美国小学英语教材5:第2课 世界越来越小

 　　The World is Growing Smaller 世界越来越小

　　The world is growing smaller. 世界越来越小。

　　Perhaps you don't believe it. 也许你不相信。

　　Well, it took Christopher Columbus sixty-nine days to cross the Atlantic Ocean, when traveling just as fast as anyone could in those days. 克里斯托弗·哥伦布花了69天横渡大西洋，他的速度在当时是最快的。

　　But Charles Lindbergh crossed the ocean in less than two days. 但查尔斯·林德伯格在不到两天的时间里横渡了大洋。

　　The Atlantic must have grown smaller! 大西洋一定是变小了！

　　When President Lincoln was killed, only about seventy years ago, 约70年前林肯总统被杀时，

　　it was seven days before the people in California¹ learned² about what had happened, although the news was rushed across our country with the greatest speed. 尽管这个消息已经以最快的速度传遍了全国，但是7天后加利福尼亚的人们才知道发生了什么。

　　But today you can sit in your home here in America and listen to a man talking in Germany, or England, or Italy. 但如今，在美国你可以坐在家里，听到德国、英国或意大利的讲话。

　　Admiral Byrd, far down at the bottom of the world, told us almost every day what his men were doing. 远在地心的海军上将伯德，几乎每天都在告诉我们他的人在做什么。

　　Yes, it does seem as though our world is growing smaller. 是的，我们的世界似乎正变得越来越小。

　　It seems also that we are living closer together than people did one hundred years ago. 似乎我们比一百年前的人们住得更近了。

　　Why? You have probably already guessed the answer. 为什么？你可能已经猜到答案了。

　　Because men have learned things and invented machines— 因为人类学到了东西，发明了机器——

　　machines that make it possible for people to move rapidly³ from place to place and to send messages with lightning speed. 使人们能够快速地从一个地方移动到另一个地方，以闪电般的速度发送信息的机器。

　　You are going to read about how men travel and send messages. 你将会了解到人是如何旅行和发送信息的。

　　You will learn of Admiral Byrd’s Antarctic⁴ trip, 你将了解到海军上将伯德的南极之旅，

　　how brave dogs and men carried medicine over ice and snow to save lives in the far North, 了解到勇敢的狗狗和人类如何在冰雪中携带药物拯救遥远北方的生命，

　　how the mail was carried before the railroads⁵ came, 铁路来之前，邮件是如何运输的，

　　and how Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris. 林德伯格又是如何从纽约飞到巴黎的。

　　As you read these stories, think of how progress in transportation⁶ and communication makes the world grow smaller. 当你读到这些故事时，想想交通和通讯的进步是如何让世界变得越来越小的。

1 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 rapidly   

adv.快地，迅速地

参考例句：

• The company has grown rapidly in the last five years.这家公司近五年来迅速地发展壮大。
• Ice changes into water rapidly on a hot day.天气炎热的时候，冰很快就化为水。

4 Antarctic   

adj.南极(区)的；n.(the A-)南极洲，南极圈

参考例句：

• The Antarctic is a mountainous area.南极洲是一个多山的地区。
• It is well known that penguins live in the Antarctic.企鹅生活在南极洲是众所周知的。

5 railroads   

n.铁路，铁道( railroad的名词复数 )；铁路系统v.铁路，铁道( railroad的第三人称单数 )；铁路系统

参考例句：

• Water transportation was outmoded by railroads and good pikes. 水上运输已因铁路和良好的税道而变得过时了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A severe snowstorm blocked up railroads. 一场暴风雪使铁路中断。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 transportation   

n.运输，运输系统，运输工具

参考例句：

• The transportation of goods by air costs a lot.航空运输货物花费很高。
• He finally solved the difficulty of transportation.他终于解决了运输的困难。