美国学生世界地理教材 第160期:昔日辉煌的小亚细亚(3)

 Asia Minor¹ now belongs to Turkey—in fact, it is about all there is left of Turkey except Istanbul, 现在，小亚细亚地区属于土耳其——事实上，除了伊斯坦布尔，土耳其国土差不多就是以前的小亚细亚。

although before World War I, Turkey owned much more land. 尽管第一次世界大战之前，土耳其拥有多得多的土地。

You have probably seen Angora cats—beautiful cats with long hair and bushy tails. 你很可能见过安哥拉猫——安哥拉猫很漂亮，有长长的毛和毛茸茸的尾巴，

They come from Angora, the capital of new Turkey. 它们产自新土耳其的首都安哥拉。

In the country round Angora is raised a peculiar² kind of goat which has long silky hair. 安哥拉的周边地区饲养一种奇特的山羊，羊毛又长又柔软，

The hair from this Angora goat is used to make lovely rugs and shawls which can be bought here in America. 可以用来制作精美的小地毯和披肩，在美国也可以买到。

Mohair suits which men wear in hot summer weather because they are so thin and cool are made of Angora goats' hair—if genuine. 男人在炎热的夏季穿的马海毛衣服，就是由安哥拉山羊毛制成的，因为这种衣服——如果真是这种羊毛制成的，就又薄又凉爽。

In Asia Minor is a very crooked³ river that flows lazily along to the sea, turning this way and that way as if it had no particular place to go. 在小亚细亚，有一条弯弯曲曲的河流，慢悠悠地流向大海，一会儿向这边转个弯，一会儿向那边转个弯，好像漫无目的地游荡，

Its name is the "Meander⁴." So when a boy goes lazily along to school, turning this way and that, 条河流的名字叫“曲流河”。于是，当一个小男孩懒洋洋地去上学，一会儿这儿逛逛，一会儿又那儿逛逛，

or when he goes along on an errand and does not go straight there but wanders along as the Meander goes to the sea, 或者，让他跑腿时，不是直接去办事而是到处溜达像曲流河流向大海那样，

we say he "meanders⁵." Girls sometimes "meander" too. 我们就说他在“曲流”，女孩有时也“曲流”。

Figs⁶ grow in the valley of the Meander River and dates grow in many parts of Asia. 曲流河流域生长无花果，亚洲许多地方生长海枣。

Figs and dates are brought on camel back across to a beautiful city called Smyrna on the Mediterranean⁷ Sea, and from there are shipped to us in America. 无花果和海枣都是由骆驼运到地中海沿岸的一座名叫士麦那（现在叫伊兹密尔）的美丽的城市，再从那儿装船运到美国。

You can probably get at your corner grocery store a package of Smyrna figs or "Dromedary Dates" that have been picked far away in Asia, 在美国，你可以在街头杂货店买到一袋“士麦那牌”无花果或一袋“单峰骆驼牌”海枣。这些无花果和海枣都产于遥远的亚洲，

carried by caravan⁸ to Smyrna, and shipped here. 由商队运到士麦那，再用船运到美国。

Another thing sent us from Smyrna is sponges. Sponges grow in the sea near Asia Minor. 另一种从士麦那运到美国的东西是海绵，海绵生长在小亚细亚附近的海里。

Naked men dive for the sponges and pull them off the rocks, where they grow on the bottom of the sea. 光着身子的男人潜入海底，从海底的岩石上采摘海绵。

They gather as many as they can at a time, as long as they can hold their breath. 只要能屏住呼吸，他们就一次采集尽可能多的海绵。

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

3 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

4 meander   

n.河流的曲折，漫步，迂回旅行；v.缓慢而弯曲地流动，漫谈

参考例句：

• Visitors and locals alike meander along the sidewalks of the Seine River.游客与当地人沿着塞纳河岸漫步聊天。
• They tumble down mountainsides and meander through flat farmlands.它们滚滚冲下山脊，蜿蜒穿过平坦的农田。

5 meanders   

曲径( meander的名词复数 )； 迂回曲折的旅程

参考例句：

• The stream meanders slowly down to the sea. 这条小河弯弯曲曲缓慢地流向大海。
• A brook meanders through the meadow. 一条小溪从草地中蜿蜒流过。

6 figs   

figures 数字，图形，外形

参考例句：

• The effect of ring dyeing is shown in Figs 10 and 11. 环形染色的影响如图10和图11所示。
• The results in Figs. 4 and 5 show the excellent agreement between simulation and experiment. 图4和图5的结果都表明模拟和实验是相当吻合的。

7 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

8 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。