雙語+MP3|美國學生世界地理48 沙漠之舟

     THERE are a few camels in Istanbul, but camels don't belong in Europe. They have to be carried across the Bosporus from Asia, for a camel is said to be the only animal that cannot swim and cannot learn to swim. Most animals, like dogs, swim naturally; they don't have to learn. The camel may not be able to swim, but he can cross deserts, which no other animal can do as well.

     The camel is an animal of the desert, and when we see camels we know there must be deserts somewhere near. The camel loves heat and dryness, the sun and sand. Men and most animals, when it is hot, like the cool shade when they rest, but a camel when he rests lies down in the hot sun. He is often called "the ship of the desert," for he is the only "boat" that can carry passengers across the sea of sands. His feet are made like cushions so that they do not sink into the sand. A camel has several pouches inside of his body in which to store up water, as in tanks, for in crossing desert lands he may have to go days at a time without a drink, so he fills up these tanks inside of him.

     The camel in Asia has one hump and is called a Dromedary. There are other camels that have two humps. The hump is not a broken back, as it looks-it is made of fat, and when the camel can get no outside food, the fat in his hump helps to feed him as the food in his stomach feeds him.

     The camel "follows the leader," almost as in the game, for wherever the leader goes he goes-so when a number of camels are used to carry loads long distances they are tied head to tail in a line, like a train of cars hitched together, often with a donkey at the head of the train like a locomotive to lead them. The donkey has sense, but a camel has little sense; that's why the donkey is made the leader. Such a train of camels is called a caravan. The camel looks very superior-as if no one were as good as he-but he is really a stupid animal with a very small brain. He has, however, an even temper-always mean, ugly, and nasty. He grunts as he walks slowly along on his stilt-like legs. He is trained to kneel and a load is then put on his back, and he will carry great loads with his driver on top of that. If too big a load is put on his back, when kneeling, the camel will not get up at all; but once he gets up he never gives up, no matter how heavy the load. You can then pile anything on him until it crushes him to the ground. When he has all the load he can carry, one straw more may be enough to break his back. So when you give some one too much work to do, people say, "It's the last straw that breaks the camel's back."


     The camel carries loads for his master, but the camel does more than that. The mother camel gives him milk, and sometimes young camels are used for food. The camel's hair is woven to make blankets and clothes and tents. In our country the best paint brushes are made of camel's hair.