第1章　用望远镜俯瞰世界

大家从来都没有见到过自己的脸。

这话可能会让你们觉得惊讶，你们可能还会说不是这样的；可事实就是这样。

你们可以看到自己的鼻尖。

如果把嘴唇噘起来，你们甚至还看得见自己的嘴唇。

如果把舌头伸出来，那你们可以看见自己的舌尖。

但是，你们却没法走到自己的对面，走到自己的身外，去看一看自己的脸。

你们自然知道自己的脸是个什么样子，因为大家都在镜子里看到过，可镜中的样子，却并不是你们自己，只是你们自己的影像。

同样，我们当中也没有人能够看到自己所生活的这个世界，没有人能够看到整个地球。

大家只能看到自己周围的那一小部分世界。要是爬上一栋高楼，你们就能看到更大的范围；要是爬到一座高山的山顶，那就能看到更大、更大的范围；而要是坐在飞机里升到空中的话，你们就能看到更大、更大、更大的范围了。

不过，要想看到整个世界，大家必须爬得更高，比任何人曾经能够或者可以达到的高度更高才行。你们必须去得更远，到云层之上很远的地方，来到空中星星所在的遥远之地才行，就算是坐飞机，也没有人能够做到这一点哩。

Now you cannot see the World in a mirror as you can see your face. So how do we know what the World looks like?

A fish in the sea might tell her little fish，“The World is all water—just a huge tub；I've been everywhere and I know.”Of course, she wouldn't know anything different.

A camel in the desert might tell her little camels，“The World is all sand—just a huge sand pile；I've been everywhere and I know.”

A polar bear on an iceberg might tell her little polar bears，“The World is all snow and ice—just a huge refrigerator；I've been everywhere and I know.”

A bear in the woods might tell her little bear cubs，“The World is all woods—just a huge forest；I've been everywhere and I know.”

In the same way, once upon a time, people used to tell their little children，“The World is just a big island like a huge mud pie with some water, some sand, some ice, and some trees on it, and with a cover we call the sky over us all；we've been everywhere and we know.”

When some inquisitive child asked，“What does the flat World like a mud pie rest on?”they really truly said，“It rests on the backs of four elephants.”

But when the inquisitive child asked，“And what do the elephants stand on?”they really truly said，“On a big turtle.”

Then when the inquisitive child asked，“What does the turtle stand on?”no one could say—for no one could even guess farther than that—so the turtle was left standing—on nothing.

注意，你们不能像在镜子里看到自己的脸那样，在镜子里看到整个世界。那么，我们又是怎么知道世界长得是个什么样子的呢？

大海里的一条鱼儿，可能会对自己的小鱼宝宝说：“世界全都是水，就是一个巨大的盆子，我哪里都去过，所以我知道。”这条鱼儿，自然也不会知道别的什么东西。

沙漠里的一头骆驼，可能会告诉自己的骆驼宝宝说：“世界全都是沙子，就是一个巨大的沙堆，我哪里都去过，因此我知道。”

冰山上的一头北极熊，可能会对自己的北极熊宝宝说：“世界全都是冰雪，就是一个巨大的冰箱，我哪里都去过，所以我知道。”

森林里的一头熊，可能会对自己的熊宝宝说：“世界全都是树林，就是一片巨大的森林，我哪里都去过，所以我知道。”

同样，在很久以前，人们也常常对自己的小宝宝说：“世界是一个巨大的岛屿，就像一块巨大的泥饼，上面有点儿水、有点儿沙、有一些树木，并且所有人上面，都有一个我们称之为天空的罩子，我们哪里都去过，所以我们知道。”

如果有个喜欢刨根问底的孩子问道：“这个像是一块泥饼、平平坦坦的世界，又是搁在什么东西上面呢？”那么，人们就会认认真真地回答说：“是在四头大象的背上驮着呢。”

可是，如果这个喜欢刨根问底的孩子又问：“那些大象又是站在什么东西上面呢？”那么，人们仍会认认真真地回答说：“是站在一头巨龟上面呀。”

然后，要是这个喜欢刨根问底的孩子再问：“那只巨龟，又是站在什么东西

That's the old story that parents long ago used to tell their children as to what the World was like. But just suppose you could go way, way off above the clouds；way, way off in the sky, sit on a corner of nothing at all, dangle your feet over the edge and look down at the World far, far below.What do you suppose it would really look like?I know—and yet I have never been there.

