如果这位国父能参观今日的美国，他也许会以为自己已来到另一个星球。
Licorice Good for Both Man and Beast
Licorice can be used for other things besides candy．Some of the powers of the licorice plant have been known since ancient times．The Egyptians used it to cure sore throats，and an old Chinese story tells how licorice cured a dragon whose throat was sore from breathing fire．The armies of Alexander the Greatcartied licorice root as medicine on all of their campaigns．
Modern medicine uses this old knowledge．Many of today，s cough sirups contain licorice．It is good for both man and beast，and veterinarians give it to horses，cattle，sheep，dogs and cats．
Licorice can put out fires，too．After the sweet juices have been taken out，the waste fiber of the root is used to make a firefighting foam．This foam smothers fire by keeping oxygen away from it．A licorice fire extinguisher is sold today．
对人畜两利的甘草
甘草除用于制造糖果外，也可用来制造别的东西。甘草这一植物的某些效能从古时起就为人们所知晓。埃及人用它来治疗喉痛，而一个古老的中国故事则讲到了甘草如何治好了一条龙的病，这龙因吞火而造成喉痛。亚历山大大帝的军队在他们参加的所有战役中，都携带着甘草根作药。
现代医学也运用着这种古老的知识。今天的许多种咳嗽糖浆中都含有甘草。它对人类和牲畜都有益处，兽医们还让马、牛、羊、狗和猫都服用甘草。
甘草还能灭火。当甘草的甜汁被取出后，甘草根的废纤维质被用来制造灭火泡沫。这种泡沫使火接触不到氧气而被熄灭。现在已经有甘草灭火器出售了。
Love Your Life
However mean your life is，meet it and live it ；do not shun it and call it hard names.It is not so bad as you are.It looks poorest when you are richest.The faultfinder will find faults in paradise.Love your life，poor as it is.You may perhaps have some pleasant，thrilling，glorious hourss，even in a poorhouse.The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man，s abode；the snow melts before its door as early in the spring.I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there，and have as cheering thoughts，as in a palace.The town，s poor seem to me often to live the most independent lives of any.May be they are simply great enough to receive without misgiving.Most think that they are above being supported by the town；but it often happens that they are not above supporting themselves by dishonest means.which should be more disreputable.Cultivate poverty like a garden herb，like sage.Do not trouble yourself much to get new things，whether clothes or friends，Turn the old，return to them.Things do not change；we change.Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.
热爱生活
不论你的生活如何卑贱，你要面对它生活，不要躲避它，更别用恶言咒骂它。它不像你那样坏。你最富有的时候，倒是看似最穷。爱找缺点的人就是到天堂里也能找到缺点。你要爱你的生活，尽管它贫穷。甚至在一个济贫院里，你也还有愉快、高兴、光荣的时候。夕阳反射在济贫院的窗上，像身在富户人家窗上一样光亮；在那门前，积雪同在早春融化。我只看到，一个从容的人，在哪里也像在皇宫中一样，生活得心满意足而富有愉快的思想。城镇中的穷人，我看，倒往往是过着最独立不羁的生活。也许因为他们很伟大，所以受之无愧。大多数人以为他们是超然的，不靠城镇来支援他们；可是事实上他们是往往利用了不正当的手段来对付生活，他们是毫不超脱的，毋宁是不体面的。视贫穷如园中之花而像圣人一样耕植它吧！不要找新的花样，无论是新的朋友或新的衣服，来麻烦你自己。找旧的，回到那里去。万物不变，是我们在变。你的衣服可以卖掉，但要保留你的思想。
Man，s First Real Invention
Man，s first real invention，and one of the most important inventions in history，was the wheel．All transportation and every machine in the world depend on it．
The wheel is the simplest yet perhaps the most remarkable of all inventions，because there are no wheels in nature-no living thing was ever created with wheels．How，then，did man come to invent the wheel？
