1.How many things in this room are made of wood？There are so many that it would take you a long time to name them.
2.If you look at them，you will see that the wood is not all of one kind.The floor ismade of deal，a wood got from the pine tree or the fir tree.The desks may be made of oak.
3.The pine tree grows well in Norway and in Sweden，and most of the deal we use comes from those countries.Deal is a soft wood，and is easily cut.If you want to cut out a model of a ship or a boat with your knife，you will find that deal is the best wood to use.
4.Then we have the hard wood called oak，and the pretty dark-red mahogany，and the yellow birch.All these kinds of wood are much used for making chairs and tables.
5.We get wood from the big trees of the forest.When a tree is cut down，it is sawn into lengths called logs.
6.If we look at the end of a log，we see many rings in the wood.Each ring took one year to grow，so that by counting the rings we can tell how old the tree is.
THE END OF A LOG（圆木的切片）
7.New wood is made every year from the sap or juice of the tree.This new wood grows on the outside of the tree，just inside the bark.
WOOD FIBRE
（木纤维）
8.Let us take some small bits of wood-some matches with the heads cut off will do.We will soak them in water，and then hammer them well on a stone.Each piece of wood then breaks up into threads or fibres.
9.These fibres are hollow，so that they arereally little tubes or pipes in the tree.Through them the sap flows up from the roots to the leaves.
10.When wood is used in large pieces for building houses or ships，it is called timber.The round logs of wood are sawn into flat pieces called planks.
LOG AND PLANK（圆木和木板）
11.Long ago wood was the only thing used for fires.But now coal is used instead，because it is cheaper and burns longer.Most of our great forests are now cut down，and the wood we use has to be brought from other countries.
SUMMARY
Wood is got from trees；it is of different kinds and colours.The pine gives a soft wood called deal，from which floors are made；the oak，mahogany，and birch give hard wood，from which are made our tables，chairs，etc.You can tell the age of a tree when it is cut down by counting the number of rings in the wood，each of which took one year to grow.Trees are made up of fibres or threads，through which the sap flows from the roots to the leaves.Wood used in large pieces is called timber.Long ago wood was the only thing used for making fires.
【中文阅读】
1．小朋友，你屋子里的东西有多少是木头做的？太多了，把它们都说一遍，要花好长时间呢！
2．仔细看看，就会发现这些木头并不都是同一种。地板是松木做的，松木的英语是deal。这是松树或者冷杉树的木头。书桌呢，可能是橡木做的。①3．在北欧的挪威和瑞典有很多松树，英国用的松木，大部分就来自这些国家。松木是一种软木，很容易切开。要是你想用刀子，把木头刻成轮船或者小船的形状，松木是最合适的木头了。
4．还有比较硬的木材。硬木里有橡木，英语叫oak；还有漂亮的暗红色的红木，英语叫mahogany；还有黄色的桦木，英语叫birch。这些木头，很多都用来做桌子和椅子。
5．我们的木材，是从森林里的大树上来的。大树砍倒之后，就锯成一段一段的“圆木”，英语叫log。
6．看看圆木的一头，可以看见，木头上有很多年轮，每一个年轮都要花一年时间长出来，所以只要数一数年轮，就能知道这棵树有多少岁了。
7．树的汁液，英语叫sap。每一年新的木头就是从树汁里长出来的。新木头长在树的外面，树皮的下面。②8．咱们拿几个木头小块，--拿几支切掉了头的火柴就行。把它们浸在水里，然后在石头上砸得粉碎。每一根火柴就都会碎成一段段的纤维。
9．这些纤维的中间是空的，其实是树里面的特别小的管子。树的汁液，就是通过这些管子，从树根流到树叶里去的。
10．用于建造屋子和船的是大块木料（timber）；圆木锯成的则是平的木板（plank）。
11．很久以前，人们只用木头生火，现在改用煤了，因为煤的价钱更便宜，烧的时间也更久。英国现在的森林，大部分都已经砍光了，英国人只好从别的国家进口木材了。③译注①现在中国的木地板，分为软木和硬木两种。软木地板就是课文里说的松木，或者杉木；硬地板的木头有水曲柳、桦木、樱桃木等等。要注意的是，另外有一种“软木”地板，材料并不是“比较软的木头”，而是一种树皮，以后的课文里还会详细说明。此外，还有复合地板和纤维地板。
②严格地说，树的新细胞是从“形成层”里分裂出来的，这是树皮下面很薄的一层原始细胞。树汁是树运送养料的载体，相当于动物的血液，本身并不是树的组织细胞，没有长出新细胞的能力。
③现在人们生火，用的大部分是石油气和天然气，但中国农村地区用煤的也很多。这本书出版的时候，也就是1907年，英国正在经历第二次工业革命，所以才说大部分森林都已经砍光了。1908年，全英国只有4.9%的地方还有森林。后来人们意识到，森林不是无穷无尽的资源，这才开始了绿化工作。当年看这本书的英国孩子们，很多人长大了以后，都参加了绿化工作。经过100多年的努力，英国已经成为绿化工作做得最好的国家之一了。亲爱的读者，咱们中国也在进行森林保护，你愿意为绿化自己的家乡作出贡献吗？
THE RABBIT