The World from way off in the sky and through a spy-glass would look just like a full moon—round and white；not round like a plate, but round like a huge snowball. Not exactly white, either, but bright—for the sun shines on this big ball, the World, and makes it light just as the headlight on an automobile shines on the road at night and makes the road light.Of course, the sun can shine on only one side of this big ball at a time；the other side of the World is dark，

上面呢？”那就没人能够回答了，因为无人能够更加深入地去思考这个问题，于是，他们便任由这只巨龟脚下什么也没有地站在那里了。

这就是很久以前，在对自己的孩子介绍世界是个什么样子时，父母们经常讲述的那个古老故事。不过，假定你们可以来到云层之上很远、很远的地方，来到天空之上很远、很远的地方，坐在一个什么也没有的角上，双脚从边上垂下来晃呀晃，并且俯瞰着相距很远、很远的这个世界。那么，你们觉得，这个世界真正的模样会是怎样的呢？尽管从来都没有到过那个地方，可我知道。

从天空中很远以外的地方，用一架望远镜俯瞰起来的世界样子就是像是一轮满月，又圆又白，当然，它并不是像盘子那样既圆又平，而是像一个巨型雪球似的那么圆滚。它也并不是真正的白色，而是很明亮，因为太阳照耀着这个巨大的球体，使整个地球变得很亮，就像夜间马路上一辆汽车开着前灯，照亮了马路一样。当然，太阳每次都只能照亮这个巨型球体的一面，因而地球的另一面是暗的，不过，地球一直在阳光中不停地转动着。

要是用一副单筒望远镜来看一看地球，就像人们用望远镜去观察月亮一般，那你们就会看到，地球的一面上有两片形状非常古怪的阴影，而在地球另一面，

but the World keeps turning round and round in the sunlight.

If you looked at the World through a telescope—you know what a telescope is：one of those long spy-glasses that make things seem closer and bigger—as men look at the moon, you would see on one side of the World two big patches that look like queerly shaped shadows and on the other side of the World twice as many big patches, four queerly shaped shadows. These patches which look like shadows are really land and are called by a long name：continents.These continents have names, and if their names were printed across them in letters a thousand miles high—which they are not—so that the man with a spy-glass could read them, he would read on one side of the World

NORTH AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA

and if he waited until the World turned round, until the other side showed in the sunlight, as I've seen the World

这些斑纹的数量则有前者的两倍，即有四片形状古怪的阴影。大家都知道单筒望远镜是个什么东西吧，那就是一副使得物体看起来更近、更大的长望远镜中的一支。那些看起来就像是阴影的斑纹，其实都是陆地，叫作“大陆”。这些大陆各有名称，如果用高达一千英里的字体，将各自的名称打印出来贴在那些大陆之上（这一点当然是做不到的），从而让那个用单筒望远镜来观察的人能够看清的话，那他就会看到，地球的一面上有：

北美洲

南美洲

而等到地球转过去，它的另一面出现在阳光之下，就像我在《电影梦工厂》里看到的地球那样，我们又会看到欧洲、亚洲、非洲，以及面积最小、名称却最长的大洋洲。这一面的最底下，就是南极洲了。

我们把一枚硬币的一面称为“头像面”（或者“正面”），因为这一面上通

do in“the movies，”he would read on this continent EUROPE and on that continent ASIA and on the other continent AFRICA, and the smallest one would have the longest name, AUSTRALIA. At the very bottom would be ANTARCTICA.

We call one side of a piece of money“the head，”because there is usually the head of some one on that side, and the other side we call“the tail，”as that is opposite from the head. It would be easy to tell which side of the World was which if we could call one side heads and the other tails.But there are no heads or tails on the World—only these queer shadows—so we use two big words instead of“heads”and“tails”to tell which side of the World is which.We call one side the“Western Hemisphere”and the other side we call the“Eastern Hemisphere.”Whew！Why don't they call it something easy?—well, let's call it“Half-a-Ball，”for that is what Hemisphere means.The Western Half-Ball has two continents and the Eastern Half-Ball has four continents.

The tip top and the very bottom of the World are called the Poles, although there are no poles. Around the top and bottom Pole it would be all white—snow and ice—for the Poles are so cold there is snow and ice there all the time.

