The Ship of the Desert沙漠之舟

V. M. 希利尔（汤敏 译）

作者簡介

V. M. 希利尔（1875—1931），美国著名儿童教育家、科普作家，创建了卡尔弗特教育体系。他为孩子们编写了一套趣味盎然的历史、地理、艺术读物，即《写给孩子看的世界历史》《写给孩子看的世界地理》《写给孩子看的艺术史》。本文选自《写给孩子看的世界地理》。

There are a few camels in Istanbul， but camels dont belong in Europe. They have to be carried across the Bosporus from Asia， for a camel is said to be the only animal that cannot swim and cannot learn to swim. Most animals，like dogs， swim naturally; they dont have to learn. The camel may not be able to swim， but he can cross deserts， which no other animal can do as well.

君士坦丁堡有很多骆驼，可是骆驼并不来自欧洲。这种动物是人们从亚洲带过来的。人们牵着骆驼，从陆上跨过博斯普鲁斯海峡，来到了这里。因为据说骆驼是唯一不会游泳，也学不会游泳的动物。大多数动物，例如狗，天生就会游泳，它们根本用不着学。骆驼虽然不会游泳，但是它能够跨越沙漠，这是其他动物做不到的。

The camel is an animal of the desert， and when we see camels we know there must be deserts somewhere near. The camel loves heat and dryness， the sun and sand. Men and most animals， when it is hot， like the cool shade when they rest， but a camel when he rests， lies down in the hot sun. He is often called “the ship of the desert”， for he is the only “boat” that can carry passengers across the sea of sands. His feet are made like cushions so that they do not sink into the sand. A camel has several pouches inside of his body in which to store up water， as in tanks， for in crossing desert lands he may have to go days at a time without a drink， so he fills up these tanks inside of him.

骆驼是沙漠动物。每当我们看到骆驼的时候，我们就能想到，这附近一定有沙漠。骆驼喜欢干燥和炎热的环境，也喜欢太阳和沙子。如果天气很热，我们人和其他的动物就希望能在阴凉的地方休息。可是骆驼休息的时候，反而喜欢卧倒在阳光下面。骆驼经常被人们称作“沙漠之舟”，因为骆驼是唯一能够驮着旅行者穿过茫茫沙海的“船”。骆驼的脚掌像一块垫子一样，不会陷到沙子当中。骆驼身体里面有几个囊袋，可以储存水。因为在沙漠里行走，可能会好多天都找不到水喝，骆驼只好把水存在这些袋子里。

The camel in Asia has one hump and is called a Dromedary.There are other camels that have two humps. The hump is not a broken back， as it looks—it is made of fat， and when the camel can get no food for a long time， the fat in his hump helps to feed him as the food in his stomach feeds him.

在亚洲有一个驼峰的骆驼叫单峰驼，其他的骆驼有两个驼峰。骆驼背上的驼峰并不是它们身体上的畸形，而是积累起来的脂肪。当骆驼长时间找不到东西吃的时候，驼峰里面的脂肪就能给它们提供能量。

The camel “follows the leader”， almost as in the game， for wherever the leader goes he goes—so when a number of camels are used to carry loads long distances they are tied head to tail in a line， like a train of cars hitched together， often with a donkey at the head of the train like a locomotive to lead them. The donkey has sense， but a camel has little sense; thats why the donkey is made the leader. Such a train of camels is called a caravan. The camel looks very superior， but he is really a stupid animal with a very small brain. He has， however， an even temper—always mean， ugly， and nasty. He grunts as he walks slowly along on his stilt-like legs. He is trained to kneel and a load is then put on his back， and he will carry great loads with his driver on top of that. If too big a load is put on his back， when kneeling， the camel will not get up at all; but once he gets up he never gives up， no matter how heavy the load. You can then pile anything on him until it crushes him to the ground. When he has all the load he can carry， one straw more may be enough to break his back. So when you give some one too much work to do， people say， “Its the last straw that breaks the camels back.”

骆驼总是跟在领队后面，前面的人往哪儿带，它就跟在后面往哪儿走。所以，如果有一大队骆驼走长路的话，人们就用绳子把这些骆驼首尾相连地串起来，就像一列火车车厢一节节相连那样。一般来讲，在这列骆驼“火车”中，人们会用一头驴子来领队，就像火车头一样。因为驴子的脑子要比骆驼的脑子好用，它们知道路，也听人指挥。这样一支由驴子领队，骆驼连起来的队伍，就成了古时候商人们在沙漠里行走的商队。在整个商队里，骆驼看起来是最抢眼的。可是骆驼只是外形好看罢了，它的大脑很小，并且很笨。而且，骆驼的脾气也不好，总是很倔、很不听指挥。走路的时候，骆驼迈着它高跷一般的长腿，嘴里总是嘟嘟囔囔的。人们训练骆驼跪下来，这样才可以把货物放到它的背上，骑骆驼的人也才可以上到它的背上去。如果放到骆驼背上的货物太重，骆驼根本站不起来。可是，一旦骆驼能站起来，它就绝对不会把背上的东西扔了，不管这时候背上的货物有多重。所以，你可以往骆驼背上不停地加东西，直到这些东西的重量把骆驼压得“嘭”地跪在地上。这时候，有可能你再加上一根稻草，也能把骆驼的脊背压断。因此，如果你给某个人太多的活干，人们就会说，你最后加给他的工作是“压断骆驼脊背的最后一根稻草”。

The camel carries loads for his master， but the camel does more than that. The mother camel gives him milk. The camels hair is woven to make blankets and clothes and tents. In America the best paint brushes are made of camels hair.

駱驼除了为主人驮运货物，还有很多别的用处。母骆驼能给人提供奶。骆驼毛可以用来织布，做成毯子和衣服，也是做帐篷的好材料。在美国，最好的油画笔也是用骆驼毛做的。

Word Study

hump /h?mp/ n. 驼峰;（人的）驼背;小土丘

hitch /h?t?/ v. （用环、钩等）套住某物;猛拉

She hitched the pony to the gate.

locomotive /'lo?k?'mo?t?v/ n.火车头

grunt /ɡr?nt/ v. 咕哝;发出哼声

He grunted something about being late and rushed out.

kneel /ni?l/ v. 跪着;跪下;下跪