Six W B031~B035 全文

 第一級  第二級  第三級  第四級  第五級  第六級

31 A Perfect Match
The first matches were made by a German experimenter. Like others of his time, he was trying to make gold. Instead, hecame up with phosphorous. This chemical is so sensitive that it bursts into flame when exposed to the air. The first match wasmade in 1680. In those days, few people could afford even an ounce of phosphorous. It was so expensive that lighting amatch was like burning money. The first matches were toys for the rich. They were not matches as we know them. They weresmall bottles containing pieces of paper dipped in phosphorous. When exposed to the air, they caught fire.
It was not until 1827, in England, that the type of match we are familiar with was made. It used phosphorous too, but insmaller amounts. It was lighted by friction. Everyone could afford these matches. They replaced flint and steel, which for ageshad been the only tools for starting fires. But these matches proved to be a Curse as well as a blessing. Phosphorous is adeadly poison. The people who made matches often died from a disease caused by the poison. Babies died from swallowingmatch heads. Some people used them to commit suicide.
At last, in 1911, William Fairburn devised a nontoxic type of phosphorous. He proved himself an unselfish man by giving theformula to all the matchmakers, rather than keeping it for his own profit.

32 The Great Invasion
In 1944 an event occurred that changed the course of history. It was the invasion of France by the Allied forces. This invasionwas the beginning of the end of World War II. 
By 1944 most of Western Europe was controlled by German armies. To free the people, the Allies carefully planned theirattack. British, Canadian, and American troops would set out from England and sail across the English Channel. They wouldland on the mainland of Europe and take back the land the Germans had grabbed. 
The Germans knew the invasion was coming. They did not know where or when. The Allies tried to fool their enemy, and theysucceeded. The Germans thought the invasion would come through northern France or through Belgium. The Allies decided toland further south, along France's Normandy coast. The Germans had fortified this region with guns, land mines, and barbed wire fences. But their main troops weren't there. 
Invasion Day was June 6, 1944. Some 175,000 men were carried one hundred miles across the water. With them came tanks, trucks, and fighter planes providing bombing support. The goal in the first few days was to gain control of five beaches. Fromthere troops could move inland. 
Some of the worst fighting was at Omaha Beach. Just beyond the beach, Allied soldiers had to climb steep cliffs to make sureGerman gunnery was not there. At Omaha, over two thousand men died or were injured. 
But the invasion was successful. The Allies established a beachhead by the end of the first day. Within a year, the Germans would be defeated.

33 The Ship with Four Legs
There is just one four-legged animal that can walk two hundred miles without stopping once to rest. It would take a persontwo days and two nights to walk this far, and only one man has ever done it without stopping. What amazing animal has suchendurance? The camel! The camel is well known for something else, too. It can cross an entire desert without a single drink ofwater. Its body is built in a special way to help it store water and food. 
A person has just one stomach, but a camel has quite a few. Within each stomach are layers and layers of cells. These cellsare like tiny water balloons, storing liquids until the camel needs them. When the camel drinks, the cells grow larger andlarger. For a whole week, they can keep the animal's thirst away by sending water to all parts of its body. 
Did you ever wonder why the camel has a hump? The hump is a storage place for fat. Because it has this storage area, thecamel does not need to eat very often. When the animal needs energy, the layers of fat serve as fuel to keep it going on thelong, hot days in the burning sun. 
The camel has one other gift that makes it well suited to arid regions. This gift is its amazing nose. A camel can smell a waterhole from miles away!
When a camel moves, it sways from side to side like a ship on a wavy ocean. Because of this swaying motion, the camel hasbeen called the "Ship of the Desert."

34 The Octopus Plant
Unless you have visited the southern United States, you probably have never heard of kudzu. Kudzu, as any farmer in theSouth will sadly tell you, is a super-powered weed. It is a strong climbing vine. Once it gets started, kudzu is almostimpossible to stop. It climbs to the tops of the tallest trees. It can cover large buildings. Whole barns and farmhouses havebeen known to disappear from view. It has even been said to engulf small, slow-moving children, but that is probably anexaggeration. Still, wherever it grows, its thick, twisting vines are extremely hard to remove. 
Kudzu was once thought to be a helpful plant. Originally found in Asia, it was brought to America to help fight erosion. It wasplanted where its tough roots, which grow up to five feet long, could help hold back the soil. But the plant soon spread toplaces where it wasn't wanted. Farmers now have to fight to keep it from eating up all the nutrients in the soil and killingother plants. In a way, it works as a sign of unemployment in the South; where there is no one to work the fields, kudzu soontakes over. 
The northern United States faces no threat from kudzu. Harsh winters kill off its vines. The plant loves the warmth of theSouth. But the South surely doesn't love it. If someone could invent some use for kudzu and take it off southern farmers' lands, his or her fortune would be assured.

