雙語+MP3|美國學(xué)生世界地理28 你講法語嗎?

     I KNOW a boy who has never been to school and who has never had a French lesson in his life, but who can speak French fluently. He's no brighter than you are, either. How do you explain that? It's because he was born in France. He is a French boy. But there was a time when every one who was anybody, no matter in what country he was born, could speak French. The English kings and nobles and educated people all spoke French; they spoke English only to their servants, who were not supposed to know anything better.
     France is only two dozen miles from England-twenty-four miles-but there is water between the two countries and no bridge. The water between England and France is called the English Channel. It might just as well have been called the French Channel, for it doesn't belong to either England or France. The finest swimmers in the World, both men and women, have come from all over the World just to try to swim across the English Channel. But only a very few have been able to do it. A boat takes only about an hour to cross and an airplane takes even less time.
     When you cross over to France you usually leave a place on the English side called Dover and land at a place on the French side called Calais, because this is the shortest distance. It's short, but often so very rough that every one is seasick-then it seems very long. Some day perhaps a tunnel will be made underneath the English Channel. People usually speak of this as the Calais-Dover route, and there is an old catch question, "What is the shortest route from England to France?" One usually answers "Calais- Dover," but that is wrong, for the shortest way to France is "Dover-Calais." Some people cross a longer way, landing at other places on the French side. Havre is one of these places. Havre is at the mouth of a river spelled "Seine," but called "Sane."
     When you land in France you see French flags flying; they are red, white, and blue, the same colors as our own flag, but their flags have only three stripes and the stripes are up and down, not from side to side, and the colors are backward-blue, white, red, instead of red, white, blue. The street signs and signs on the buildings are in a different language, the people are talking a different language, and of course the money is different too. It is called "francs."
     You have probably heard some one say, "You look like your father or mother," but they don't say that your father or mother looks like you. Well, up the River Seine is the capital and largest city of France, spelled "Paris," but called "Paree" by the French people. Some call it the most beautiful city i. t. w. W.. People often say some other very beautiful city looks "like Paris," but they never say Paris looks like any other city.


     London is up a river too, but it is only a short way and quite large ships can get up to London. But Paris is a long distance up the Seine, and the river is too shallow and too narrow for large steamships to go up so far, although smaller boats can do so. The Seine runs straight through Paris, or rather I should say it runs crooked through Paris, for it curves as it passes through.
     On a small island in the river is a great church-a cathedral, built to the Virgin Mary, whom the French call Notre Dame, which means Our Lady. Notre Dame was built many hundreds of years ago of stone and stained glass, with two towers in front and a thin spire in the center "like a finger pointing to heaven." Long props made of stone hold up the roof. They are called flying buttresses, and if these props were taken away the roof would tumble down. Around on the edge of the roof of Notre Dame are perched strange animals made of stone. They are hideous creatures, different from any real animals you have ever seen or heard of, part bird, part beast, part devil. They are called "gargoyles," and they were made as hideous as possible and put there on the edge of the roof because it was thought they would scare away evil spirits from the church.
     There is another famous church in Paris built to that other Mary in the Bible known as Mary Magdalene. This church to Mary Magdalene is called simply "The Madeleine," which is the French for Magdalene. It is a much newer church than Notre Dame but it is much older-looking, It is built like the old temples they used to build before Christ was born-before they had any churches. The Madeleine has stone columns all around the outside, but it has no windows, no towers, no flying buttresses, no spire, no dome.
     Once upon a time France had kings and queens and princes and princesses, and along the Seine are many beautiful palaces in which they lived. Now, however, France has no more kings and queens or princes. It has a President as we have, for France is a republic as we are. So the old palaces are now used for museums or art galleries or libraries. One of the greatest of these palaces is the Louvre, and in the Louvre are many famous pictures and statues.
     A photograph is never worth much-even though it may be a good likeness and the person famous. But a painting, even though not a good likeness and the person unknown, may be worth a fortune. One of the great pictures in the Louvre is the painting of a smiling woman called Mona Lisa. It is one of the most valuable paintings i. t. w. W. , but it was once upon a time stolen right off the wall in the Louvre where it was hanging. It was a foolish thing to steal, for the thief could not sell it nor even show it to any one. All the World looked for the picture, but it was a long time before it was found in another country and put back again in the Louvre, where it is once more.
     Before Christ was born people believed there were many gods who were like good and bad fairies, and statues were made of them as they were supposed to look. Two of the greatest statues i. t. w. W. are in the Louvre. One is a marble figure of the goddess Venus. Venus was the goddess of Love, and this statue of her was made more than 2,000 years ago, but was found not many years ago on an island called Melos, so it is called the Venus of Melos. The other figure, like an angel with outspread wings, is called "Victory." Victory too was made before Christ was born. Venus has lost her arms and Victory has lost her head, but, in spite of that, both figures are more beautiful than most real people who have both arms and head.
     The Capitol of France has neither a dome like our Capitol nor towers like the English Capitol. There is, however, a building in Paris with a dome something like that of our Capitol and St. Paul's in London, but it is neither a church nor a Capitol. It is the tomb of France's two greatest soldiers. One was named Napoleon, and he lived at the same time as our George Washington. He was at one time emperor before France had presidents. His bones are in a large marble chest under this dome. The other soldier is General Foch-the leader of the armies in World War I.
     The tallest tower in the World is in Paris near the banks of the Seine. It is called the Eiffel Tower and it is about a thousand feet high. It is made of iron and stands on four tall iron legs. You can look between its legs and see whole buildings as if the tower were a giant straddling them.