1982年英语课本第二册（1984年版高中英语课本第二册文本）
1982年英语课本第二册（1984年版高中英语课本第二册文本） My father told him his name - Albert Borden the year in which he had studied and the name of the school. "An old pipil? I'm sorry but... your name?" The next afternoon my father and I drove over to Deleville to see Mr. Crossett. Everyone in the town knew him so we had no trouble in finding his house. When he came to the door my father recognized him at once though of course he
第二册
LESSON 1 PORTRAIT OF A TEACHER
一位教师的写照
The night before last just before dinner while my father was looking through the evening paper he suddenly let out a cry of surprise. Later he explained:" I had thought that he had died at least twenty years ago. But can you believe that my first teacher Mr. Crossett is still living? He is eight-four years old and yesterday the Department of Education gave him a medal for having completed sixty years of teaching. Sixty years! Can you imagine it? He gave up teaching only two years ago. He lives in Deleville which is only about an hour's ride from here. Henry tomorrow is Saturday. Let's drive over there and say hello to him."
The next afternoon my father and I drove over to Deleville to see Mr. Crossett. Everyone in the town knew him so we had no trouble in finding his house. When he came to the door my father recognized him at once though of course he was now a very old man.
"Mr.Crossett "said my father "will you permit an old pupil to shake hands with you?"
Mr. Crossett looked at us curiosly.
"An old pipil? I'm sorry but... your name?"
My father told him his name - Albert Borden the year in which he had studied and the name of the school.
The old man dropped his head and began to murmur my father's name. Suddenly he looked up.
"Albert Borden? Your father was an engineer and you live very near the school."
"Exactly " said my father shaking the old man's hand.
Later my father and Mr. Crossett talked for about half an hour of things and persons they remembered in the school. The old man's hands shook constantly and he explained to my father how this shaking had begun two years before and how he had been forced to give up his teaching because of this. Otherwise he would still be working because his heart and soul were still in the schoolroom with his students. He went to a closet and after a moment brought out package marked with name and date. Out of the package he drew a paper and gave it to my father. It was marked with my father's name and with the month and the year. It was one of my father's own copybook exercises! Mr. Crossett thus kept a record of all his old students. My father read the exercise and tears came to his eyes.
On the way home my father told me of an incident that took place on his first day at school in Mr. Crossett's class. During the course of the lesson Mr. Crossett noticed that one of the students looked sick and feverish. He walked to the student's desk and put his hand on the child's forehead. While his back was turned another student in the class got up from his seat and began to make faces just to make the other students laugh. Mr. Crossett turned rapidly and glared at the student.
"Don't do that again " he said quietly but firmly. Then he went back to his desk and went on with the lesson. After a while he put down his book looked at the students in silence for several minutes then said:
"My friends we have to spend this year together and we must try to spend it together happily. You should study hard and be good students. I do not want you simply to promise me with words that you will be good. I want you to show me with your hearts that here we are all part of onw big family. I want to be proud of you."
At the moment the bell rang announcing the end of the class. One by one the students got up from their seats and left the room quietly. The boy who had made faces however went up to Mr. Crossett's desk and in a trembing voice said:
"I'm sorry sir!"
Mr. Crossett patted him affectionately on the head and said:
"Do not think any more about it my son. Here we are all good friends."
LESSON 2 THE TALLEST GRASS
最高的草
Did you ever see grass growing high as a tree - a tall tree? Bamboo is this kind of grass. It grows up sraight and thin with branches at the top.
Although bamboo is really a kind of grass it looks more like a tree - a beautiful tree. It has long leaves that sway in the wind like slim fingers reaching to touch something. Chinese and Japanese poets write poems and songs about bamboo and artists paint it in pictures.
Not all bamboo grows tall. Altogether there are more than 500 different kinds of bamboo and some grow no higher than your ankles. Bamboo grows best in places where it is warm and where it rains often. Some kinds of bamboo grow very fast. If they are growing near a house their slim leaves brush the roof gently and cool the house with their shade.
Some bloom and have seeds every year. Some never bloom at all. Some bloom only once after living about forty years and then die. However new shoots of bamboo will come up from around the roots of the old ones.
But the most interesting things about this remarkable plant is what people do with it after it is cut down. Bamboo probabaly has more uses than any other plant in the world.
Bamboo is not a tree remember so the long straight stems of bamboo are not like tree wood. They are hollow which make them very light. You can lift a big piece of bamboo with noe hand. At the same time bamboo is so strong that people use it to build houses and even high bridges over rivers.
In warm countries many people have their houses made almost entirely of bamboo: the walls the roof the floor. Nearly everything within their houses is made of bamboo too. The chairs tables curtains cooking pots flower vases drinking cups birdcages and so on are all made of bamboo. And the fence around their garden is made of bamboo too.
Some bamboo is thinner than your little finger. Some is much thicker than your waist. And because it is hollow it can be fitted together and used for pipes to carry water. Many farmers' fields are irrigated by water brought from a river or lake through bamboo pipes.
