双语+MP3|美国学生世界地理49 昔日辉煌的小亚细亚

     WE call a small boy a "minor" until he grows up. The corner of Asia on the other side of the Bosporus is only a small part of Asia, so we call it Asia Minor. Asia Minor does not touch Europe, although it comes so close to it in two places that a giant could stride across. One of these crossings is the Bosporus; it is only about half a mile wide. The other crossing, called the Dardanelles, is only about a mile wide at the narrowest point. People have swum across the Dardanelles, and floating bridges have been made here by tying boats together, but there are now no bridges from Asia to Europe, and men and animals have to be carried across in boats if they want to get from Asia to Europe or from Europe to Asia.

     Asia Minor is a "Once-was" country. It once was the richest part of the whole World.
     Croesus, who once was the richest man in the World, lived in Asia Minor.
     Helen, who once was the most beautiful woman in the World, was stolen away from her home in Greece and brought to a place called Troy in Asia Minor. Here the Trojan War was fought on her account.
     Homer, one of the greatest story poets who ever lived, was said to have been born in Asia Minor.
     St. Paul-the Apostle-was born in a little town in Asia Minor, a town called Tarsus, where he made tents for soldiers.
     You have probably heard of the Seven Wonders of the World. They were supposed to be the seven most wonderful things made by the hand of man in Ancient Times. Three of the Seven Wonders were in Asia Minor:
     The Temple built to the Goddess Diana was one of these wonders. This Temple was at Ephesus in Asia Minor, and silversmiths made little copies of this wonderful temple to sell as souvenirs to visitors. St. Paul preached against Diana, for whom the Temple was built, because she was a heathen goddess. The silversmiths at Ephesus who made a living out of their souvenirs of the Temple were afraid St. Paul would hurt their business, so they tried to mob him. Nothing is now left of this wonderful Temple of Diana except the floor, and the silver souvenirs have all disappeared; but the letters which St. Paul wrote to men at Ephesus are still read by millions of people, for they are in the Bible.

     The greatest tomb in the World was in Asia Minor. It was built by a woman named Mrs. Mausolus, for her husband, Mr. Mausolus. This was another Wonder of which little is left. And yet nowadays we call a very handsome tomb a "Mausoleum" after this tomb of Mausolus.
     There is a little island off Asia Minor, called Rhodes. A huge brass statue of the Sun God was built there. It was called The Colossus of Rhodes, for Colossus means huge. It was as tall as a ten story house. This was a third Wonder, but an earthquake upset the statue and its pieces were sold to a junk dealer.
     Almost all of the old glory of Asia Minor has gone. We can see the ruins of the wonderful old buildings, but most of the houses now, except those in a few big cities, are made of mud with one door and no windows, and grass often grows in the mud on the roofs.

     Asia Minor now belongs to Turkey-in fact, it is about all there is left of Turkey except Istanbul, although before World War I, Turkey owned much more land.
     You have probably seen Angora cats-beautiful cats with long hair and bushy tails. They come from Angora, the capital of new Turkey. In the country round Angora is raised a peculiar kind of goat which has long silky hair. The hair from this Angora goat is used to make lovely rugs and shawls which can be bought here in America. Mohair suits which men wear in hot summer weather because they are so thin and cool are made of Angora goats' hair-if genuine.

     In Asia Minor is a very crooked river that flows lazily along to the sea, turning this way and that way as if it had no particular place to go. Its name is the "Meander." So when a boy goes lazily along to school, turning this way and that, or when he goes along on an errand and does not go straight there but wanders along as the Meander goes to the sea, we say he "meanders." Girls sometimes "meander" too.

     Figs grow in the valley of the Meander River and dates grow in many parts of Asia. Figs and dates are brought on camel back across to a beautiful city called Smyrna on the Mediterranean Sea, and from there are shipped to us in America. You can probably get at your corner grocery store a package of Smyrna figs or "Dromedary Dates" that have been picked far away in Asia, carried by caravan to Smyrna, and shipped here. Another thing sent us from Smyrna is sponges. Sponges grow in the sea near Asia Minor. Naked men dive for the sponges and pull them off the rocks, where they grow on the bottom of the sea. They gather as many as they can at a time, as long as they can hold their breath.