呈现于读者面前的这套《英国学生科学读本》,是一套英国学生曾经使用的原版科学教材。作者尝试从孩子身边不起眼的细小事物开始,让他们自己走进奇妙的科学殿堂。这套科学读本犹如一部生动有趣的万物简史,书中提到的事物,都是人们天天可见的:
狗、猫、麦子、铁、煤、铅笔、大头针……当然,有些是当地特有的东西,比如英国的硬币——便士。
这些内容看起来平常得很,但每篇文章背后都关联着相应的专业科学,让读者学到丰富而有用的知识。《英国学生科学读本》的最后,还收录了一些优美的英语诗歌,描述了身边美丽的自然现象和孩子们的日常活动。对中国读者来讲,此书可谓一套多功能的英语读本。
This set of science readers authored by the famous textbooks
publisher Thomas Neslon Sons, was used in some British
schools in 1920s. It includes more than one hundred object lessons
with many pictures, which bring the young readers everyday science
knowledge and principles. For Chinese students it is also a series
of excellent books to improve their English.
目錄:
1 THE HOLLY 冬 青
2 THE CANARY BIRD 金丝雀
3 THE LEAD?PENCIL 木杆铅笔
4 BLACK?LEAD 石 墨
5 THE COW 牛
6 A GLASS OF WATER 一杯水
7 THE GOLD?FISH 金 鱼
8 A LUMP OF PUTTY 一块腻子(油灰)
9 SEEDS(Ⅰ) 种 子(Ⅰ)
10 SEEDS(Ⅱ) 种 子(Ⅱ)
11 THE AIR WE BREATHE 我们呼吸的空气
12 THE CAT 猫
13 THE METAL CALLED IRON 一种叫铁的金属
14 A CUP OF TEA 一杯茶
15 SNOW?FLAKES 雪 花
16 A PIECE OF WOOD 一块木头
17 THE RABBIT 兔 子
18 SLIDING ON THE ICE 滑 冰
19 A REEL OF COTTON 一卷棉线
20 COCKS AND HENS 公鸡和母鸡
21 A PIECE OF SLATE 一块石板
22 AN EAR OF WHEAT 一棵麦穗
23 THE PERIWINKLE 滨 螺
24 GREEN PEAS 嫩豌豆
25 THE HERRING 鲱 鱼
26 PICKING BUTTERCUPS 摘毛茛
27 THE SHRIMP 虾
28 A BLOCK OF SALT 一块盐
29 THE FLY 苍 蝇
30 THE POTATO 马铃薯
31 THE GLIDING SNAKE 游来游去的蛇
32 ONLY A CORK 一块软木
33 THE PRETTY PIGEON 美丽的鸽子
34 BARLEY 大 麦
35 GETTING UP STEAM 蒸汽往上冒!
36 THE USEFUL SHEEP 浑身是宝的绵羊
37 ALL ABOUT A PENNY 关于便士
38 OUR HELPER, THE HORSE 人类的帮手——马
39 A SOFT AND FLEXIBLE METAL—LEAD 柔韧的软金属——铅
40 THE SUGAR?CANE 甘 蔗
41 HOW SUGAR IS MADE 糖是怎么生产的
42 THE SAUCY SPARROW 调皮的麻雀
43 A LUMP 0F CLAY 一块粘土
44 HOW BRICKS ARE MADE 砖是怎么做出来的
45 THE FLAT FISH CALLED THE SOLE 一种叫“鳎”的比目鱼
46 A CUP OF COFFEE 一杯咖啡
47 OUR FRIEND THE DOG 狗——人类的朋友
48 MORE ABOUT THE DOG 关于狗的其他事情
49 CHESTNUTS 栗 子
50 ONLY A STONE 只是一块石头
51 A LUMP OF COAL 一块煤
52 APPLES, AND THE APPLE?TREE 苹果和苹果树
53 THE OYSTER 牡 蛎
54 THE CRUSTY CRAB 硬壳螃蟹
55 NEEDLES AND PINS 缝衣针和大头针
56 THE YELLOW PRIMROSE 黄色的报春花
57 SULPHUR 硫
58 THE CREEPING CATERPILLAR 毛毛虫向前爬
59 THE BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY 美丽的蝴蝶
60 THE CABBAGE 卷心菜
61 THE SNOW?DROP 雪花莲
62 THE PATIENT DONKEY 吃苦耐劳的驴子
63 THE USEFUL COCOA?NUT 有用的椰子
64 THE RED METAL CALLED COPPER 红色金属——铜
65 THE ONION 洋 葱
66 EGGS AND CHICKS 鸡蛋与小鸡
67 A TALK ABOUT WOOL 羊毛漫谈
68 THE HYACINTH 风信子
69 THE FINNY PLAICE 欧鲽鱼
70 EVAPORATION 蒸发作用
71 THE CHERRY?TREE AND ITS FRUIT 樱桃树及其果实
72 THE CLEVER SPIDER 聪明的蜘蛛
73 A PANE OF GLASS 玻璃窗
74 ONLY A WEED(Ⅰ) 蒲公英(Ⅰ)
75 ONLY A WEED(Ⅱ) 蒲公英(Ⅱ)
76 THE COMMON MOUSE 家 鼠
77 “THERE’S NOTHING LIKE LEATHER!” “百货不如皮货”
78 VIOLETS AND PANSIES 紫罗兰与三色堇
79 THE PRICKLY HEDGEHOG 扎人的刺猬
80 THE SOIL BENEATH OUR FEET 我们脚下的土地
