最新英语100个经典故事.docx

最新英语100个经典故事.docx

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最新英语100个经典故事

1

Wecanreadofthingsthathappened5,000yearsagointheNearEast,where

peoplefirstlearnedtowrite.Buttherearesomepartsoftheworldwhereeven

nowpeoplecannotwrite.Theonlywaythattheycanpreservetheirhistoryisto

recountitassagas--legendshandeddownfromonegenerationofstory-tellers

toanother.Theselegendsareusefulbecausetheycantellussomethingabout

migrationsofpeoplewholivedlongago,butnonecouldwritedownwhatthey

did.AnthropologistswonderedwheretheremoteancestorsofthePolynesian

peoplesnowlivinginthePacificIslandscamefrom.Thesagasofthesepeople

explainthatsomeofthemcamefromIndonesiaabout2,000yearsago.

Butthefirstpeoplewhowerelikeourselveslivedsolongagothateventheir

sagas,iftheyhadany,areforgotten.Soarchaeologistshaveneitherhistorynor

legendstohelpthemtofindoutwherethefirst'modernmen'camefrom.

Fortunately,however,ancientmenmadetoolsofstone,especiallyflint,be-

causethisiseasiertoshapethanotherkinds.Theymayalsohaveusedwood

andskins,butthesehaverottedaway.Stonedoesnotdecay,andsothetoolsof

longagohaveremainedwheneventhebonesofthemenwhomadethemhavedisappearedwithouttrace.

2

Why,youmaywonder,shouldspidersbeourfriends?

Becausetheydestroyso

manyinsects,andinsectsincludesomeofthegreatestenemiesofthehuman

race.Insectswouldmakeitimpossibleforustoliveintheworld;theywould

devourallourcropsandkillourflocksandherds,ifitwerenotfortheprotection

wegetfrominsect-eatinganimals.Weowealottothebirdsandbeastswhoeat

insectsbutallofthemputtogetherkillonlyafractionofthenumberdestroyed

byspiders.Moreover,unlikesomeoftheotherinsecteaters,spidersneverdo

theleastharmtousorourbelongings.

Spidersarenotinsects,asmanypeoplethink,norevennearlyrelatedtothem.

Onecantellthedifferencealmostataglanceforaspideralwayshaseightlegs

andaninsectnevermorethansix.

Howmanyspidersareengagedinthisworkonourbehalf?

Oneauthorityon

spidersmadeacensusofthespidersinagrassfieldinthesouthofEngland,and

heestimatedthatthereweremorethan2,250,000inoneacre,thatissomething

like6,000,000spidersofdifferentkindsonafootballpitch.Spidersarebusyfor

atleasthalftheyearinkillinginsects.Itisimpossibletomakemorethanthe

wildestguessathowmanytheykill,buttheyarehungrycreatures,notcontent

withonlythreemealsaday.Ithasbeenestimatedthattheweightofallthein-

sectsdestroyedbyspidersinBritaininoneyearwouldbegreaterthanthetotal

weightofallthehumanbeingsinthecountry.

T.H.GILLESPIESparethatSpiderfromTheListener

3

Modernalpiniststrytoclimbmountainsbyaroutewhichwillgivethemgood

sport,andthemoredifficultitis,themorehighlyitisregarded.Inthepioneering

days,however,thiswasnotthecaseatall.Theearlyclimberswerelookingfor

theeasiestwaytothetopbecausethesummitwastheprizetheysought,especi-

allyifithadneverbeenattainedbefore.Itistruethatduringtheirexplorations

theyoftenfaceddifficultiesanddangersofthemostperilousnature,equipped

inamannerwhichwouldmakeamodernclimbershudderatthethought,but

theydidnotgooutoftheirwaytocourtsuchexcitement.Theyhadasingleaim,

asolitarygoal--thetop!

Itishardforustorealizenowadayshowdifficultitwasforthepioneers.Ex-

ceptforoneortwoplacessuchasZermattandChamonix,whichhadrapidly

becomepopular,Alpinevillagestendedtobeimpoverishedsettlementscutoff

fromcivilizationbythehighmountains.Suchinnsastherewereweregenerally

dirtyandflea-ridden;thefoodsimplylocalcheeseaccompaniedbybreadoften

twelvemonthsold,allwasheddownwithcoarsewine.Oftenavalleyboastedno

innatall,andclimbersfoundshelterwherevertheycould--sometimeswiththe

localpriest（whowasusuallyaspoorashisparishioners）,sometimeswithshep-

herdsorcheesemakers.Invariablythebackgroundwasthesame:

dirtand

poverty,andveryuncomfortable.Formenaccustomedtoeatingseven-course

dinnersandsleepingbetweenfinelinensheetsathome,thechangetotheAlps

musthavebeenveryhardindeed.

4

IntheSovietUnionseveralcaseshavebeenreportedrecentlyofpeoplewho

canreadanddetectcolourswiththeirfingers,andevenseethroughsoliddoors

andwalls.Onecaseconcernsan'eleven-year-oldschoolgirl,VeraPetrova,who

hasnormalvisionbutwhocanalsoperceivethingswithdifferentpartsofher

skin,andthroughsolidwalls.Thisabilitywasfirstnoticedbyherfather.One

dayshecameintohisofficeandhappenedtoputherhandsonthedoorofa

lockedsafe.Suddenlysheaskedherfatherwhyhekeptsomanyold