35 Monkey Do
Would you send a monkey to do your shopping for you? Sounds pretty strange, doesn't it? But monkeys can be trained to dosome amazing things. Most people are aware that monkeys are one of nature's brainiest beasts. Scientists have been studyingthe link between monkeys and people for a long time. They have designed experiments that test the monkey's ability toperform simple human tasks. 
In one test, a psychologist put two monkeys in cages beside each other. Each cage contained a vending machine. One cagehad a machine that gave out water. The other had one that gave out food. Instead of real coins, each monkey was given abag of black and white tokens. The black tokens worked only in the food machine. The white tokens worked in the machinewith the water. In time, both animals were able to figure out which coin worked in which machine. 
Then the test was made harder. The coins were taken away. The monkey with the water machine was not allowed to have anywater for twenty-four hours. The food monkey was deprived of food. The next day, the coins were returned to the monkeys. This time, though, the monkey with the food machine was given water machine tokens, and the monkey with the watermachine was given the tokens that worked the food machine. What did the two hungry monkeys do? These smart creaturessimply reached through the bars of their cages and traded tokens.

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31 A Perfect Match
The first matches were made by a German experimenter. Like others of his time, he was trying to make gold. Instead, hecame up with phosphorous. This chemical is so sensitive that it bursts into flame when exposed to the air. The first match wasmade in 1680. In those days, few people could afford even an ounce of phosphorous. It was so expensive that lighting amatch was like burning money. The first matches were toys for the rich. They were not matches as we know them. They weresmall bottles containing pieces of paper dipped in phosphorous. When exposed to the air, they caught fire.
It was not until 1827, in England, that the type of match we are familiar with was made. It used phosphorous too, but insmaller amounts. It was lighted by friction. Everyone could afford these matches. They replaced flint and steel, which for ageshad been the only tools for starting fires. But these matches proved to be a Curse as well as a blessing. Phosphorous is adeadly poison. The people who made matches often died from a disease caused by the poison. Babies died from swallowingmatch heads. Some people used them to commit suicide.
At last, in 1911, William Fairburn devised a nontoxic type of phosphorous. He proved himself an unselfish man by giving theformula to all the matchmakers, rather than keeping it for his own profit.

32 The Great Invasion
In 1944 an event occurred that changed the course of history. It was the invasion of France by the Allied forces. This invasionwas the beginning of the end of World War II. 
By 1944 most of Western Europe was controlled by German armies. To free the people, the Allies carefully planned theirattack. British, Canadian, and American troops would set out from England and sail across the English Channel. They wouldland on the mainland of Europe and take back the land the Germans had grabbed. 
The Germans knew the invasion was coming. They did not know where or when. The Allies tried to fool their enemy, and theysucceeded. The Germans thought the invasion would come through northern France or through Belgium. The Allies decided toland further south, along France's Normandy coast. The Germans had fortified this region with guns, land mines, and barbed wire fences. But their main troops weren't there. 
Invasion Day was June 6, 1944. Some 175,000 men were carried one hundred miles across the water. With them came tanks, trucks, and fighter planes providing bombing support. The goal in the first few days was to gain control of five beaches. Fromthere troops could move inland. 
Some of the worst fighting was at Omaha Beach. Just beyond the beach, Allied soldiers had to climb steep cliffs to make sureGerman gunnery was not there. At Omaha, over two thousand men died or were injured. 
But the invasion was successful. The Allies established a beachhead by the end of the first day. Within a year, the Germans would be defeated.

