几篇英语知识美文欣赏

　　英语知识小品【3】谁是冰淇淋的首创者』

　　3．Who First Made Ice Cream

几篇英语知识美文欣赏

　　Most Americans think that ice cream is as American as baseball and apple pie．But ice cream was known long before America was discovered．

　　The Roman emperor Nero may have made a kind of ice cream．He hired hundreds of men to bring snow and ice from the mountains．He used it to make cold drinks．Traveler Marco Polobrought back recipes for chilled and frozen milk from China．

　　Hundreds of years later，ice cream reached England．It is said that King Charles Ienjoyed that treatvery much．There is a story that he bribed his cook to keep the recipe for ice cream a royal secret．

　　Today ice cream is known throughout the world．Americans alone eat more than two billion quartsa year．

　　3．谁是冰淇淋的首创者

　　大多数美国人认为，冰淇淋像棒球和苹果饼一样，是属于美国的。但是，早在人们发现美洲大陆之前，冰淇淋就已经问世了。

　　古罗马国王尼禄可能配制过一种冰淇淋。他曾雇用几百人从山上搬来雪和冰，用以制作冷饮料。旅行家马可波罗也曾从中国带回了冷冻奶和冰奶的配方。

　　几百年后，冰淇淋传到了英国。据说国王查理一世十分欣赏这种食品，他曾贿赂御厨，要他把制作冰淇淋的配方作为皇家秘密，守口如瓶。

　　今天全世界都知道冰淇淋了，仅美国人一年的消耗量就超过20亿夸脱。

　　英语知识小品【5】人类储存肉的三种方法』

　　5．The Three Ways of Man to Preserve Meat

　　Finding enough meat was a problem for primitive man．Keeping it for times when it was scarce was just as hard．Three ways were found to keep meat from spoiling：salting，drying，and freezing．

　　People near salty waters salted their meat．At first they probably rubbed dry salt on it，but this preserved only the outside．Later they may have pickled their meat by soaking it in salt water．

　　In hot，dry lands，men found that they could eat meat that had dried while it was still on the bones．They later learned to cut meat into thin strips and hang it up to dry in the hot air．

　　Men in cold climates found that frozen meat did not spoil．They could leave their meat outside and eat it when they pleased．

　　5．人类储存肉的三种方法

　　对原始人类来说，获得充足的肉是件难事，而把肉类储存到缺肉的时令也同样不容易。人们找到了防止肉类变腐的三种办法：盐腌、风干和冷冻。

　　靠近咸水地带的居民用盐腌肉。起先，他们可能是把干盐擦在肉上，但这只能使肉的外部不腐。后来，他们也许就改用咸水浸泡的办法来腌肉了。

　　在炎热、干燥的地方，人们发现他们可以食用已经变干、但仍连在骨骼上的肉。后来，他们学会把肉切成薄条，悬挂起来，让它在炎热的空气中变干。

　　生活在寒冷气候下的人们则发现冻肉不腐。他们可以把肉置于室外，高兴时随时可吃。

　　英语知识小品【4】帮助改良土壤的蚯蚓』

　　4．Earthworms that Help Improve the Soil

　　The earthworm is a useful animal．Out of the ground，it is food for other animals．In the ground，it makes rich soil for fields and gardens．

　　Earthworms dig tunnels that loosen the soil and make it easy for air and water to reach the roots of plants．These tunnels help keep the soil well drained．

　　Earthworms drag dead leaves，grass，and flowers into their burrows．When this plant material decays，it makes the soil more fertile．

　　No other animal is so useful in building up good topsoil．It is estimated that in one year fifty thousand earthworms carry about eighteen tons of fine soil to the surface of an acre of land．One worm may add three quarters of a pound of earth to tho topsoil．

　　4．帮助改良土壤的蚯蚓

　　蚯蚓是一种有益的动物。来到地面上，它成了其他动物的食品，而在地里，它却为田地和花园制造着肥沃的土壤。

　　蚯蚓挖掘风洞，使土壤变松，并使空气和水容易抵达植物的根部。这些风洞有助于土壤迅速排水。

　　蚯蚓把枯树叶、草和花朵拖进自己的洞中，这种植物性物质腐烂后，便使土壤变得更肥沃了。

　　在制造优良的表面土壤方面，没有别的动物能像蚯蚓这样有用。据估计，一年中，5万条蚯蚓能把大约18吨的细壤送到1英亩土地的表面，一条蚯蚓也许能把3／4磅的土壤加到地表层。

　　英语知识小品【6】夏威夷群岛是怎样形成的』

　　6．How the Hawaiian Is lands Were Built

　　Volcanoes have been erupting on the earth for millions of years．More than five hundred still erupt today．These are called active volcanoes．Volcanoes are located in belts or chains．They are found where the earth's crust is weak．The weak spots let the hot rock escape when the volcano erupts．