The part of the World that isn't patches of shadow or snow is water. The water all around the continents is the ocean, and though of course there are no walls nor fences dividing it into different parts, its different parts are called by different names.

Do you know your right hand from your left?Of course you do if you're over six years old. But do you know the west side from the east side?If you are over nine years old you

常都印有某个人物的头像；而另一面，我们则称之为“背面”，因为它与“正面”相对。要是把地球的一面也称为“正面”、而另一面也称为“背面”的话，那我们就能轻而易举地区分出地球的两面了。不过，地球上其实并没有什么“正面”或者“背面”，只有那些形状古怪的阴影，因此我们便用两个大词，取代了“正面”和“背面”，来区分地球的两面。我们把其中的一面称为“西半球”，而将另一面称为“东半球”。唷！为什么人们不用更简单的词来称呼呢？好吧，我们不妨称之为“半个圆球”，因为“半球”一词，指的就是这个意思。所以，西半球有两个大洲，东半球则有四个大洲。

地球的最顶端和最底部称为“两极”，但其实那里并没有什么柱子。顶端的北极地区和底端的南极地区，全都是白茫茫的冰雪，因为极地非常寒冷，冰雪长年不化。

地球上不属于阴影斑片和冰雪的部分，全都是水。包围在各洲大陆周围的水体，就是大洋了，尽管自然界里并没有什么墙壁、篱笆将大洋分隔成不同的部分，可大洋中的各个部分，也有各自不同的名称。

大家分得清自己的左手和右手吗？只要过了六岁，你们自然分得清。不过，你们分不分得清东、西呢？要是超过了九岁，那你们也应该分得清了。东方就是太阳

should. The east is where the sun rises, the west is where it sets.And if your right hand is east, your left hand is west, your face is north and your back is south.

The Atlantic Ocean is on the east side of North and South America. The Pacific Ocean is on the west.The ocean entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere is called“Indian.”No, it is not named for our Indians.At the top of the World is the Arctic Ocean.At the bottom, all around Antarctica, is the Antarctic Ocean.The Arctic and Antarctic Oceans are mostly ice, for it is so cold there the water freezes and stays frozen.If we wanted to put names on the oceans so that a man off in the sky could read them, we would have to stick huge signs in the water, as we can't paint letters on the ocean.

There is no reason why I show you the World turned this way with North America on top. I might just as well show it upside down or sideways, for there is no upside nor downside on the World.I suppose the reason that the north side is always shown on top is because the people who made maps and geographies all lived in the north part of the World and they wanted their part of the World on top.

So this is our World. You may wonder，“Are there any other Worlds besides ours?”Some have guessed that there may be—that some of those sparks in the sky that look like stars at night may be other Worlds like ours with people living on them.But no one knows, for the strongest telescope is not strong enough for us to see what is on those far off sparks, so we can only guess about them.

升起的方向，而西方则是太阳落下的方向。要是让右手朝着东方，左手朝着西方的话，那么你们面对的就是北方，而背后就是南方了。

大西洋位于南、北美洲的东方，太平洋位于南、北美洲的西方。完全位于东半球的那个大洋，叫作“印度洋”。注意，这个大洋可不是用美国的印第安人来命名的。地球的顶端，是北冰洋。而位于地球底部、环绕着南极洲的，则是南极海。北冰洋和南极海的绝大部分都被冰雪覆盖着，因为那里非常寒冷，海水都结成了冰，并且一直封冻着。假如大家想要给各个大洋标上名称，以便位于空中远处的人看得清的话，那就必须在水中插上巨型的标志才行，因为我们可没法在大洋的水面上描出字母来呢。

我为什么要给你们看这样一个将北美洲放在上方并转动着的地球，可没有什么理由好说。我也可以将地球颠倒过来，或者侧着给你们看，因为地球上本来并没有什么上下之分。我觉得，地球的北部之所以总是放在上方，是因为制作地图、进行地理研究的人全都住在地球的北部，并且希望将他们所住的这个地区放在上方吧。

这就是我们的地球。你们可能会想知道：“除了我们的地球，还有别的地球吗？”有些人猜想，可能还存在着别的地球，认为那些在天空中闪烁着、夜晚看上去就像是星星的天体，可能会是其他与我们的相似的地球，也有人们居住。不过，这一点还没人知道，因为即便是最强大的望远镜，也不足以让我们看到如此遥远的那些星球上都有些什么，所以人们只能靠猜想了。