Bamboo is used for more than building. People eat it. The tender young shoots of bamboo are crisp and tasty. They are often found in Chinese or Japanese dishes. Some are put into cans nd shipped all over the world.
Bamboo is also made into paper. The soft pulp inside the hard stems is taken out and sent to a factory. There it is made into a fine paper. Bamboo can also be made into good walking sticks and fishing poles.
Who can tell what new use someone may find for this special kind of grass - bamboo?
LESSON 3 ALL THESE THINGS ARE TO BE ANSWERED FOR
所有这一切都是要偿还的（选自《双城记》）
The following account was written by Alexandre Mannette a French doctor in 1767 when he was a prisoner in the Bastille in France.
In his account Dr. Manette told the story of the great wrong done to him. When he was walking by the river Seine one night in December 1757 two noblemen forced him into their carriage and took him to a lonely house. There in a room upstairs he found a young and beautiful girl who kept shouting and crying obviously mad. He did what he could to calm her and then he was taken down to another room where he found a wounded peasant boy who was dying. The boy told him his story and also that of the girl upstairs who was his sisiter and of the terrible wrongs that had been done them by the two noblemen. The boy died and a week later so did his sister.
The Doctor wrote a letter to the Minister disclosing the whole affair. The next day he was kidnapped and thrown into the Bastille.
The following is taken from Dr. Manette's account of his meeting with the boy and of what the boy told him.
The older of the two noblemen took a light and led me into a back room. There on some hay on the ground lay a peasant boy of not more than seventeen. He lay on his back his teeth set his right hand clenched on his breast and his glaring eyes looking straight upward. I could not see where his wound was as I knelt on one knee over him but I could see that he was dying.
"I am a doctor my poor fellow " said I. "Let me examine you."
"I do not want to be examined " he answered. "Let me be."
The wound was under his hand and I persuaded him to let me move his hand away. It was a sword-thrust received from twenty tn twenty-four hours before but nothing could have saved him even if he had been tended without delay. He was then dying fast.
"How did this happen monsieur?"
"A serf! He forced my brother to draw upon him and fell by my brother's sword " said the nobleman.
The boy's eyes had slowly moved to the nobleman as he spoke and they now moved to me.. Slowly he spoke out:
'He is lying Doctor. I have a sister. She was engaged to a young man a tenant of his. We were all tenants of his - of that man who is standing there."
It was with the greatest difficulty that the boy gathered his strength to speak but he spoke with a frightful emphasis.
LESSON 4 ALL THESE THINGS ARE TO BE ANSWERED FOR(Continued)
所有这一切都是要偿还的（续）
"We were robbed by that man who is standing there taxed by him without mercy obliged to work for him without pay obliged to feed scores of his tame birds on our wretched crops and forbidden to keep a single bird of our own - I say we were so robbed and were made so poor that our father told us it was a dreadful thing to bring a child into the world."
I had never before seen the feeling of being oppressed bursting forth like a fire. I had supposed that it must be latest somewhere in the people but I had never seen it break out until I saw it in the dying boy.
"Doctor my sister married the man she was engaged to. He was ill at the time and she married him so that she might tend and comfort him in our cottage. She had not been married many weeks when that man's younger brother saw her and was struck by her beauty. Then with that man's permission and even wwith his help he seized her and took her away. I saw them pass me on the road. When I told our father about this his heart burst. Then last night I followed him here and climbed in sword in hand.
"My sister heard me and ran in. Then that man's brother came in. He first threw me some oieces of money then struck me with a whip. As I fought back he drew his sword and thrust it at me.
"Now lift me up Doctor; lift me up where is he?"
"He is not here " I said supporting the boy. I thought he was referring to the younger of the two noblemen.
"Ha! Proud as these bobles are he is afraid to see me. Where is the man who was here? Turn my face to him."
I did so raising the boy's head against my knee. But filled for the moment with extraordianry strength he raised himself completely obliging me to rise too or I could not have supported him.
"Marquis " said the boy turning to the man and his right hand raised "in the days when all these things are to be answered for I summon you and yours to the last of your bad race to answer for them. In the days when all these things are to be answered for I summon your brother the worst of your bad race to answer for them separately."
He stood there for an istant with his hand still raised. Then as it dropped he dropped with it amd I laid him sown dead.
LESSON 5 WINTER SLEEP
冬眠
Some birds will fly away to the south when the weather turns cold. Other birds and all animals stay with you but you will not see all the animals all through the winter. In the cold weather some of them hibernate.
They go to sleep in all kinds of places. Red squirrels disappear inside trees bears use caves frogs go deep under the mud and many other animals dig tunnels in the earth. A good many animals sleep under the snow. There is a lot of air in loose snow and this helps to keep the cold out.
Some warm-blooded animals like the cat the dog or the wolf do not need to hibernate; they lead an active life which keeps up their normal body temperature even in very cold winter weather. But for a cold-blooded animal such as a frog or a snake it is a different matter. When the air temperature is below freezing the creature's body temperature drops too. It cannot move about in its usual way. Then it has no choice but to lie down and sleep. To do that it must find a place where it can keep fairly warm; and it must be a place where its enemies cannot find it.
