Lesson23 The Indian Who Could Foretell the Weather

Two men were traveling in a wild and lonely part of America.For days they had not even seen a house, only a few huts made of wood, or tents made of skins.Then one day they met an old Indian who earned his living by trapping animals for their fur.They found that he knew their language and they had a little conversation with him.One of them asked him if he could tell them what the weather would be like within the next few days.
"Oh yes,” he said. “Rain is coming, and wind. Then there will be snow for two days, but after that there will be bright sunshine.”
"Isn't that wonderful?” said one man to his friend.“These old Indians know more of the secrets of nature than we do with all our science. They have not been spoiled by civilization.” Then he turned to the old Indian.
"Tell me,” he said,"“how you know all that."
The Indian replied, "I heard it on the radio."

foretell 預言
trap ? 誘捕
spoil ? 寵壞
civilization ? 文明

能夠預測天氣的印第安人

兩個人在美國荒涼偏僻的地方旅行。幾天來他們連房子也沒有看到過一座，只有幾處棚子和皮帳篷。一天，他們碰到了一個上了年紀的印第安人，這個老人以捕獵動物獲取皮毛為生。他們發現老人能聽懂他們的語言，于是就和老人攀談了起來。他們中的一人問老人能否告訴他們今后幾天的天氣如何。
“哦，好的，”老人說，“馬上要下雨了，還會刮風。然后會下兩天雪，但那以后又會陽光明媚了。”
“簡直太奇妙了。”那個人對他的朋友說。“這些印第安人知道的大自然的秘密比我們用科學知識知道得還多。他們沒有被文明寵壞。”然后，他又轉向那位老印第安人。
“告訴我，”他說，“你是怎么知道這些的？”
印第安人回答，“我聽電臺里說的。”