Perhaps some early hunters found that they could roll the carcass of a heavy animal through the forest on logs more easily than they could carry it．However，the logs themselves weighed a lot．
It must have taken a great prehistoric thinker to imagine two thin slices of log connected at their centers by a strong stick．This would roll along just as the logs did，yet be much lighter and easier to handle．Thus the wheel and axle came into being，and with them the first carts．
人类第一项真正的发明
轮子是人类第一项真正的发明，也是历史上最重要的发明之一，世界上的一切交通工具和每一部机器都有赖于它。
在一切发明中，轮子是最简单的，然而也许是最了不起的一项发明，因为自然界中没有轮子——带轮子的生物还没有被创造出来过。那么，人类是怎样发明轮子的呢？
也许是一些早期的猎人发现了这一点：依靠圆木的滚动，把沉重的动物尸体推出森林，比肩扛背驮要容易。不过，圆木本身也够重的了。
这一定使一位史前的伟大思考者产生想像，用一根结实的棍棒把两块圆木的薄片从中心连接起来，这玩意儿也恰恰像圆木一样能向前滚动，不但要轻得多，而且更容易驾驭。这样轮子和轴便应运而生，随之出现了第一批手推车。
On the Beaches of Block Island
Doubloons worth a king，s ransom may lie buried on Block Island，nine miles off the Rhode Island coast．Many seventeenth century pirates visited there to plunder and to get supplies．
Only a hundred years ago，one story says，a ship anchored off shore one night and sailed out at dawn．Soon after，an island farmer found pieces of eight around a hole in his cornfield．Islanders are sure there is still treasure there．One man even kept“treasure rights”when he sold his property．
“Terrific place to bury treasure，”another islander said．He pointed at the vast expanse of beach and cliffs．“A body could come sneakin， in here at night，bury his loot，and catfoot it out before anyone knew what was up．”
Probably not only pirates buried loot on the beaches of Block Island．Some early islanders were reputedly shipwreckers．No one knows how much booty they removed from ships lured by their lanterns to smash on the jagged rocks．
在布洛克岛的海滨
价值连城的达不隆也许给埋在离罗得岛海岸9英里外的布洛克岛上。17世纪时，许多海盗曾来这里打劫和获取给养。
有一则故事讲到，只不过在100年以前，有一只船一天夜晚在近海抛锚，黎明时分又启航了。此后不久，岛上一位农夫，在他玉米地的一个洞口周围发现了几枚8分金币。岛上的居民们断定，那儿还有珍宝。有一个人出卖财产时还保留了“珍宝权”。
“这是藏宝的好地方”，另一位岛上居民说。他对广阔的海滨和悬岩峭壁指划着。“一个人可以在夜里溜进来，把抢来的东西藏好，又可不等别人知道发生了什么，悄悄地把东西取走。”
在布洛克岛海滨埋藏掠夺物的可能不只是海盗。据说，一些早期的岛上居民也是造成船只失事的人。他们用信号灯诱使船只朝尖如锯齿的岩石上猛撞，谁也不知道他们从失事的船上搬走了多少财物。
Sea Otters off the Coast of California
sea otters off the coast of California have an unusual method of getting food．They dive to the floor of the sea to find the shellfish they like．
When an otter brings a shellfish to the surface of the water，he floats on his back and puts the shellfish on his chest．Then the otter digs the meat out of the shell with his teeth．
Sea otters are especially fond of shellfish with a very hard shell．When the otter brings up one of these，he also brings a stone．He puts the stone on his chest，holding the shellfish in his front paws．He takes a wide swing and smashes the hard shell on the stone．Then he has no trouble getting at the meat in the shell．
加利福尼亚近海的海獭
生活在加利福尼亚近海的海獭，其取食方法很不寻常，它们潜入海底去寻找它们喜欢的甲壳动物。
当海獭把一只甲壳动物挟持到水面时，就背朝下浮在水面上，把甲壳动物抱在胸前，然后用牙把肉从壳中剔出。
海獭尤喜食长有坚壳的甲壳动物。当海獭把这样一只甲壳动物带到水面时，同时也带上来一块石头。它把石头放在胸前，用前爪抓住这只甲壳动物。它大幅度地摆动一下身体，对着石头猛击坚硬的甲壳，然后，取壳中肉就没有麻烦了。