Hibernation is more than sleep It is a very deep sleep. The animal’s temperature drops to just over zero centigrade and its heart beats very slowly. People who find hibernating animals asleep often think that they are dead: the body feels very cold and the animal may breathe only once every five minutes. A hibernating animal cannot feel any pain. You can touch it or even pull its tail without causing it to move or wake up. In its hibernating state it can even live in a poisonous atmosphere for a long time without any ill effect.
Hibernating in that way the animal can sleep all through the winter. You might wonder how it manages to live withut eating for so many months. The answer lies in two facts. The first is that it has stored supplies of fat in its body during the summer and autumn. The second is conneted with the main use the body makes of food - to supply the energy for movement. We have seen that the hibernating animal reduces movement to far below the ordinary level. Even the movements of the heart and lungs are greatly reduced. The animal hardly makes any movement hardly uses any energy and hardly needs any food.
Some animals including some bears only halfhibernate. That is to say they sleep during the winter but their sleep is not such a deep one and their body temperature does not drop. In the autumn the bear eats and eats and becomes very fat indeed. His hair grows longer. Soon it has a thick covering of fat and fur. In November he finds a place in a cave or under a tree and just lies down and goes to sleep. On warm winter days he may think that spring has arrived; it gets up and walks around. When he sees that the snow is still thick on the ground he quickly goes to sleep again.
The squirrel is an animal which makes secret food stores for the winter. It hides large quantities of nuts inside trees. In the old stories the squirrel was a good animal: it saved something for the future.
LESSON 6 ALBERT EINSTEIN
阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦
Although Princeton New Jersey has a world-famous university it is still a small quiet town. It is not a place where anyone would expect to see strange characters on the street. That is why one woman will never forget the day in 1940 when as a child she suddenly saw a funny-looking man coming towards her. "I remember " she tells her children now "how wild his white hair looked - as if it had been electrified. He was short. His clothes seemed to be just pulled on to keep him covered like a blanket to keep one warm. He had a big nose a short thick moustache and deep-set eyes. He was staring thinking. He almost knocked me down before he saw me. He gave me a friendly smile then he walked on and went on thinking. I noticed he had on bedroom slippers. He had forgotten to put on his shoes. He looked as if he had just stepped out of my book of fairy tales and had passed me like a spirit. That night at dinner when I told my family about the strange funny man I had seen my father put down his knife and fork looked at me and said 'My child remember this. Today you saw the greatest man in the world!'"
That man was Elbert Einstein. How and why he had come to Princeton New Jersey is a story of struggle success and sadness.
Einstein was born in Ulm Germany in 1879. When he was a boy he liked to ask questions. By the time he was fourteen years old he had learned advanced mathematics all by himself. By then he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. He wanted to be physicist and devoted himself to abstract research.
The Einsteins however could not pay for the advanced education that young Albert needed. But the family did manage to send him to a technical school and later to the Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland. After graduation he went to work first as a teacher then in a government office. With the pay that he received and saved he was later able to go on with his education at the University of Zurich where he received a doctor's degree in 1905. This was the period when he first began the research and studies which led to his famous Theory of Relativity.
His theory was so advanced that few people could understand it at that time and even fewer would accept it. Many scientist laughed at it. But Einstein stuck to his theory and went on with his research.
LESSON 7 ALBERT EINSTEIN(Continued)
阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦（续）
As time went on Einstein's theory proved to be correct and by 1914 he had become famous all over the world. His work was stopped however by the First World War. The war and the suffering that it caused affected him greatly. He lost interest in much of his research. Only when the war was over in 1918 was he able to get happily back to work. During the postwar years in Germany many honors were given to Einstein. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. In 1929 a great celebration was held on his fiftieth birthday in Berlin. Being a shy man Einstein did not attend but he received several baskets full of cards flowers and telegrams of congratulation. The gifts to him would have filled a railway car.
When Hitler came into power in Germany Einstein who was a Jew found the doors of study closed to him. Not only was everything that he had taken away fron him but also his German citizenship.He became a man without a country.
Fleeing Germany Einstein went first to France then to Belgium and then to Britain. There he received a letter inviting him to go to the United States to teach at a well-known research institute in Princeton. He accepted but asked for a very small salary. Einstein cared little for money though he could have been very rich. He once refused to speak on the radio for $1000 a minute. Another time he was seen using a check for $1500 as a bookmark. Then he lost the book!
Like many scientists Einstein loved music; he played the violin fairly well. In Princeton he lived quietly working at the institute and enjoying himself by playing his violin in his simple home. Often there were visitors like the twelve-year-old girl who for a time formed the habit of visiting him on her way home from school. After some time the puzzled mother met Dr. Einstein and asked him what he and her daughter talked about. The doctor smelled and explained:" Oh she brings me cookies and I do her arithmetic homework for her."
Such was Albert Einstein a sinple man of great achivements.
LESSON 8 THE PROFESSOR AND HIS INVENTION
教授和他的发明
Characters
P - Professor Hunter an old man
M - Mary Hunter his daughter
G - Miss Green his secretary
B- Dr Brown R - Mr Rose men from London
I - Inspector White
S - Sergeant Bull
Scene 1
(Mary Hunter and Miss Green are in the professor's room - a large pleasant room with many books. There is a big desknear the window.)
