英语背诵文选第一册(陈冠商)Animal And Machine

The  body  of  an  animal  may  well  be  compared  with(1)  some  machine  like  a locomotive engine. Indeed, the animal body is a machine. It is a machine composed of(2) many parts, each part doing some particular kind of work for  which  a  particular  kind  of  structure  fits  it(3);  and  all  the  parts are dependent on each other and work together for the accomplishment of the total business of the machine. The locomotive must be provided with fuel, such as coal or wood or other combustible substance, the consumption of  which  furnishes  the  force  or  energy  of  the  machine.  The  animal  body must  be  provided  with  fuel,  which  is  called  food,  which  furnished similarly  the  energy  of  the  animal.  Oxygen  must  be  provided  for  the combustion of the fuel in the locomotive and of the food(4) in the body. The locomotive is composed of special parts: the fire box for the reception and  combustion  of  fuel;  the  steam  pipes  for  the  carriage  of  steam;  the wheels  for  locomotion;  the  smokestack  for  throwing  off  waste.  The  ani-mal  body  is  similarly  composed  of  parts:  the  alimentary  canal  for  the reception and assimilation of food; the excretory organs for the throwing off of waste matter; the arteries and veins for the carriage oxygen  and food-holding  blood;  the  legs  or  wings  for  locomotion.