美国语文第三册 第40期:思索

 　　"I will think of it." It is easy to say this; but do you know what great things have come from thinking? “我要想一想。”这话说起来容易；但是，你知道有多少伟大的事物都来源于思考吗？

　　We can not see our thoughts, or hear, or taste, or feel them; and yet what mighty¹ power they have! 我们既看不到思维，也听不到、尝不到、感受不到它；但它却有着多么强大的力量呀！

　　Sir Isaac Newton was seated in his garden on a summer's evening, when he saw an apple fall from a tree. 艾萨克.牛顿先生正是在夏日的一个傍晚，静坐于树下时看到了苹果从树上掉下来。

　　He began to think, and, in trying to find out why the apple fell, discovered how the earth, sun, moon, and stars are kept in their places. 他开始思考，试图找出苹果掉落的原因，从此他竟然发现了地球、太阳、月亮和星星如何维持自己的位置。

　　A boy named James Watt² sat quietly by the fireside, watching the lid of the tea kettle as it moved up and down. 一个叫詹姆斯.瓦特的男孩子在炉边静坐时，观察着茶壶盖上上下下地活动。

　　He began to think; he wanted to find out why the steam in the kettle moved the heavy lid. 他也陷入了沉思之中，希望能发现壶里的蒸气为什么能够移动沉重的壶盖。

　　From that time he went on thinking and thinking; 从那时起，他就一直在思考；

　　and when he became a man, he improved the steam engine so much that it could, with the greatest ease, do the work of many horses. 当他长大成人后，很快就改进了蒸汽机，使它能够轻松地代替马匹工作。

　　When you see a steamboat, a steam mill, or a locomotive, remember that it would never have been built if it had not been for the hard thinking of some one. 当你看到一艘汽船、一个蒸汽磨或一个火车头时，要记得如果没有某个人的努力思索，它们永远都不会出现。

　　A man named Galileo was once standing³ in the cathedral of Pisa, when he saw a chandelier swaying to and fro. 一个名叫伽利略的人，曾经在比萨教堂前看到一只吊灯晃来晃去。

　　This set him thinking, and it led to the invention of the pendulum⁴. 这让他陷入了思考之中，从而导致了钟摆的发明。

　　James Ferguson was a poor Scotch⁵ shepherd boy. 詹姆斯.弗格森曾经是一个贫穷的苏格兰牧童。

　　Once, seeing the inside of a watch, he was filled with wonder. 有一次，他看到了手表的内部构造，心中充满了惊奇。

　　"Why should I not make a watch?" thought he. “我为什么不能自己制造一只手表呢？”他想到。

　　But how was he to get the materials out of which to make the wheels and the main spring? 但是，如何才能得到制作轮子和主发条的必要材料呢？

　　He soon found how to get them: he made the main spring out of a piece of whalebone. 很快，他找到了获取材料的方法：他用一根鲸须制成了主发条，

　　He then made a wooden clock which kept good time. 然后他做成了一个木制时钟，运转情况一直良好。

　　He began, also, to copy pictures with a pen, and portrait swith oil colors. 同时，他还会用钢笔绘制图片，用油彩临摹肖像。

　　In a few years, while still a small boy, he earned money enough to support his father. 尽管依然还是个小孩子，可这几年中，他挣的钱足以维持自己和父亲的生活了。

　　When he became a man, he went to London to live. 长大后，他来到伦敦生活。

　　Some of the wisest men in England, and the king himself, used to attend his lectures. 英国的一些聪明人士经常聆听他的演讲，甚至连国王也是他的忠实听众。

　　His motto was, "I will think of it;” and he made his thoughts useful to himself and the world. 他的座右铭就是“我要想一想”，而且他的思想不仅有利于自我，甚至还有利于全世界。

　　Boys, when you have a difficult lesson to learn, don't feel discouraged, and ask someone to help you before helping⁶ yourselves. 孩子们，当你面对难题时，千万不要气馁，而且在寻求外来帮助之前，应该自己先想想办法。

　　Think, and by thinking you will learn how to think to some purpose. 要多思考，通过思索，你将学会如何想要达到某个目的。

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 watt   

n.瓦，瓦特

参考例句：

• The invention of the engine is creditable to Watt.发动机的发明归功于瓦特。
• The unit of power is watt.功率的单位是瓦特。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 pendulum   

n.摆，钟摆

参考例句：

• The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。
• He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。

5 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。