　　Many volcano belts are mountain ranges along the edges of continents．One belt runs along the western coast of South America up through the western part of the United States．Other volcanoes are found in ocean basins．

　　About three－fifths of all active volcanoes in the world are in the Pacific Ocean．Many of these volcanoes erupt under the water．The Hawaiian Islands were built by volcanoes that began erupting under water and finally reached the surface of the ocean．

　　6．夏威夷群岛是怎样形成的

　　火山在地球上喷发已有几百万年的历史。有500多座火山至今还在喷发，这些火山叫做活火山。火山呈带状或链状分布，它们一般位于地壳脆弱的地段。火山喷发时，灼热的岩浆便从脆弱的地点流出。

　　许多火山带是一些大陆边缘的山脉。有一个火山带沿南美洲的西海岸向北，穿过美国的西部。另一些火山位于海洋盆地中。

　　世界上大约有3／5的活火山在太平洋，这些火山中有许多在水下喷发。夏威夷群岛便是由从水下喷发、最终达到洋面的火山而形成的。

　　英语知识小品【2】领带的沧桑』

　　2．The Necktie through Thick and Thin

　　From hat to shoes，men's clothes are useful．Only one piece of clothing is worn just for decoration．It is the necktie，or cravat．The necktie is left over from the time when men wore ruffles，ribbons，and tassels．

　　Beau Brummel was an Englishman of the early 1800's．He was famous for his fancy clothes．The story is told that he used to invite guests just to watch him knot his white cravat．

　　Now，perhaps，even the necktie is going out of style．It has been getting smaller and smaller for hundreds of years．It started out as a piece of lace and turned into a silk bow．Then it became a triangle that was tied around the neck．Now many neckties are no wider than a piece of string．

　　2．领带的沧桑

　　人的衣物，从帽子到鞋，都有实用价值。唯有一样完全是为了装饰，那就是领带，或者叫“克拉瓦特”。领带是人们从佩戴饰边、缎带和帽穗的时代遗留下来的。

　　博·布伦美是19世纪初叶的一位英国人，因穿着的花哨而出名。传说他常邀请客人专程去观看他给自己白色的领带打结。

　　现在，也许连领带也快不时髦了。几百年来，领带变得越来越小。当初，它只不过是一段带子，后来变成丝制的蝴蝶结，以后又演变为缠在脖子上的三角形饰物。现在许多领带的宽度只不过相当于一根绳子的粗细罢了。

　　异国的阳光其实并不遥远

　　What day is it today? Is it Tuesday or Thursday? This thought raced through her mind as she sat back with her studentsgoing over the lesson that never seemed to end. Didn’t I just do this yesterday? Or was it a year ago? Hell, everything seemed to jumble together anymore. "Miss Smith

　　can I go to the bathroom?" Jorge asked, as he proceeded to jump from one foot to another, holding himself. How many times have I heard this? She wondered as she abruptly said, "Yes" and watched as he raced out of the room.

　　Sitting at the table she gazed at her students while thinking of what she would do after work. Maybe I’ll go to the gym or stop at the market for something to eat tonight. Mechanically she continued with her lesson on the short letter "a" with her students. "The letter "a" makes what sound?" "a, a, a", the students sang together going through the empty motions. The clock dragged away the minutes teasing her with the tediousness of the day.

　　Won’t it end? She thought as the phone rang out its morse code for her room. Sighing she stood up and walked through the maze of students desks to get to the phone. Picking up the receiver the other voice seemed a hundred miles away. Oh, how I wish I were anywhere but here. Here mind wandered to the hot exotic beach of Cabo, Mexico, where she had spent her last summer break. She still remembered the cool breezes that caressed her skin as she lay on the gritty sand.

　　"Miss Smith did you hear me?" the secretary annoyingly asked her. "Oh, sorry. What did you say?" "Can you send Carla to the office?" the secretary impatiently asked. "Oh, course" she replied as she hung up the phone. She turned from the phone and yelled out Carla’s name. Carla, who was one of the many who always seemed so needy that were in her class this year. Carla looked up from her desk, her hair hanging like a matted displaced doll. Her face was lined with dirt that gave her the appearance of one of those munchkins from the Wizard of Oz. "You need to go to the office", she said while Carla slowly rose from her desk. "Why do I have to go?" whined Carla. "It’s between you and the office—just go up" she hastily turned her back as Carla walked out of the room. Like having free school uniforms is the answer. It would be nice if just once someone called saying something nice or thanking me for all the endless crap I have to deal with. With a sigh she walked back to her other students who were clustered at the back table patiently waiting her return.

