美国学生世界地理教材 第69期:南美洲北部(2)

 In British Guiana far back in the wilds is a waterfall nearly five times as high as Niagara, 在英属圭亚那偏远的荒野有一个瀑布，几乎有尼亚加拉瀑布五倍高， 

yet so far away from everything that hardly any white men have ever seen it or even heard of it.  然而由于它太偏僻了，几乎没有白人见过，甚至听说过它。

It’s name is Kaieteur.  它的名字叫“凯厄图尔瀑布”。

Just for fun ask your father if he knows what Kaieteur is. 为了好玩，你可以问问你爸爸，看他知不知道凯厄图尔是什么。

The line around the middle of the World, if there were a line—which there isn’t—is like the belt around a very fat man. 环绕世界中间的那条线，如果有线的话——实际上是没有的——就像系在一个胖乎乎的人身上的一根腰带。 

It is called the Equator¹. The Spanish for Equator is Ecuador. 那条线叫做赤道。“赤道”在西班牙语中叫“厄瓜多尔”。 

Ecuador is also the name of a little country in South America that straddles the Equator. 厄瓜多尔也是南美洲一个小国家的名字，这个国家横跨赤道。 

We should expect it to be very hot there, for the nearer the Equator one goes the hotter it usually gets;  我们一般都会认为那里会很热，因为通常越靠近赤道就越热；

but most of Ecuador is high up in the Andes Mountains, so high up that it is quite cool all the year round. 但厄瓜多尔大部分地区都在安第斯山脉上，由于山很高，那里一年四季都很凉爽。 

The capital of Ecuador is Quito, pronounced Key-toe.  厄瓜多尔的首都是基多，发音就像“钥匙—脚趾头”。

From Quito you can see two of the highest volcanoes² in the World. 在基多能看到世界上两座最高的火山。 

They have names that sound strange to us; both begin with “C.”  它们的名字听起来很奇怪；两个都以字母“C”开头。

Chimborazo is the name of the higher, but it no longer smokes or sends forth³ fire. 高一点的那座山叫做“钦博腊索山”（Chimborazo），但它已经不再冒烟或喷火了。 

The other is Cotopaxi, not quite so high but still very much alive, for fires inside have not gone out. 另一座矮一点，是“科托帕克希火山”（Cotopaxi），但仍然是活火山，因为里面的火还没有熄灭。

It seems strange that from this far country in the mountains, from Ecuador,  厄瓜多尔这个国家在离我们很远的群山里，

something comes which you eat or drink, perhaps every day—chocolate and cocoa⁴. 奇怪的是你可能每天吃的或喝的巧克力和可可粉，就产自这个国家。 

They are both made from beans which grow in a large pod-a pod as big as a melon.  巧克力和可可粉都是由可可豆做的，可可豆长在很大的豆荚里——像甜瓜那么大的豆荚。

These pods grow, not on branches, but right on the trunk of the tree. This tree is called the ca-ca-o tree. 这些豆荚不是结在树枝上的，而是直接长在树干上的。这种树叫做可可树。 

Notice how cocoa and cacao are spelled: See-o see-o-a comes from the see-a see-a-o-tree.  注意看英语“可可粉”和“可可树”是怎么拼写的：“cocoa”（可可粉）来自于“cacao”（可可树）上。

Cocoa does not come from the cocoanut-tree. 可可粉并不是出自于椰子树（cocoanut-tree）的。 

The cocoanut-tree is an entirely⁵ different tree that bears cocoanuts but not cocoa. 椰子树是一种完全不同的树，树上会结出椰子而不是可可。

The Indians of Ecuador are very wild and savage⁶. They are called head-hunters. 厄瓜多尔的印第安人非常野蛮凶狠。他们被称为“猎人头者”。 

One family or tribe⁷ will fight another tribe whenever they want something they haven’t got—wives, perhaps—or simply because they want to fight. 每当他们想要获得自己没有的某种东西——比如妻子——一个家族或部落就会和另一个部落大打出手，或者纯粹想打架而已。 

When they kill a man they cut off his head and save it for a souvenir⁸,  他们杀了一个人，就割下其头颅留作纪念品。

as the American Indians used to cut off a man’s scalp and save it as a souvenir or trophy⁹.  就像美国的印第安人过去把敌人的带发头皮割下来作为纪念物或者战利品一样。

The Indian who has the greatest number of heads is considered the greatest fighter.  拥有最多人头的印第安人被认为是最勇猛的战士。

1 equator   

n.赤道，（平分球形物体的面的）圆

参考例句：

• Singapore is near the equator.新加坡位于赤道附近。
• The United States is north of the equator.美国位于赤道以北。

2 volcanoes   

n.火山( volcano的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Volcanoes and geysers erupt. 火山和间歇喷泉均能喷发。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive. 他现在比任何人都能更多地向我们讲述有关活火山的情况。 来自《用法词典》

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 cocoa   

n.可可粉，可可饮料，可可色

参考例句：

• They always had a cup of cocoa last thing at night.他们总是在临睡前喝杯可可饮料。
• Steam rose from her mug of cocoa.水汽从她那杯可可饮料里升起。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

7 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

8 souvenir   

n.纪念品，纪念物

参考例句：

• Please accept this little gift as a souvenir.请留下这个小小礼物作为纪念。
• I was going to save that as a souvenir.我本来准备把它做为纪念品保存下来的。

9 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。