M: Father seems to be excited this morning Miss Green.
G: Of course he's excited. This is a very important day for him. Today his invention will belong to the world! And the papers are complete already.
M: But what is his invention? I only know it's some kind of machine..Father trid to explain to me but I just couldn't understand. Do you?
G: No not really! I think only the professor really understands it. But I know the government thinks highly of it. Your father is doing a great thing giving his invention to the government. Everyone then will be able to benefit from it.
M: Yes Father's that way. He wants to do things for people. I'm sorry Father's not strong enough to go to London himself.
G: The men from the government should be here before long. They'll take his paper to London.
(The telephone rings. Mary picks it up.)
M: Hello? Yes this is Professor Hunter's house. Yes this is Mary speaking. Oh Dr Smith. How are you? What's that? Kate's in hospital? Yes of course I'll come. I wanted to stay with Father but it doesn't matter. Yes I'll be there in an hour. Goodbye.
(Mary puts down the telephone.)
G: What's the matter with Kate? Is she very ill?
M: She's broken her leg. Oh dear! I wanted so much to stay here this morning. I wanted to look after Father.
G: Don't worry Mary. I'll be with him.
(The professor comes in.)
P: I can't find my glasses. Have you seen them Mary?
G (going to the professor's desk): Here they are professor.
P: Ah thank you Miss Green. (He puts on his glasses.) I can't see without them. Now what's the time? Hm where's my watch? (He looks for his watch in his pocket.)
M (laughing): You're wearing it Father.
P (also laughing): Yes of course. I forget so many things don't I?
M: But you can still do your work Father. That's the important thing.
P (looking at his watch): Why it's almost ten. When are the men coming from London? At ten thirty wasn't it Miss Green?
G: No eleven.
P: Oh I thought it was ten thirty. Well then I can read through my papers again.
M: Dr Smith tlephoned a few minutes ago Father. He said Kate's broken her leg. I'm going to see her now. I'm sorry I can't stay with you Father.
P: That's all right Mary. Miss Green will look after me.
(Mary kisses her Father and goes out.)
P: Now let me see. Ah yes my papers. (He goes to his desk and sits down.)
G: Do you need me now professor?
P: Er no thanks. I'll ring if I need you.
(Miss Green goes out of the room.)
P (talking to himself) : These women! They don't think I can look after myself. (He begins to read his papers.)
Scene 2
(Half an hour later. The professor is still reading his papers. Miss Green comes in.)
G(very excited): Professor! They've arrived!
P(looking up): Who Miss Green? What are you talking about?
G: The men from the government of course.
P(looking at his watch): But it's only half past ten. You said they were coming at eleven.
G: Well they've come early. Shall I bring them in?
P: Yes bring them in of course. But give me five minutes. I want to finish this page.
(Miss Green goes to the door. Then she stops.)
G: Oh they've shown me their cards professor. They are the right men.
P: Good. So I don't have to look at their cards then. I certainly don't want to give my invention to the wrong men.
(Miss Green goes out. Five minutes later she comes in with two men.)
B: Good morning professor. My name's Bronwn Dr Brown. And this is Mr Rose. He's my assistant.
G: Shall I bring some coffee?
B: No coffe for us thank you. We can't stay long. We have to go back to London soon.
(Miss Green goes out.)
P: So you've come for the papers of my invention.
B: That's right professor.
P: I wanted to take the papers to London myself but my daughter wouldn't let me go. She's afraid the trip will be too much to me.
B: You needn't worry professor. We'll take good care of the papers.
P: Now let me see. Where did I put them?
(Dr Brown is rather surprised. He looks at Mr Rose.)
B: Those papers on your desk professor are they the ones?
P: Oh these? No they're not the papers for you. These are only some old papers. Ah I remember now. I put the papers behind some books. (He stands up.)
B: Behind your books? That's not a very good place for papers isn't it?
P: Yes it is. No one touches my books. (He takes down some books. There are some papers behind them.) Yes here they are. (He gives the papers to Dr Brown.) You know about my invention don't you?
B: Of course professor. This invention of yours will greatly benefit the whole world. We've talked a lot about it. You'll be famous sir. And of course you will be well rewarded.
P: I don't want to be famous. And I don't want any money for it either.
B: We understand how you feel sir. The country will thank you for it. (He looks at his watch. ) I'm afraid we have to go now.
P: Well take good care of the papers.
B: Yes professor. You can be sure of that. Goodbye.
(The two men go out. The professor sits down and starts to laugh.)
P: Well well that was fun! Now let's wait and see.
Scene 3
(It is about eleven o'clock. The professor is looking at some papers on his desk. Miss Green runs into the room.)
G: Oh professor! Those two men! Have they left?
P: Yes of course they've left Miss Green. They've taken the papers and gone back to London.
G: Oh that's terrible!
P: What's terrible? What are you talking about Miss Green?
G: Those weren't the right men professor.
