The ’Est ’Est West (Continued) 最最西边（下）

By V. M. Hillyer ——V. M. 希利尔

V.M.希利尔（1875—1931），美国著名的儿童教育家、科普作家 ，创建了卡尔弗特教育体系。他为孩子们编写了一套趣味盎然的历史、地理、艺术读物，即《写给孩子看的世界历史》《写给孩子看的世界地理》《写给孩子看的艺术史》。本文选自《写给孩子看的世界地理》。

Between Oregon and Washington is a river named Columbia， after Columbus. In the Columbia River are large fish called salmon. Salmon live in the salt ocean， but when Mrs Salmon wants to lay her eggs she goes way up the Columbia River， far above the falls to fresh water， looking for a quiet place to do so. How can she get by the falls？

She jumps the falls. You may wonder how fish without legs can jump at all， and it is peculiar that they can， but they do. They bend their tails into a kind of spring， then flip！—up they go; for a salmon can jump as high as the Washington Monument.

Millions of salmon together called “schools” swim up the river and fishermen catch them in nets， but they leave most of them so that they can lay eggs from which little salmon are born， and the little salmon swim down the river and out into the ocean， where they live and grow up until it comes time for them also to lay eggs， and then they in their turn swim up the river， jump up the falls， and are either caught or left to raise more families of little salmon. Salmon meat is pink; we call it salmon color. It is packed in cans. You have probably eaten salmon from the Columbia River yourself.

The oldest fruit in the World is the apple. It is the fruit that grew in the Garden of Eden， but people believe the apple that Eve gave Adam was a very poor one compared to the apples that grow in the State of Washington. People in Washington，DC—all the way across the country—buy apples that have been shipped from Washington State—3，000 miles away—for they are so much better than ordinary apples.

在俄勒岡州和华盛顿州之间，有一条河叫作哥伦比亚河。这条河得名于伟大的探险家哥伦布。在哥伦比亚河中生长有一种很大的鱼，叫作大马哈鱼。大马哈鱼是咸水鱼，主要生活在海洋当中。可是，大马哈鱼又有一个奇怪的习性，它一定得在淡水中产卵。因此，每年到了产卵的季节，大马哈鱼妈妈就要从海里进入哥伦比亚河，逆流而上，找一处水势平静的地方产卵。可是，它如何才能通过这些瀑布呢？

它的办法是“跳”上去！你一定会很奇怪，鱼没有腿，怎么能“跳”？可是大马哈鱼很特别，就是能做到这一点。它们把尾巴紧紧地弓起来，收缩得像个弹簧一样，然后放开，整个身体就被弹射出去了！大马哈鱼这么一“跳”，可以跳得和华盛顿纪念碑一样高呢！

到了产卵季节，数万条大马哈鱼都会洄游到哥伦比亚河中去。这时就是渔民们捕鱼的最佳时节。但是，渔民们只捕获一定数量的鱼，而把绝大多数鱼都给放掉，让它们能够完成产卵的任务。这样就有新一代的大马哈鱼出生。当小鱼在河流上游的淡水中长到一定时候，它们又会往河下游走，并最终进入大海。小鱼在海洋里长大，长到又一年的产卵季节，于是轮到它们去完成洄游的任务，“跳”上哥伦比亚河的瀑布。在这个过程中，它们要么被渔民捕获，要么最终游到河上游，产下鱼卵，繁衍出新一代的小鱼。大马哈鱼的鱼肉是粉红色的，我们称之为大马哈鱼色。大马哈鱼可以做成鱼罐头。说不定你都吃过从哥伦比亚河里捕到的大马哈鱼呢。

世界上历史最悠久的水果是苹果。因为在圣经故事里面，最初的人类亚当和夏娃生活的伊甸园里，就有苹果生长。不过今天的人们相信，夏娃给亚当吃的那个苹果，一定远远比不上华盛顿州出产的苹果。请注意，我这里说的华盛顿州在美国的西部。而美国政府所在的地方，叫华盛顿特区，在美国的东部。这两个华盛顿之间相隔3000英里呢。居住在华盛顿特区的人们，或者居住在其他州的人们，都喜欢买华盛顿州的苹果来吃。原因很简单，因为那儿的苹果比其他地方的苹果好吃得多。

