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LESSON 1 THE SPIDER
第一課 大蜘蛛
Do you see the spider in the picture?
看到圖中的蜘蛛了嗎？
He has just got his web done; and there he sits in the very middle of it, ready to pounce upon a fly.
它剛剛織好了網，正坐在中央，等著隨時襲擊撲上來的飛蠅。
The spider loves work. He begins to work as soon as he begins to live. Every spider is born a weaver. Eventhe youngest spider knows how to weave his web just as well as the oldest.
蜘蛛熱愛工作，幾乎從它出生的那一刻起就已開始工作了。每一只蜘蛛都是天生的編織能手。無論是小蜘蛛還是老蜘蛛都能把網織得很好。
The spider never has to go to school to learn his task. So, the little duck can swim as soon as it is hatched. And the little bird can build its nest, and the bee can make the honey-comb, without any teaching.
蜘蛛從來都不用上學校去學習織網的本領。同樣，小鴨子一出生就會游泳，小鳥會筑巢，蜜蜂會做蜂巢。這些都是不需要學習就會的。
God has given these creatures the power to do their work. And that is why they never make any blunders. Not all the weavers and spinners in the world could beat the spider in the work that he does.
上帝賜予這些動物做好自己工作的力量，所以它們從不會犯錯。在織網方面，有些編織者或紡紗者甚至還勝不過蜘蛛。
The spider is never in a hurry. He always takes care to make every thread fast. He takes a pride in doing his work well.
蜘蛛從來都是不慌不忙的。蜘蛛總是能將每一根線織好，并以此為傲。
All spiders have not the same kind of work to do. But they all do it in the very best way.
不同蜘蛛的工作不盡相同，相同的是它們都能做得很好。
Some spiders are masons. These build houses, the size of a big thimble. They make doors to them, which they shut when they go in. It is even said that they are able to fasten the door of the house inside, so thatno robber can get in.
有些蜘蛛像泥瓦匠一樣。它們做的房子像管道一樣大，里面還有門，當蜘蛛進了房子后就會把門關上。據說，蜘蛛甚至能在房子里面把門關緊，所以沒有人能夠闖進來。
The garden spider lets its threads float in the air till they happen to take hold of plants or branches of trees. It then uses these threads as the roads or bridges by which it crosses from place to place.
花園蜘蛛的絲線一直漂浮在空中，直到它找到能依附的植物或樹枝。然后，這些絲線就像路或橋梁一樣，讓蜘蛛得以從一個地方走到另一個地方。
A strange story is told of a spider saving his life by this means. He was put upon the end of a stick which stood a foot or two out of water. He was on a little island in the midst of a little sea.
有一則奇怪的故事講述了蜘蛛是如何用它自己的方式來救活自己。它被放在一根棍子的底端，這根棍子離水面只有一兩英尺。它置身孤島，底下是一片汪洋。
What did he do? He walked down the stick to the edge of the water. He went round and round it; but he could find no way to get off.
這只蜘蛛打算怎么做呢？它沿著棍子走，走到離水面很近的一端，繞著來回了好幾次，但都沒有找到出路。
He then went once more to the top of the stick, and kept still for a while. He seemed to say to himself, "Well, I am in a nice fix now; what am I to do?"
然后它走到棍子的頂端，呆呆地一動不動。它好像在跟自己說，完了，我被困在這里呢。我還能怎么辦呢？
He soon made up his mind. For he at once began to spin a long thread. He made one end of it fast to the top of the stick; and let the thread float away in the wind till it caught a tree on the shore. He then slid along the line, and got safely to dry land at last!
很快，它作出了決定。它立即開始織一根長長的線，線的一端與棍子頂端相連，整根線在風中飄著，直到這根線粘在岸邊的某棵樹上。然后，它沿著線爬，最終順利地回到了陸地！
QUESTIONS
問題
What is every spider, when he is born? Who has taught him? What do the mason-spiders build? How does the garden-spider cross from place to place? What did the spider do when he was put on a stick in the water?
每一只蜘蛛出生后都會做什么？有誰教它嗎？那些想泥瓦匠一樣的蜘蛛會建什么？花園蜘蛛是怎樣從一個地方去到另一個地方的？當蜘蛛被放到離水面很近的棍子底端時，它會怎樣自救？