P: I don't understand. You looked at their cards didn't you?
G: I know. But the cards they had were stolen.
P: How do you know?
G: The police telephoned. The right men were coming from London but their car were stopped by two men. These two shut the men in an empty house and took away their cards. And now htey've stolen your invention! (Begins to cry.)
(The doorbell rings.)
P: Go and open the door Miss Green. It may be the police.
(Miss Green goes out. She comes back with two p olicemen.)
I: I'm Inspector White sir. And this is Sergeant Bull.
P: Please take a seat .
(They both sit down.)
I: So the two impostors have taken your papers. We'll try our best to ctach them.
P; It isn't necessary inspector.
I: Not necessary?
P: Oh the papers aren't important.
I: I dno't understand sir.
G: But your invention! Now those men have it and they'll sell it. That's not what you wanted.
P: Those two men won't sell my invention.
I: Why not?
P: Because they didn't have it. Let me explain. When I saw the men I didn't trust them. They seemed to be too nervous and were too anxious to leave. You looked at their cards Miss Green but I had to be cerrtain very certain. I coudn't give my invention to the wrong men could I?
I: What didi you do?
P: Well Dr Brown said that they had talked about my invention. But that wasn't possible. Only a few very important people knew about it.
G: Quite right.
P: I gave Dr Brown some other papers. He took a quick look and he accepted then. It showed that he didin't know about my invention so I knew that he wasn't the right man.
I: So you 've still got the papers professor?
P: Yes they're still on my desk.
I: But we must try to catch those men professor. Can you tell us what they look like?
P: Mmm let me see. Doctorr Brown was short and fat. He had no hair and...
G: No professor. That was Mr Rose. Dr Brown was tall and thin.
P: Are you sure? Well perhaps you're right.
I(standing up): It doesn't matter professor. We mustn't waste your time. Let Miss Green help us.Thank you very much.
(Miss Green and the policemen go out. The professor sits down at his desk again.)
P(to himself): I'll take the papers to London myself. Now for some work! Hm where did I put my glasses eh?
The Curtain Falls
LESSON 9 SPORTS NAD GAMES
体育运动
What fun it is to jump into a pool or go swimming in a river in summer. How joyful and relaxing it is to have a game of table tennis after a day of study at school. And how exciting it is to play or watch a close game of basketball or volleyball. All over the world millions of people take part in different kinds of sports. Sports are perhaps the most popular form of relaxation that almost all can enjoy whether boys or girls men or women young or old.
Some people seem to think that sports and games are unimportant things that people do at times when they are not working instead of going to the cinema listening to the radio or sleeping. But in fact sports and games can be of great value especially to people who work with their brains most of the day. They should not be treated only as amusements.
Sports and games build our bodies prevent us from getting too fat and keep us healthy. But these are not their only uses. They give us valuable practice in helping the eyes brain and muscles to work together. In table tennis the eyes see the ball coming judge its speed and direction and pass this information on to the brain. The brain then has to decide what to do and sends its orders to the muscles of the arms legs and so on so that the ball is met and hit back where the players wants it to go. All this must happen with great speed and only those who had a lot of practice at table tennis can do this successfully. For those who work with their brains the practice of such skills is especially useful.
Sports and games are also very useful for character-training. In their lessons at school boys and girls may learn about such virtues as unselfishness courage discipline and love of one's country; but what is learned in books cannot have the same deep effect on a child's character as what is learned through experience. The ordinary school cannot give much practical training in living because most of the students' time is spent in classes studying lessons. So what the students do in their spare time is of great importance. If each of them learns to go all out for his team and not for himself on the sports field he will later find it natural to work for the good of society for the good of his country.
LESSON 10 THE LAST LESSON
最后一课
I was very late that morning on my way to school and was afraid of being scolded. The master had told us he would question us on verbs and I did not know a thing about them for I had not studied my lesson.
For a moment I thought of playing truant. The air was so warm and bright and I could hear birds whistling at the edge of the woods and the Prussians drilling in the meadow behind the sawmill.
I liked this much better than learning the rules for verbs but I did not dare to stop so I ran quickly towards school.
Passing the mayor's office I saw people standing before the little bulletin board. For two years it was there that we had received all the news of battles of victories and defeats.
"What is it now?" I thought without stopping.
Then as I ran along the blacksmith who was there readingthe notice cried out to me "Not so fast little one you'll get to your school in plenty of time."
I thought he was making fun of me and ran faster than ever reaching the schoolyard quite out of breath.
Usually at the beginning of school the noise of desks being opened and closed and lessons repeated at the top of the children"s voices could be heard out in the street. Occasionally the master beat the table with his heavy ruler as he cried "Silence please silence!"
I had hoped to be able to take my seat in all this noise without being seen; but that morning the room was quiet and orderly.
Through the open window I saw my schoolmates already in their places. The master was walking up and down the room with the iron ruler under his arm and a book in his hand.
As I entered he looked at me kindly and said without scolding "Go quickly to your place little Franz; we were going to begin without you. You should have been here five minutes ago."