33 The Ship with Four Legs
There is just one four-legged animal that can walk two hundred miles without stopping once to rest. It would take a persontwo days and two nights to walk this far, and only one man has ever done it without stopping. What amazing animal has suchendurance? The camel! The camel is well known for something else, too. It can cross an entire desert without a single drink ofwater. Its body is built in a special way to help it store water and food. 
A person has just one stomach, but a camel has quite a few. Within each stomach are layers and layers of cells. These cellsare like tiny water balloons, storing liquids until the camel needs them. When the camel drinks, the cells grow larger andlarger. For a whole week, they can keep the animal's thirst away by sending water to all parts of its body. 
Did you ever wonder why the camel has a hump? The hump is a storage place for fat. Because it has this storage area, thecamel does not need to eat very often. When the animal needs energy, the layers of fat serve as fuel to keep it going on thelong, hot days in the burning sun. 
The camel has one other gift that makes it well suited to arid regions. This gift is its amazing nose. A camel can smell a waterhole from miles away!
When a camel moves, it sways from side to side like a ship on a wavy ocean. Because of this swaying motion, the camel hasbeen called the "Ship of the Desert."

34 The Octopus Plant
Unless you have visited the southern United States, you probably have never heard of kudzu. Kudzu, as any farmer in theSouth will sadly tell you, is a super-powered weed. It is a strong climbing vine. Once it gets started, kudzu is almostimpossible to stop. It climbs to the tops of the tallest trees. It can cover large buildings. Whole barns and farmhouses havebeen known to disappear from view. It has even been said to engulf small, slow-moving children, but that is probably anexaggeration. Still, wherever it grows, its thick, twisting vines are extremely hard to remove. 
Kudzu was once thought to be a helpful plant. Originally found in Asia, it was brought to America to help fight erosion. It wasplanted where its tough roots, which grow up to five feet long, could help hold back the soil. But the plant soon spread toplaces where it wasn't wanted. Farmers now have to fight to keep it from eating up all the nutrients in the soil and killingother plants. In a way, it works as a sign of unemployment in the South; where there is no one to work the fields, kudzu soontakes over. 
The northern United States faces no threat from kudzu. Harsh winters kill off its vines. The plant loves the warmth of theSouth. But the South surely doesn't love it. If someone could invent some use for kudzu and take it off southern farmers' lands, his or her fortune would be assured.

35 Monkey Do
Would you send a monkey to do your shopping for you? Sounds pretty strange, doesn't it? But monkeys can be trained to dosome amazing things. Most people are aware that monkeys are one of nature's brainiest beasts. Scientists have been studyingthe link between monkeys and people for a long time. They have designed experiments that test the monkey's ability toperform simple human tasks. 
In one test, a psychologist put two monkeys in cages beside each other. Each cage contained a vending machine. One cagehad a machine that gave out water. The other had one that gave out food. Instead of real coins, each monkey was given abag of black and white tokens. The black tokens worked only in the food machine. The white tokens worked in the machinewith the water. In time, both animals were able to figure out which coin worked in which machine. 
Then the test was made harder. The coins were taken away. The monkey with the water machine was not allowed to have anywater for twenty-four hours. The food monkey was deprived of food. The next day, the coins were returned to the monkeys. This time, though, the monkey with the food machine was given water machine tokens, and the monkey with the watermachine was given the tokens that worked the food machine. What did the two hungry monkeys do? These smart creaturessimply reached through the bars of their cages and traded tokens.

31 A Perfect Match

The first matches were made by a German experimenter. Like others of his time, he was trying to make gold. Instead, he came up with phosphorous. This chemical is so sensitive that it bursts into flame when exposed to the air. The first match was made in 1680. In those days, few people could afford even an ounce of phosphorous. It was so expensive that lighting a match was like burning money. The first matches were toys for the rich. They were not matches as we know them. They were small bottles containing pieces of paper dipped in phosphorous. When exposed to the air, they caught fire.

It was not until 1827, in England, that the type of match we are familiar with was made. It used phosphorous too, but in smaller amounts. It was lighted by friction. Everyone could afford these matches. They replaced flint and steel, which for ages had been the only tools for starting fires. But these matches proved to be a Curse as well as a blessing. Phosphorous is a deadly poison. The people who made matches often died from a disease caused by the poison. Babies died from swallowing match heads. Some people used them to commit suicide.

At last, in 1911, William Fairburn devised a nontoxic type of phosphorous. He proved himself an unselfish man by giving the formula to all the matchmakers, rather than keeping it for his own profit.

32 The Great Invasion

In 1944 an event occurred that changed the course of history. It was the invasion of France by the Allied forces. This invasion was the beginning of the end of World War II.

