1.The right lung takes in1 more air than the left.
右肺比左肺吸入的空气要多。

2.If the arm of King Henry I of England had been 42 inches long, the unit of measure of a “foot” today would be fourteen inches. But his arm happened to be 36 inches long and he decreed2 that the “standard” foot should be one-third that length: 12 inches.
如果英国国王亨利一世的手臂为42英寸长的话，那么今天“一英尺”将是14英寸，当时他的手臂刚好为36英寸，他颁布法令，以其手臂的三分之一作为“标准”的一英尺，即12英寸。

3.Snails3 have teeth. They are arranged in rows along the snail's tongue and are used like a file4 to saw5 or slice6 through the snail's foot.
蜗牛有牙齿，它们沿蜗牛的舌头排成几行，通过蜗牛的脚，像一把锉刀一样锯切食物。

4.The first coin minted7 in the United States was a silver dollar. It was issued on October 15, 1794.
美国铸造的第一枚硬币是银元，于1794年10月15日发行。

5.The film Cleopatra (1963) was banned in Egypt for 15 years because its star, Elizabeth Taylor, had converted to8 Judaism9.
电影《克利奥帕特拉》(1963年)在埃及禁演长达15年，只因其女主角伊丽莎白· 泰勒改信犹太教。

6.When a piece of glass cracks10, the crack travels faster than 3,000 miles per hour.
玻璃破碎时，破裂速度高达每小时3,000英里以上。

7.During the time of Peter the Great, any Russian man who wore a beard was required to pay a special tax.
彼得大帝统治期间，留胡子的人要交胡子税。

8.The Romans like the smell of roses. According to historians, Nero had pipes installed11 under banquet12 plates to allow his guests to enjoy rose scent between dinner courses.
古罗马人独爱玫瑰香味。据历史学家说，古罗马暴君尼禄命人在宴会的盘子下安上管子，便于客人们在用餐时也能享受到玫瑰的芬芳。

9.There are 27,572 wires used in one main cable13 on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The bridge has two main cables.
旧金山的金门大桥一共有两根主吊索，每根主吊索上使用了27572根金属丝。

10.The United States had a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1866, or eight years before it had a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
美国早在1866年就成立了防止虐待动物协会，比防止虐待儿童协会的成立还早8年。

 

 

1. take in  吸收
2． decree   v． 颁布，命令
3． snail [sneil]  n． 蜗牛
4． file [fail]  n． 锉刀
5． saw   v． 锯
6． slice [slais]  v． 切
7． mint [mint]  v． 铸造(硬币)
8． convert   to  改变信仰
9． Judaism    n． 犹太教
10． crack  v／n．破裂
11． install   v． 安装
12． banquet   n． 宴会
13． cable   n．  缆，索