南極——終年冰封的不毛之地
8．The Antarctic，a Desert of Ice All Year Round
The 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 falls in Antarctica never melts．It continues to pile up deeper and deeper year after year and century after century．When the snow gets to be about eighty feet deep it is turned to ice by the weight of the snow above it．
8．南極——終年冰封的不毛之地
南極地區實際上是一片不毛之地，它是地球上唯一沒有河流也沒有湖泊的大陸。
南極地區終年冰封。那兒歷史上的最高氣溫紀錄是零度，那還是在南極點。探險家們過去總認為，如此寒冷的地方可能會有紛飛的大雪，但是，那兒每年的降雪卻不足10英寸厚，還沒有半英寸水多。撒哈拉沙漠一些地區的降雨量還是那兒的10倍呢！
降於南極洲的微量的雪從不融化，年復一年，一個世紀又一個世紀地越積越厚。當積雪達80英尺的時候，受上層重壓的雪就會凝結成冰。
『英語知識小品【12】伊瓜蘇瀑布是怎樣被發現的』
12．How the Falls of Iguassu Was Discovered
In 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 fought the swift current and managed to reach shore just in time to keep from being swept over the brink．Then they crept out on the wet rocks and looked into the churning caldron below．They had discovered the greatest waterfall that had ever been seen by white men－the falls of Iguassu．
12．伊瓜蘇瀑布是怎樣被發現的
1542年，阿爾瓦·卡維薩·迪·威卡和他的一小隊士兵駕船來到一條叢林河的下游，這就是伊瓜蘇河——現在巴西和阿根廷之間的邊界河。這些探險家們從未看到過這樣美麗的河流。
這時，士兵們聽到遠處傳來一種奇怪的隆隆聲，越往前走，響聲越大。士兵們感到迷惑和恐懼，於是轉彎繞行。就在他們的正前方，那條河卻越過一個巨大斷層的邊緣，咆哮著急降而下，消失不見了。
士兵們與激流搏鬥，及時到達了岸邊，從而免遭被沖刷出斷層邊緣的厄運。然後他們爬到溼漉漉的'岩石上，看著下面那口奔突翻滾的“大鍋”。他們終於發現了白人從未見過的最大瀑布——伊瓜蘇瀑布。
『英語知識小品【10】加利福尼亞近海的海獺』
10．Sen Otters off the Coast of California
sea 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 the stone on his chest，holding the shellfish in his front paws．He takes a wide swing and smashes the hard shell on the stone．Then he has no trouble getting at the meat in the shell．
10．加利福尼亞近海的海獺
生活在加利福尼亞近海的海獺，其取食方法很不尋常，它們潛入海底去尋找它們喜歡的甲殼動物。
當海獺把一隻甲殼動物挾持到水面時，就背朝下浮在水面上，把甲殼動物抱在胸前，然後用牙把肉從殼中剔出。
海獺尤喜食長有堅殼的甲殼動物。當海獺把這樣一隻甲殼動物帶到水面時，同時也帶上來一塊石頭。它把石頭放在胸前，用前爪抓住這隻甲殼動物。它大幅度地擺動一下身體，對著石頭猛擊堅硬的甲殼，然後，取殼中肉就沒有麻煩了。
『英語知識小品【9】小黑蟻——大自然的清道夫』
9．The Small Black Ants，Nature's Clean—up Crew
The 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 nature's 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 running around the beetle．Enough ants will come to put an end to it．
When the beetle is dead，the ants carry it away to their underground burrows．The efficient ants leave nothing in the grass but the empty shell．
9．小黑蟻——大自然的清道夫
我們在草地上見到的那些爬來爬去的小黑蟻，與不邀自來，擾亂我們進行野餐的螞蟻是同類。但是，它們並不是要搞破壞或搗亂，只不過是在履行管理家務的天職罷了。它們是一批大自然的清道夫呢！
這些螞蟻中的一員，在草地裡偵察，發現了一隻負傷的甲蟲的蹤跡。訊息便以某種不可思議的方式傳播開來。不久就出現了兩隻螞蟻，接著又出現了幾隻。然後便有一打或更多的螞蟻在甲蟲的周圍奔忙，最後，大量的螞蟻會趕來置這隻甲蟲於死地。
甲蟲死後，螞蟻就把它抬到它們地下的洞穴中。草地上除了那隻甲蟲的空殼以外，辦事利索的螞蟻們什麼也沒給留下。
『英語知識小品【7】一頭不相信自己的長頸鹿』
7．A Giraffe that Did Not Believe in Himself
In Africa I heard a story about a giraffe that did not believe in himself．
The giraffe's mother bad left him when he was a few days old because she couldn't feed him． For three years he lived in the warden's 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 giraffe's small brain．He could not believe that such extraordinary animals existed．Or that he was one of them！He turned and bolted．
The family took him back several times．In the end they gave up．Now their giraffe lives by himself near the warden's house．
7．一頭不相信自己的長頸鹿
在非洲，我曾聽到過關於一頭不相信自己形體的長頸鹿的故事。
這頭長頸鹿出生後沒幾天，母鹿因無法餵養它而離去。三年中，它一直住在管理人的家中並與管理人的孩子們一起玩耍。後來，它長得太大了，房子裡再也容不下它了。
管理人一家決定讓它回到它的夥伴中去。他們把它送到了一群野鹿之中。
這頭長頸鹿只看了一眼，它那小小的頭腦就受不了啦。它無法相信世上竟有這種異常動物，更難以相信自己還是其中的一員。於是它轉身狂逃。
這家人把它送回去好幾次，最後只好作罷。現在，他們飼養的這隻長頸鹿獨自生活在離他們家房子不遠的地方。
『英語知識小品【1】美國的鑽石』
1．Diamonds in the United States
Most of the world's diamonds come from Africa，but there is one place in the United States where they are found．It is near Murfreesboro，Arkansas．
Diamonds were first found near Murfreesboro in 1906．About fifty thousand diamonds have come from this field．One forty－caratdiamond was the largest ever found in North America．But most of the stones were too small to make mining worthwhile．Soon all mining stopped there．Today a visitor to Murfreesboro can hurt for diamonds himself．
A few diamonds have been found in sand and gravel along the Great Lakes，too．But none of these were in their original blue ground．They may have been formed far to the north and carried south by the last great glaciers．
1．美國的鑽石
世界上的鑽石大部分出自非洲，但美國也有一個鑽石產地，它位於阿肯色州默弗里斯博羅附近。
1906年，在默弗里斯博羅附近首次發現鑽石，從這個礦裡一共開採了大約5萬顆鑽石，其中一顆重40克拉的鑽石是迄今在北美洲發現的最大的一顆。但是，多數鑽石都太小，沒有什麼開採價值，不久那裡的採掘工作就都停止了。今天去默弗里斯博羅的遊客可以親自去尋找鑽石。
在五大湖沿岸的沙地和礫石中也發現一些鑽石，但是沒有一顆保持原有的藍色。它們也許是在遙遠的北方成形，然後由最後一批大冰川帶到南方的。