81 A SHEET OF PAPER 一张纸
82 THE GARDEN SNAIL 花园中的蜗牛
83 MATTER, AND THE SENSES 物质与感觉
84 THE BUSY BEE 勤劳的蜜蜂
85 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 可可与巧克力
86 SUN, MOON, AND STARS 太阳、月亮与星星
87 THE EARTH?WORM 蚯 蚓
88 CONDENSATION 冷 凝
89 CLOUDS AND RAIN 云和雨
90 THE STURDY OAK 结实的橡树
91 MILK AND ITS USES 牛奶及用途
92 A BOX OF MATCHES 一盒火柴
93 TADPOLE AND FROG 蝌蚪与青蛙
94 A PAIR OF BELLOWS 一副风箱
95 FLOUR AND BREAD 面粉与面包
96 THE BODY(Ⅰ) 人 体(Ⅰ)
97 THE BODY(Ⅱ) 人 体(Ⅱ)
附 录:SCIENCE POETRY 科学诗歌
01 How The Leaves Came down 树叶是怎样飘落的
02 Winter’s Coming 冬天来了
03 Jack Forst 霜先生
04 The Bird’s House 鸟儿的家
05 Welcome, Little Robin 欢迎你,知更鸟!
06 The Raindrops’ Ride 小水滴的旅程
07 Water 水
08 How do They Grow? 他们是怎么生长的?
09 The Cotton Tree 棉花树
10 Iron 铁
11 Birdie and I 小鸟和我
12 The Sparrow in The Snow 雪中麻雀
13 A Little Robber 小强盗
14 Baby’s Big World 贝贝的大世界
15 A Tired Little Worm 小虫子累了
16 Snow Song 雪之歌
17 Skating 滑冰
18 Hide?and?seek 捉迷藏
19 The voice of spring 春之声
內容試閱:
Lesson 1
THE HOLLY
冬 青
hol??ly shīn??ing prick??les
sauce??pan flow??ers
Christ??mas ei??ther an??i?mals
stew fruit
pret??ty shrub
bit??ing stick??y scar??let
ber??ries fin??gers quite
spread piece
a?gainst? guess smooth
sum??mer pud??ding
1. How nice it is at Christmas to see the branches of holly on
the walls! How pretty the bright?red berries look against the
shining dark?green leaves!
2. You may call the holly either a large shrub or a small
tree. The leaves of most trees fall off when winter comes, but the
holly is green all the year round. It is called an ever?green tree;
for as soon as one old brown leaf drops off, a fresh green one
grows in its place.
3. Did you ever prick your fingers when you were hanging up
the holly? The leaves have sharp points or spines all round the
sides and also at the ends.
4. Can you guess what is the use of these prickles or spines
to the holly tree? They keep cows and other animals from biting off
the leaves.
5. Look at the holly leaves at the top of the tree, where the
cows cannot reach,
and you will see that these leaves are quite smooth, and have
no spines.
6. If you put some of the bark of the holly tree into an old
saucepan with a little water, and stew it slowly on the fire, you
will get a sticky white stuff.
7. This sticky stuff is called bird?lime, for men spread it on
leaves and twigs to catch birds. If a bird rests on one of these
twigs or leaves, the bird?lime sticks to its feet, and then it
cannot fl y away.
8. Look at the holly in summer, and you will see that it has
small white flowers. When these drop off, the fruit comes in their
place. The fruit of the holly tree is the pretty scarlet berry,
which you can see on the branches in winter.