　　The rest of the afternoon blurred into one long endless repetition. Finally the bell rang as a relief. As she led her students out the door they walked behind her as baby chicks returning to their fold. She noticed that their mother hens clucked to them behind the iron gate. As she proceeded to walk down the corridor, the air, which rose with the musical tingle of Spanish coloring everything that touched it, greeted her. She watched with a touch of envy as the children left her to return to those homes that probably were filled with laughter and warmth while she would once again return to the same endless march of boredom.

　　"Senora, un momento por favor" She turned her head and noticed the small shriveled man, his brown face lined with a map to places only he knew. "Thanks for helping my grandson Julio to read" the gentleman said in his faltering broken English. She immediately thought of Julio, who once as unreachable as a hardened walnut, slowly cracked opened to reveal the eager child inside. She thought of the inner struggle Julio must have had as he tried to make sense of the foreign letters and the sudden joy when he had unbroken the mysterious code. Was the grandfather the same? She looked up at this elderly gentleman, probably his grandfather, and quickly recognized the sameness of the two. "Gracias Senora" a weathered hand came out and firmly grasped hers with warmth that radiated from his soul to hers. Just as abruptly he removed his hand and left her. As he walked away she thought of that exotic sun and realized maybe it was closer to her than she thought.

　　今天是星期几？星期二还是星期三？她和学生进行那似乎永无休止的复习，课间休息时，这个念头在她脑子里转了好几圈。我是不是昨天才做完？或者那已是去年的事了？该死，好像什么事都搅到一块儿来了。“史密斯小姐，我可以去一下洗手间吗？”乔治正要迈腿，又停下问道。我是第几次听到这个了？她想着这个问题，随即说道：“去吧”，看着他跑出了教室。

　　她坐在桌边，眼睛盯着学生，脑子里却在想，下了班该去哪里。也许该去健身，或者去市场买点东西晚上吃。她机械地上着课，给学生讲字母“a”。“‘a’怎么念？”“a, a, a”学生们齐声干巴巴地念着。时钟一分分过去，似乎在嘲笑她这沉闷的一天。

　　该结束了吧？她正想着，教室的电话响了。她叹了一口气，站起身来，穿过学生的课桌去接电话。拿起话筒，那一端的声音似乎从100英里以外传来。天，要是身处异地该多好！。她神游到了充满异国情调的墨西哥卡波海滩，去年暑假她就是在那儿度过的。她仍记得慵懒地躺在沙滩上，任习习凉风亲吻自己的肌肤。

　　“史密斯小姐，你在听我说话吗？”秘书有点生气地问道。“哦，对不起，你刚才说什么？”“叫卡拉到我办公室来一下。”秘书更不耐烦了。“哦，好的。”她边说边挂了电话。她转过身来叫着卡拉的名字。卡拉是今年她班上许多贫困学生之一。卡拉抬起头，松散的头发像一篷乱草。满脸泥垢的她看起来像《绿野仙踪》里的芒虚金。“你去一趟办公室。”当卡拉慢慢抬起头的时候，她说道。“为什么要我去？”卡拉嗫嚅道。“去了就知道。快去吧。”她随即转过身，卡拉出去了。她是去领免费的校服的。如果能有人打电话来，说些好听的话或者感谢我做的这些讨厌的`工作就好了。她叹了口气，回到后排那一群正耐心等着她的学生。

　　整个下午都在不断重复着这不尽的单调。最后，救命的钟声终于敲响了。她带着学生走出了教室，就像母鸡带着小鸡回窝似的。她看到学生的妈妈正在铁门后热切等待着他们。当她穿过走廊的时候，那带着西班牙音乐气息的空气迎面扑来。她羡慕地看着孩子们离开她，回到充满欢笑和温暖的家，而自己却不得不再次回到这无尽的单调与无聊之中。

　　“您好，夫人，打扰你几分钟。”她转过头看到一个窘迫的男人，棕色的脸上布满了皱纹。“谢谢您对我孙子胡里奥的帮助。”他用蹩脚的英语说道。她立即想起了胡里奥，曾经外表看来那么不可接近，后来慢慢地敞开了一个孩子热切的内心世界。胡里奥一定暗暗努力想学好外文，并且每次进步都能令他欣喜不已。这位祖父也是这样吗？她抬头看着这位也许是胡里奥祖父的老人家，很快就意识到他们两人之间的共通之处。“谢谢您，夫人。”他伸出一只饱经风霜的手，紧紧握住她，他的热情深深地感染了她。他很快又缩回了手，走开了。当他离开时，她想到了异国的阳光，而且明白，异国的阳光其实并不遥远。

【几篇英语知识美文欣赏】相关文章：

几篇优秀美文欣赏05-04

精选英语美文欣赏01-19

美文英语欣赏07-06

英语美文欣赏04-23