美国学生世界地理教材 第197期:一条巨大的海蛇怪(2)

 They are curious or inquisitive¹ and they want to know and see why there is "No Admittance." 他们很好奇，对别人的私事爱刨根问底。他们就想知道和弄明白为什么“禁止入内”。

So, over a hundred years ago, an American naval² officer named Commodore Perry went to Japan and tried to get in. 所以，一百多年前，一位名叫佩里的美国海军军官来到日本，设法进入日本。

He took with him a shipload of presents from our country for the Japanese Emperor, presents such as the Emperor had never seen or known of before. 他从美国为日本天皇带来了满满一船的礼物，这些礼物都是日本天皇以前从未见过或者从未听过的东西。

The Emperor was so pleased with the presents that he wanted to buy more and to know more about countries that could make such things. 日本天皇很喜欢这些礼物，就想买更多这样的东西，还想进一步了解造出这些东西的国家，

So Commodore Perry said to the Emperor, "Let the American people come in to your country and we will sell you these things and buy other things from you." 于是海军准将佩里就对天皇说，“让美国人到你们国家来吧。我们把美国生产的东西卖给你，也从你这儿买日本生产的东西。”

The Emperor agreed, and so the country was opened for trade and the eyes of the Japanese were opened too, 天皇同意了。这样，这个国家的贸易对外开放了。日本人民的眼界也开阔了，

for until then they had had no idea of what was going on in other countries except China. 因为在此之前除了中国，他们一点也不了解其他国家所发生的事。

They were amazed to hear about railroad trains, the telegraph, and the marvelous machines that we had. 他们很惊讶地听到火车，电报，和我们所拥有的神奇的机器。

Then Japan sent thousands of her brightest young men to our country and to the countries of Europe to learn about such things, 于是，日本就派出了成千上万最有才华的年轻人到美国和欧洲各国去学习先进的技术。

and they returned and taught their own people, who were extraordinarly quick to learn. 这些年轻人学成归国后，再把学到的技术传授给自己的同胞。日本人很快就学会了。

It was not long before they had copies of everything that we had. 不久，日本就仿制出美国人拥有的所有东西。

They made their country an up-to-date country and in a hundred years they jumped ahead of the Chinese a thousand years. 他们将自己的国家建成一个现代化的国家。日本用100年的时间就超过了中国。

But if some one sets out to copy some one else he is apt to copy the bad things as well as the good. And that's what the Japanese did. 但是，当一个人力图仿效另一个人的时候，他学到了有益的东西，也学会了有害的东西。日本人正是这样。

They not only copied trolley-cars, electric lights, and automobiles³. They copied battleships and airplanes and tanks and guns. 他们不仅学会制造无轨电车、电灯和汽车，还学会制造战舰、飞机、坦克和枪炮。

They built a great big up-to-date army. 他们建立了一支强大而庞大的现代化军队。

Then they started a great big up-to-date war by dropping bombs on American ships in Hawaii. 然后，他们将炸弹丢向停在夏威夷的美国船只，发动了一场大规模的现代化战争。

1 inquisitive   

adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的

参考例句：

• Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
• A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。

2 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》