9. Be sure you find some nice holly, with plenty of scarlet
berries, for next Christmas. Hang up the branches all round your
rooms, and stick a small piece in your plumpudding.
SUMMARY
The holly is an evergreen tree with bright?red berries. The
leaves have sharp, prickly points or spines to protect them from
animals. Branches of holly are used for decorating our houses at
Christmas. Bird?lime is made out of the bark of the holly.
【中文阅读】
1.过圣诞节了,墙上挂起了冬青①的树枝,小朋友们多高兴啊!那些亮红色的果子,衬着闪光的暗绿色叶子,多好看啊!
8.夏天的冬青,会开出小小的白花。白花落了,在原来的地方会长出果实。冬青的果实是好看的红莓,冬天,过圣诞节的时候,你就能在圣诞挂饰上看到红莓。③
9.明年圣诞节,一定要找些美丽的冬青枝叶,带着好多红莓。把冬青枝叶挂满房间,往葡萄干布丁里放一颗小红莓吧!④
译 注
①
冬青的英语是holly或者ilex,在西方文化中象征着“永生”。在圣诞节用冬青做装饰,是西方的一个传统习俗。古罗马人有一个节日“农神节”,在这个节日要互送冬青当礼物,后来这个传统被基督教继承了。圣诞节的装饰品,除了冬青,还有彩球(baubles)、一品红(poinsettia)、圣诞花环(wreaths)等。
②
冬青的叶子覆盖着一层角质层,阻止了水分的蒸发,所以冬青到了冬天,用不着让树叶都掉光。而且冬青掉叶子不是一次全掉,而是分批掉的,所以看上去就一直是绿色的了。因为这个特点,西方人非常喜欢冬青,认为它是永生的象征。有一种“大叶冬青”,它的叶子可以做成“苦丁茶”,是中国的传统饮料。
③ 中国的冬青大都当作绿化植物,因为经常修剪,所以花朵很难留下来,也就不常看到果实了。
④
现在一般认为,很多种类的冬青果实有一点儿毒性,不适合人吃,还可能让宠物中毒。出于安全考虑,最好不要让孩子和宠物接近冬青枝叶和红莓。
Lesson 2
THE CANARY BIRD
金丝雀
ca?na??ry be?cause?
hol??low firm??ly guide
per?haps? yel??low
clothed perch builds
cru??el coun??try
cov??ered walk
thir??teen
spar??rows mus??cles
feath??ers ra??ther ca?na??ries
swal??lows bod??ies front
stead??y re?pay?
1. Are you fond of birds? Perhaps you have one at home. It is
very cruel to keep such birds as sparrows or swallows in cages,
because these birds like better to fly about in the open air.
2. But there is a small yellow bird, called the canary, which
we may keep in a cage, if we are kind to it; for, if we let it fly
away, it would soon die in this cold country of ours. It is better
that it should live in a warm house.
3. The canary and other birds have bones and muscles very much
like those in our own bodies. Their bones, however, are hollow and
very light. This makes it easy for them to fly.
4. See how the canary is clothed. It is covered with feathers.
Some of them are long, and these are used for flying. The others
are short, and serve to keep the bird warm.
5. All birds have two legs and two arms; but these arms are
not like ours. We call them wings, and the birds use them for
flying.
6. Look at the canary’s foot. It has one strong toe behind,
and three toes in front. This foot is just the right shape for
holding firmly to the branch or perch on which the canary sits. So
the canary is called a perching bird. It cannot walk as we do, but
it hops or jumps along the ground.
7. What a strong beak the canary has! With its beak it splits
open the seeds on which it feeds. And do you see its bright eyes,
looking like black beads?
8. The canary has rather a long tail, and this tail helps to
steady the bird and to guide it when it flies.
9. The canary builds a little nest of wool, hair, or moss, and
in this nest the mother bird lays her eggs. Then she sits on the
eggs to keep them warm.
10. In thirteen days the young birds come out of the eggs, and
the mother and father feed them many times a day.
11. Why do we keep canaries? It is because they look so pretty
with their yellow and green feathers, but still more because they
have such a sweet song.
12. Keep your canary’s cage clean, and give the bird fresh
water to drink and seed to eat every day. Then it will repay you by
its sweet singing all day long.
SUMMARY
The canary is a small yellow bird that can live only in warm
places. It is a very pretty bird, and has a sweet song. Its bones
are hollow and light. It has two legs and two wings. Its foot is so
made that it can hold on firmly to a branch or a perch. It has a
strong beak, and its long tail helps it in flying.
【中文阅读】