By 1944 most of Western Europe was controlled by German armies. To free the people, the Allies carefully planned their attack. British, Canadian, and American troops would set out from England and sail across the English Channel. They would land on the mainland of Europe and take back the land the Germans had grabbed.

The Germans knew the invasion was coming. They did not know where or when. The Allies tried to fool their enemy, and they succeeded. The Germans thought the invasion would come through northern France or through Belgium. The Allies decided to land further south, along France's Normandy coast. The Germans had fortified this region with guns, land mines, and barbed wire fences. But their main troops weren't there.

Invasion Day was June 6, 1944. Some 175,000 men were carried one hundred miles across the water. With them came tanks, trucks, and fighter planes providing bombing support. The goal in the first few days was to gain control of five beaches. From there troops could move inland.

Some of the worst fighting was at Omaha Beach. Just beyond the beach, Allied soldiers had to climb steep cliffs to make sure German gunnery was not there. At Omaha, over two thousand men died or were injured.

But the invasion was successful. The Allies established a beachhead by the end of the first day. Within a year, the Germans would be defeated.

33 The Ship with Four Legs

There is just one four-legged animal that can walk two hundred miles without stopping once to rest. It would take a person two days and two nights to walk this far, and only one man has ever done it without stopping. What amazing animal has such endurance? The camel! The camel is well known for something else, too. It can cross an entire desert without a single drink of water. Its body is built in a special way to help it store water and food.

A person has just one stomach, but a camel has quite a few. Within each stomach are layers and layers of cells. These cells are like tiny water balloons, storing liquids until the camel needs them. When the camel drinks, the cells grow larger and larger. For a whole week, they can keep the animal's thirst away by sending water to all parts of its body.

Did you ever wonder why the camel has a hump? The hump is a storage place for fat. Because it has this storage area, the camel does not need to eat very often. When the animal needs energy, the layers of fat serve as fuel to keep it going on the long, hot days in the burning sun.

The camel has one other gift that makes it well suited to arid regions. This gift is its amazing nose. A camel can smell a water hole from miles away!

When a camel moves, it sways from side to side like a ship on a wavy ocean. Because of this swaying motion, the camel has been called the "Ship of the Desert."

34 The Octopus Plant

Unless you have visited the southern United States, you probably have never heard of kudzu. Kudzu, as any farmer in the South will sadly tell you, is a super-powered weed. It is a strong climbing vine. Once it gets started, kudzu is almost impossible to stop. It climbs to the tops of the tallest trees. It can cover large buildings. Whole barns and farmhouses have been known to disappear from view. It has even been said to engulf small, slow-moving children, but that is probably an exaggeration. Still, wherever it grows, its thick, twisting vines are extremely hard to remove.

Kudzu was once thought to be a helpful plant. Originally found in Asia, it was brought to America to help fight erosion. It was planted where its tough roots, which grow up to five feet long, could help hold back the soil. But the plant soon spread to places where it wasn't wanted. Farmers now have to fight to keep it from eating up all the nutrients in the soil and killing other plants. In a way, it works as a sign of unemployment in the South; where there is no one to work the fields, kudzu soon takes over.

The northern United States faces no threat from kudzu. Harsh winters kill off its vines. The plant loves the warmth of the South. But the South surely doesn't love it. If someone could invent some use for kudzu and take it off southern farmers' lands, his or her fortune would be assured.

35 Monkey Do

Would you send a monkey to do your shopping for you? Sounds pretty strange, doesn't it? But monkeys can be trained to do some amazing things. Most people are aware that monkeys are one of nature's brainiest beasts. Scientists have been studying the link between monkeys and people for a long time. They have designed experiments that test the monkey's ability to perform simple human tasks.

In one test, a psychologist put two monkeys in cages beside each other. Each cage contained a vending machine. One cage had a machine that gave out water. The other had one that gave out food. Instead of real coins, each monkey was given a bag of black and white tokens. The black tokens worked only in the food machine. The white tokens worked in the machine with the water. In time, both animals were able to figure out which coin worked in which machine.

Then the test was made harder. The coins were taken away. The monkey with the water machine was not allowed to have any water for twenty-four hours. The food monkey was deprived of food. The next day, the coins were returned to the monkeys. This time, though, the monkey with the food machine was given water machine tokens, and the monkey with the water machine was given the tokens that worked the food machine. What did the two hungry monkeys do? These smart creatures simply reached through the bars of their cages and traded tokens.