I thought I should like to have an elephant myself, so I bought a nice one and brought it all the way home. 我想我自己要有一头大象就好了，于是，我买了一头很可爱的大象，一路把它带回家。

There it is on my table now. It's made of bronze. 现在它就在我的桌子上。它是一件青铜制品。

Stretching down from Thailand like an elephant's trunk is a long peninsula known as the Malay Peninsula. 从泰国向下延伸出的一个长长的半岛，很像大象的鼻子，叫做马来半岛。

Just about half a mile offshore from the top of this "trunk" is a bit of an island called Singapore. 距“象鼻子”顶端只有半英里远的海上，有一个很小的岛叫“新加坡”。

It was at one time nothing but a jungle in which poisonous snakes and terrible tigers lurked. 新加坡岛曾经有一个时期只不过是一片丛林，里面藏着很多毒蛇和凶猛的老虎。

The owner tried to give it away to get rid of it and couldn't. 岛的主人想把它捐赠出去，但没有人要。

Later, however, he sold it to an Englishman named Raffles for almost nothing, and England built a city there. 不过他后来把它卖给了一位名叫“莱佛士”的英国人，价格非常低，几乎是白送。英国就在新加坡岛建了一座城市。

Why do you suppose England wanted such a place at all? 你猜英国人究竟为什么想要这样一个地方？

Because this spot was another gateway for ships going east or west. 因为这儿是东西方船只来往的又一条通道。

There is, as you will see, a narrow passageway between the islands, and this was the only good way for ships to go. 你会看到，这些岛屿之间有一条狭窄的通道，这是唯一适合船只通行的航道。

Just as in the case of Gibraltar, Suez, and Aden, England wanted to control it. 就和直布罗陀、苏伊士和亚丁的情况一样，英国又想控制这条通道。

In World War II the Japanese captured Singapore, not with ships from the sea, but with soldiers from the land side of the city. 第二次世界大战期间，日本人占领了新加坡，不是从海上用军舰攻占，而是从城市陆地一侧派士兵占领的。

When the Japanese were finally beaten in the war, England again took control of Singapore. 日本人最终在战争中被打败后，英国重新控制了新加坡。

Singapore is now one of the most important stopping-places for ships, 现在，新加坡是来往船只最重要停靠港口之一。

and in the lobby of the great hotel called "Raffles" you may now see people from all nations of the earth. 在一个叫“莱佛士大酒店”的大厅里，你可以看到来自世界各个国家的人。