美国学生世界地理教材 第4期:前言(4)

 In the little town where I was born, there lived an old, old man  在我出生的小镇上，住着一位很老的老人，

whose chief claim to distinction was the fact that he had never in his whole life been ten miles away from home. 他在镇上很有名气，主要因为他一生中从未去过离家10英里以外的地方。

Nowadays travel is so easy that every child may look forward to traveling some day.  现在旅行变得很容易，所以每个孩子都盼望将来某一天能去旅行。

This book is to give him some inkling of what there is to see,  这本书就是要让有这个愿望的孩子知道一点世界上有什么值得看的。

so that his travel may not be as meaningless as that of the simple sailor who goes round the world and returns with nothing  这样他今后的旅行可能就不会毫无意义，不至于像那种头脑简单的水手，环游世界一周回来，

but a parrot and a string of glass beads¹. 除了一只鹦鹉和一串玻璃珠子，

All Aboard! 上车！

When I was a boy, my nurse used to take me to the railroad² station to see the trains.  我小时候保姆经常带我去火车站看火车。

A man in a blue cap and blue suit with brass³ buttons would call,  一个戴着蓝帽子、穿着有黄铜扣子的蓝制服的男人总是大声喊：

All aboard for Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and points north and east!  前往巴尔的摩、费城、纽约以及东北方向各地的乘客请上车！

and wave his arm for the train to start.  然后他挥舞手臂示意火车开动。

My nurse said he was a conductor. 保姆告诉我他是列车长。

So when I went home I used to put on a cap and play conductor shouting,  于是每次回到家，我总是戴上帽子，假扮列车长，大声喊道：

All aboard for Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and points north and east! over and over, again and again, until I was told, For pity sake⁴, stop it! 前往巴尔的摩、费城、纽约以及东北方向各地的乘客请上车！一遍又一遍，乐此不疲，直到家人对我说：老天啊！别喊了吧！

But some day I hoped, when I grew up, to be a real conductor in a blue cap and a blue suit with brass buttons.  但是我希望自己长大后将来某一天能成为一个真正的列车长，戴着蓝帽子、穿着有黄铜扣子的蓝制服。

And now that I am grown up, I am still playing conductor, 现在的我已是大人了，我仍然假扮一次列车长，

for in this book I am going to take you to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and points north, east, south and west-round the World! 因为在这本书中我将带你去巴尔的摩、费城、纽约，以及东、南、西、北方向的各个地方—去周游世界！

1 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

2 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

3 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

4 sake   

n.缘故，理由

参考例句：

• He loves poetry for beauty's sake.他因为爱美而喜欢诗歌。
• We can't risk big things for the sake of small ones.我们不能因小失大。