I climbed over my bench and sat down at once at my desk. Just then I noticed for the first time that our master wore his fine green coat and his black silk embroidered cap.
But what surprised me most was to see some of the village people seated on the benches at the end of the room. One of them was holding an old spelling book on his knee; and they all looked sadly at the master.
While I was wondering at this our schoolmaster took his place. "Children " he said "this is the last time that I shall give you a lesson. An order has come from Berlin that no language but German may be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. A new master will come tomorrow who will teach you German. Today is your last lesson in French. I beg you to pay attention."
These words frightened me. This was what they had posted on the bulletin board then! This was what the blacksmith was reading!
LESSON 11 THE LAST LESSON(Continued)
最后一课（续）
My last lesson in French! I hardly knew how to write and I would never learn now. How I regretted the hours wasted in the woods and fields the days when I had played and should have studied!
My books that a short time ago had seemed so tiresome so heavy to carry now seemed to me like old friends.
I was thinking of this when I heard my name called. It was my turn to recite. How I wish I had been able to say the rules without a mistake! But I could not say a word and stood at my bench without daring to lift my head. Then I heard the master speaking to me.
"I shall not scold you little Franz. You are punished enough now. Every day you have said to yourself:'I have plenty of time. I will learn my lessons tomorrow.' Now you see what has happened."
Then he began to talk to us about the French language saying that it was the most beautiful tongue in the world and that we must keep it among us and never forget it.
Finally he took up the grammar book and read us the lesson. I was surprised to see how well I understood. Everything seemed easy. I believed too that I had never listened so attentively; It almost seemed as if the good man were trying to teach us all he knew at this last lesson.
When the lesson in grammar was over we began our writing. For that day the master had prepared some cards on which were written "Alsace France; Alsace France."
They seemed like so many little flags dotted about the schoolroom. How we worked! Nothing was heard but the voice of the master and the scratching of pens on paper. There was no time for play now. On the roof of the schoolhouse some pigeons were softly cooing and I said to myself "Will they too be obliged to sing in German?"
From time to time when I looked up from my page I saw the master looking about him as if he wished to impress upon his mind everything in the room.
After writing we had a history lesson. Next the little ones recited in concert their "Ba be bi bo bu".
Oh I shall always remember that last lesson!
Suddenly the church clock struck twelve. The master rose from his chair. "My friends " said he "my friends ... I ... I ..."
But something choked him; he could not finish the sentence. He returned to the blackboard took a piece of chalk and wrote in large letters "VIVE LA FRANCE!"
Then he stood leaning against the wall unable to speak. He signed to us with his hand:"The lesson is over. You are dismissed."
LESSON 12 WALKING IN SPACE
太空行走
The whole world seemed to be black and empty. The sky was black with bright shining stars that never twinkled. The sun white round and burning seemed to hang in the black space. This was the scene that spread before the eyes of the first astronaut who left his spaceship to walk in outer space. The name of this Soviet astronaut was Leonov; and the date was March 18 1965. Several months later an American astronaut did the same thing. Both of these "space walkers" had spent months before their flight learning how to control their movements under the strange conditions that they would find in outer space. Wearing their thick space suits they learned to deal with conditions where there is neither weight nor gravity neither "up" nor "down".
We do not realize how much we depend on the earth's gravity. When there is no gravity our feet no longer stay on the ground. We float around in the air and the slightest touch may send us floatng off in the opposite direction.
In the laboratories where astronauts are trained for their journeys the conditions are like those of flight. It takes time for them to prepare for the great changes that take place in space. When the spaceship leaves the earth at very high speed the astronauts feel as if they are being crushed against the spaceship floor. Later when they are far away from the earth and their is no more gravity they find they are unable to stay in one place. Simple actions such as eating and drinking become very difficult. You may have some idea of what the astronauts have to deal with if you try to drink a glass of water while standing on your head or while just lying down.
Leonov and his companion Beliaiev began making preparations for the historic walk shortly after their flght began. Their spaceship was equipped with a double door which was fitted with a bellows between the ship and the outside. This made it possible for the astronaut in his space suit with oxygen supply to go first from the air-filled ship to the bellows. Then the air was let out of the bellows. When the man then stepped outside the air inside the ship remained at normal pressure. If the door had opened directly into space the air in the ship would have rushed out and been lost when the door opened.
Leonov and his companion practiced testing the doors several times after they had begun to circle around the earth. When the time came for Leonov to go out his companion helped him fix the line that was to keep him from floating away from the ship. Then Leonov entered the bellows and the door closed behind him. As the air was let out of the bellows his suit began to grow out like a balloon because of the air pressure inside. When there was no air left in the bellows the outer door opened and Leonov stepped out into the empty black space.
If the sky appears blue to us on earth it is because the earth's atmosphere scatters a certain number of blue rays of sunlight. Out where there is no air this phenomenon does not take place. On the earth when the sun is up our atmosphere diffuses light making it seem to be everywhere. However in the airless outer space strong lights such as the sun can be seen side by side with a dark that is like the dark of the blackest night. The absence of air also explains why the stars do not seem to twinkle in space as they do from the earth.
