important to …… 英语知识小品【26】特立尼达岛上的大沥青湖 2007-9-24 21:10:26 　·26．A Large Lake of Asphalt on the Is-land of TrinidadAt the village off La Brea，on the island of Trinidad，in the West Indies，is a large lake of asphalt called Pitch Lake．The asphalt is hard and is dug out with a big scoop shovel or a pick，leaving a hole in the surface of the lake．Within a week or two the hole is filled with new asphalt that pushes up from below．The supply of asphalt seems to be endless．An ancient legend explains how Pitch Lake came to be：Many centuries ago two Indian tribes foug……