The Ship of the Desert沙漠之舟

V. M. 希利爾（湯敏 譯）

作者簡介

V. M. 希利爾（1875—1931），美國著名兒童教育家、科普作家，創建了卡爾弗特教育體系。他為孩子們編寫了一套趣味盎然的歷史、地理、藝術讀物，即《寫給孩子看的世界歷史》《寫給孩子看的世界地理》《寫給孩子看的藝術史》。本文選自《寫給孩子看的世界地理》。

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.

君士坦丁堡有很多駱駝，可是駱駝并不來自歐洲。這種動物是人們從亞洲帶過來的。人們牽著駱駝，從陸上跨過博斯普魯斯海峽，來到了這里。因為據說駱駝是唯一不會游泳，也學不會游泳的動物。大多數動物，例如狗，天生就會游泳，它們根本用不著學。駱駝雖然不會游泳，但是它能夠跨越沙漠，這是其他動物做不到的。

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.

駱駝是沙漠動物。每當我們看到駱駝的時候，我們就能想到，這附近一定有沙漠。駱駝喜歡干燥和炎熱的環境，也喜歡太陽和沙子。如果天氣很熱，我們人和其他的動物就希望能在陰涼的地方休息。可是駱駝休息的時候，反而喜歡臥倒在陽光下面。駱駝經常被人們稱作“沙漠之舟”，因為駱駝是唯一能夠馱著旅行者穿過茫茫沙海的“船”。駱駝的腳掌像一塊墊子一樣，不會陷到沙子當中。駱駝身體里面有幾個囊袋，可以儲存水。因為在沙漠里行走，可能會好多天都找不到水喝，駱駝只好把水存在這些袋子里。

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.

在亞洲有一個駝峰的駱駝叫單峰駝，其他的駱駝有兩個駝峰。駱駝背上的駝峰并不是它們身體上的畸形，而是積累起來的脂肪。當駱駝長時間找不到東西吃的時候，駝峰里面的脂肪就能給它們提供能量。

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.”

駱駝總是跟在領隊后面，前面的人往哪兒帶，它就跟在后面往哪兒走。所以，如果有一大隊駱駝走長路的話，人們就用繩子把這些駱駝首尾相連地串起來，就像一列火車車廂一節節相連那樣。一般來講，在這列駱駝“火車”中，人們會用一頭驢子來領隊，就像火車頭一樣。因為驢子的腦子要比駱駝的腦子好用，它們知道路，也聽人指揮。這樣一支由驢子領隊，駱駝連起來的隊伍，就成了古時候商人們在沙漠里行走的商隊。在整個商隊里，駱駝看起來是最搶眼的。可是駱駝只是外形好看罷了，它的大腦很小，并且很笨。而且，駱駝的脾氣也不好，總是很倔、很不聽指揮。走路的時候，駱駝邁著它高蹺一般的長腿，嘴里總是嘟嘟囔囔的。人們訓練駱駝跪下來，這樣才可以把貨物放到它的背上，騎駱駝的人也才可以上到它的背上去。如果放到駱駝背上的貨物太重，駱駝根本站不起來。可是，一旦駱駝能站起來，它就絕對不會把背上的東西扔了，不管這時候背上的貨物有多重。所以，你可以往駱駝背上不停地加東西，直到這些東西的重量把駱駝壓得“嘭”地跪在地上。這時候，有可能你再加上一根稻草，也能把駱駝的脊背壓斷。因此，如果你給某個人太多的活干，人們就會說，你最后加給他的工作是“壓斷駱駝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.

駱駝除了為主人馱運貨物，還有很多別的用處。母駱駝能給人提供奶。駱駝毛可以用來織布，做成毯子和衣服，也是做帳篷的好材料。在美國，最好的油畫筆也是用駱駝毛做的。

Word Study

hump /h?mp/ n. 駝峰;（人的）駝背;小土丘

hitch /h?t?/ v. （用環、鉤等）套住某物;猛拉

She hitched the pony to the gate.

locomotive /'lo?k?'mo?t?v/ n.火車頭

grunt /ɡr?nt/ v. 咕噥;發出哼聲

He grunted something about being late and rushed out.

kneel /ni?l/ v. 跪著;跪下;下跪