While Leonov was outside the ship he kept in touch by telephone with his companion and with the earth. With his camera he kept taking pictures of what he did and saw. When it was time for him to return to the ship he was enjoying the scene so much that he was disappointed to have to stop his stroll in space so soon.
LESSON 13 MADAME CURIE AND RADIUM
居里夫人和镭
Madame Curie will always be remembered as the discoverer of the element radium.
A certain scientist had discovered that a medal called uranium gave off a kind of radiation which Marie Curie was later to call radioactivity. But where did this radiation come from and what was it like? This was what she set out to discover. She did experiment after experiment. There was failure a little success a little more failure. All seemed to prove that in the mineral which she was examining there was some source of radiation which man knew nothing about.
Four years before this Marie had expressed her thoughts in words much like this:" Life is not easy for any of us. We must work and above all we must believe in ourselves. We must believe that each one of us is able to do something well and that when we discover what this something is we must work until we succeed." This somehing in Marie Curie's own life was to lead science down a new path to a great discovery.
At this time her husband left his own laboratory work in which he had been very successful and joined her in her research for this unknown radiation. In 1898 they declared that they believed there was somthing in nature which gave out radiation. To this something still unseen they gave the name radium. All this was very interesting but it was against the beliefs of some of the scientists of that day. These scientists were very polite to the Curies but did not believe them. The common feeling among them was:" Show us some radium and we will believe you."
There was an old building at the back of the university where Piere Curie had been working. Its walls and roof were made of wood and glass. It was furnished with some old tables a blackbord and an old stove. It was not much better than a shed and no one else seemed to want it. The Curies moved in and set up their laboratory and workshops. Here for four difficult years they worked every moment that they could spare weighing and boiling and measuring and caculating and thinking. They believed that radium hidden somewhere in the mass of mineral dirt ehich was sent to them from far away. But where?
The shed was hot in summer and cold in winter and when it rained water dripped from the ceiling. But in spite of all the discomforts the Curies worked on. For them these were the four happiest years of their lives.
Then one eveing in 1902 as husband and wife sat together in their home Marie Curie said:" Let's go down there for a moment." It was nine o'clock and they had been "down there" only two hours before. But they put on their coats and were soon walking along the street to the shed. Piere turned the key in the lock and open the door. "Don't light the lamps " said Marie and they stood there in the darkness. "Look! ... Look!"
And there glowing with a faint blue light in the glass test-tubes on the tables was the mysterious something which they had worked so hard to find: Radium.
LESSON 14 THE GIFTS
礼物
One dollar and eight-seven cents. That was all she had saved. Three times Della counted it. Only one dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
There was clearly nothing left to do but drop herself onto the shabby little couch and weep. So Della did. You see life is made up of sobs sniffles and smiles but mailnly of sniffles.
When Della had finished her crying she went to the window and looked out sadly at a grey cat walking along a grey fence in a grey backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim her husband a present. She had been saving every cent she could for months but twenty dollars a week - which was the total of their income - doesn't leave much for saving. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. And now she had only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Many happy hours she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare - something worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.
There was a mirror between the windows of the room. Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly but soon her face lost its color. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.
Now Della and Jim had two possessions in which they both took very great pride. One was Jim's gold watch which had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. It fell about her rippling and shining like a brown waterfall. It reached below her knees and almost made a garment for her.
She did her hair up again nervously and quickly. She hesitated for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.
On went her old brown jacket. On went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes she ran out the door and down the stairs into the street.
She stopped at a sign that read: "Madame Sofronie. We Buy Hair Goods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran and paused for a moment panting. She opened the door.
"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.
"Take yer hat off and let's have a look at it " said Madame.
Down came the long brown waves.
"Twenty dollars " said Madame lifting the mass of hair with a practised hand.
"Give it to me quickly " said Della.
The next two hours sped by in a whirl of happiness. She searched shop after shop for Jim's present.
She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. It was a gold watch chain. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was just riight for him. Twenty-one dollars they took for it and she hurried home with the remaining 87 cents.
When Della reached home she looked at what was left for her poor hair and started to work on it.
Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny curls that made her look wonderfully like a naughty schoolboy. She looked at herself in the mirror long carefully and critically.
At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the supper.
LESSON 15 THE GIFTS(Continued)
礼物（续）
Jim was never late. Della held the gold chain tightly in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door by which he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stairs and she turned pale for just a moment.
The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow he was only twenty-two - and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and his shoes were old and worn.
As soon as Jim stepped inside the door he stood still. His eyes were fixed upon Della. There was an expression in them that she could not read and it terrified her. It was not anger nor surprise nor disapproval nor horror nor any of the emotions that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her with that peculiar expression on his face.
Della jumped off the table and went for him. "Jim!" she cried "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow again - you won't mind do you? I just had to do it. My hair grows very fast you know. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice - what a beautiful nice gift I've got for you."
"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim slowly as if he had not yet understood that obvious fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.
"I've cut it off and sold it " said Della. "It's sold I tell you - sold and gone. It's Christmas Eve Jim. Be good to me for it went for you."
