美国学生世界地理教材 第157期:沙漠之舟(2)

 The camel "follows the leader," almost as in the game, 骆驼具有模仿“领头人”的习性，

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, 差不多就像我们在“学样”游戏里做的那样——领头人去哪儿，骆驼就去哪儿——所以当一群骆驼长距离运送货物时，它们就会被头尾相连地系在一起接成一条线，

like a train of cars hitched¹ together, often with a donkey at the head of the train like a locomotive to lead them. 像多节车厢挂在一起的一列火车。在骆驼队的最前面通常有一头驴子来充当领队，就像火车有车头一样。

The donkey has sense, but a camel has little sense; that's why the donkey is made the leader. 驴子感觉很灵敏而骆驼感觉非常迟钝，这就是为什么用驴来领队的原因。

Such a train of camels is called a caravan². 这样的驼队被称为商队。

The camel looks very superior—as if no one were as good as he—but he is really a stupid animal with a very small brain. 骆驼看上去非常高傲——好像谁也比不上它——实际上骆驼的大脑很小，是一种很笨的动物。

He has, however, an even temper—always mean, ugly, and nasty. 然而，它性情平和——总是那样小气、丑陋、邋遢。

He grunts³ as he walks slowly along on his stilt-like legs. 骆驼一边迈动那高跷般的腿慢慢行走，一边嘴里发出咕哝声。

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. 骆驼经过训练会跪在地上，让人把货物放在它的背上。骆驼能运载很多货物，且驾驭者就坐在货物的上面。

If too big a load is put on his back, when kneeling, the camel will not get up at all; 如果一次装载太多的货物，跪在地上的骆驼就根本站不起来，

but once he gets up he never gives up, no matter how heavy the load. 但是一旦站了起来，无论货物有多重，它都决不会倒下。

You can then pile anything on him until it crushes him to the ground. 这时你可以往它背上堆放任何东西，除非把它压倒在地。

When he has all the load he can carry, one straw more may be enough to break his back. 当骆驼负载了它所能承载的最大重量时，再加一根稻草也许都会压垮它。

So when you give some one too much work to do, people say, "It's the last straw that breaks the camel's back." 所以，当你让别人做太多的工作时，人们会说，“那是压垮骆驼的最后一根稻草。”

The camel carries loads for his master, but the camel does more than that. 骆驼除了为主人运载货物，还有其他用途。

The mother camel gives him milk, and sometimes young camels are used for food. The camel's hair is woven to make blankets and clothes and tents. 母骆驼能产奶供主人喝，有时小骆驼可供食用，骆驼毛可以织成毯子、衣服和帐篷。

In our country the best paint brushes are made of camel's hair. 我们国家最好的画笔就是用骆驼毛制成的。

1 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

2 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

3 grunts   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈

参考例句：

• With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着，伸个懒腰坐了起来。
• Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。