金子，这个神奇的词再一次召唤着人们从美国各地拥入阿拉斯加。就像当年加利福尼亚州的淘金潮一样，人们蜂拥着跑向阿拉斯加。成千上万人扔下一切，只带上一把铲子、一个筛子，怀揣挖到金子发大财的梦想就来到了遥远寒冷的阿拉斯加。可是，就好像圣经故事里说的带了灯却忘了灯油的傻女孩一样，不少被发财的美梦冲昏了头脑的淘金客也犯了同样错误：他们只想到带上挖金子的工具，却忘记了带生存必需品。他们似乎没有想到，能挖到金子的地方一定是人迹罕至的地方。这种地方可没有商店，也不可能找到吃的东西。有一些聪明的人，带了罐头食品来到阿拉斯加，于是有趣的事就发生了。在富饶的阿拉斯加，金子也许并不难找到，可是当那些没带食物的淘金者饿得头昏眼花的时候，他们只好用自己千辛万苦找到的金子向有食物的人买罐头吃。

这时候，一罐普普通通的豆子可能就会被卖出天价！可是忘记带食物的淘金者还只得乖乖掏出金子来，要不然，他们就得饿死！金子再好，也不能当饭吃。所以，阿拉斯加的淘金潮最终的结果是，那些聪明的人带回了忘记带食物的淘金者挖的金子，而那些忘记带食物的淘金者没有饿死就算是幸运的了。

In the parts of Alaska where fish can be caught for food， Indians live in small villages. In the center of each village they put up a tall pole carved and painted in the forms of birds and animals with big ugly faces. These are called Totem Poles. Each tribe or family has some bird or animal such as an eagle or a bear for its mascot， as you might call your club “the Lions” or “the Owls，” and the Totem Pole is the tribes sign.

在阿拉斯加同樣有印第安人居住的村落。这些村落往往靠近很容易捕到鱼的溪流边。在每一个印第安村落的中心地带，都会立有一根又高又粗的木杆。印第安人在这根木杆上雕刻各种大脸鸟兽的形象，并且涂上各种色彩鲜明的颜色。这种木杆叫作图腾柱。所谓图腾，就是用某一种形象作为自己部落的标志。每一个印第安部落都有某一种动物作为自己部落的象征。这种动物要么是鸟，要么是野兽，像老鹰或者熊什么的。就算是今天的现代人，也喜欢把自己的俱乐部或者球队取名为狮子或者猫头鹰之类的。

If you should suddenly see at night the whole northern sky hung with curtains of fire and ablaze with flashing flames shooting from the ground far up into the heavens， you might think， as I did the first time I saw it when a boy， that the World was coming to an end. It looked as if the World were on fire and were about to explode. This amazing sight is called the Aurora Borealis or Northern Light， and it may be seen often in Alaska and sometimes， though perhaps only once or twice in a lifetime， much farther south. It is a terrifying sight to those who have never seen or even heard of such a thing before， and yet the Aurora Borealis does no more harm than a beautiful sunset or a rainbow in the sky.

如果有天夜里，突然之间你看到北面的天空中仿佛像着了火一样闪耀着奇异的光线，同时地面上也有一簇簇如火焰般的红光直冲云霄，你会不会觉得，世界末日就要来了？当我还是个小孩子，第一次看到这样奇幻的情形时，我就是这么以为的。因为天空中的火光看上去就好像整个地球都烧了起来，而且马上就要爆炸了似的。不过，请你放心，这种现象叫作北极光。在极北的阿拉斯加很容易出现北极光，而在地球的南极，也偶尔会发生这种现象。对于一个从来没有见过或者听说过北极光的人来讲，目睹这样的情形是有点吓人。但是从天文学上来说，北极光就像晚霞或者彩虹一样，不会对地球有任何伤害。

Word Study

shovel /'??vl/ n. 铲;铁铲;铲状物; v. 铲;铲起

The children took their pails and shovels to the beach.

sieve /s?v/ v. 筛;过筛;滤  n. 滤器;筛子;

Youll need to sieve out the stones from the soil.

strain /stre?n/ v. 尽力;竭力;使劲;用力推（或拉）;拉紧

The dogs were straining at the leash， eager to get to the park.

tribe /tra?b/ n. 部落;一伙（人），一帮（人）;群，族

mascot /'m?sk?t/ n. 吉祥物