Jim seemed quickly to wake out of his trance. He drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.
"Don't make any mistake about me Della " he said "I don't think there's anything about a haircut that could make me love you any less. But if you unwrap that package you will see why I was upset at first."
Della's fingers tore at the string and paper. Then an excited scream of joy and then alas! a quick change to tears.
For there lay The Combs - the set of combs that Della had worshipped for many months in a shopwindow. Beautiful combs pure tortoiseshell with jewels set in - just the colour to wear in her beautiful hair. They were expensive combs she knew and her heart had longed for them without the least hope of possession. And now they were hers but with her hair gone their could be no use for them.
But she hugged them to her chest and at ast she was able to look up with tearful eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast Jim!"
Them Della remembered something else and cried "Oh oh!"
Jim had not yet seen his beautiful gift. She held it out to him eagerly in her open hand.
"Isn't it lovely Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."
Instead of obeying Jim dropped onto the couch put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.
"Della " said he "let's put our Christmas gifts away and keep them a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs ... And now let's have our supper."
LESSON 16 ADVENTURE ON HIGHWAY 66
66号公路历险记
A snowstorm can be exciting. But too much snow can cause trouble. I learned this in a way I will never forget.
My name is Tom Johnson. I'm a bus driver. At five o'clock one morning I turned my bus onto Highway 66. It was snowing. But I was used to driving in all kinds of weather. Maybe the storm wouldn't last long I thought.
As I drove I counted my passengers. There were 14 - nine men four women and a little two-year-old boy. It was so early that most of them were asleep. No one seemed to worry about the storm.
After an hour or two I felt the wind getting stronger. It was snowing harder and I had to drive even more slowly and more carefully. I wish I had never started out.
Real Trouble!
Soon the wind had piled the snow into drifts. But I still thought I could get through. I stepped on the gas. The wheels turned quickly but instead of going forward the bus slid into a drift four feet high. The men got out and pushed the bus. But it wouldn't move not one bit!
At first the passengers joked about being stuck in the snow. They felt sure that help would come very soon. Now and then I turned on the motor to keep the bus warm.
One man said with a laugh "They must be talking about us on the radio right now." He was right. We found out later that news flash were being broadcast - "Bus stuck on Highway 66. Road blocked. Passengers in danger."
When help did not come I began to worry. Snow was still falling. It had grown colder much colder.
"We're in real trouble." I said to myself. "There's still enough gas and while it lasts the motor will keep the bus warm. When it's gone everyone will be freezing cold. That poor little boy!"
I told the passengers " I'm going up the road. I'll get gas and food. When it gets cold in here let the motor run a while. You'll be warm enough. I'll get back as soon as I can."
Then I stepped out of the bus and into the snowstorm.
Fighting the Storm
It was snowing much harder now. The whiteness hurt my eyes. Snowdrifts gad covered the highway in many places and I kept falling down and bumping my knees. I stayed on the road by following the telephone poles.
As it was growing dark I came to a car stuck in a drift. There were people in it - safe and warm. They asked me to stay. But I thought of the passengers waiting for help. I went on.
By seven o'clock the wind was blowing harder than ever. I had been fighting the storm for five hours. Oh how I wanted to rest! But I knew I couldn't. If I did I would freeze.
In the darkness I kept losing my way. I bumped into fences and bushes. The bumps told me when I was off the highway. Each time I fought my way back again.
Then I began to fall over my own feet. Down I went again and again. Was I falling asleep? I slapped my face hard. The slaps kept me awake. I pushed on through the snow.
End of the Adventure
Hours later I saw lights ahead. They looked strange and not clear but beautiful! I pushed on toward them.
Step by step I came nearer the first building. It was a gas station. I could not ask for help there. But I was so worn out I wasn't thinking clearly. So I went right by trying to get to the next lights on the road.
Suddenly my legs gave out under me. I fell in a snowdrift and lay there. I couldn't get up but I was wide awake now. "Don't give up. Don't give up " I kept telling myself. I tried to shout but I couldn't. My voice was too weak.
All at once I knew what to do. I could whistle. Taking a deep breath I gave a sharp whistle through my teeth.
"You need help?" called a voice out of the darkness.
"Yes " I tried to shout but my voice sounded strange. "T can't walk."
"Keep talking We'll get to you in a minute " said the voice.
Some men got to me and carried me into the gas station. As soon as I could I told them about the bus. At first they could not believe I had come so far. I had been out in the storm for nine hours!
The men put blankets food and gas on a heavy truck. It had a special motor and chains to help it travel through snow.
I found out later that the truck reached the bus at two o'clok in the morning. The bus was still warm and the passengers were safe.
They cheered when the truck came. They all started talking at once.
"Where's our driver? Did he send you after us? Is he all right?"
"They're taking him to the hospital " one of the men said. " He's half frozen. But he'll be fine in a few days. Believe it or not he walked 12 miles to get help for you!"
Later many of the passengers visited me.
"We want to thank you " they said. " You saved our lives. We think you're a hero."
"It takes more than a long walk to make a hero " I answered. "I just take care of my passengers. That's my job."
