Lesson23 The Indian Who Could Foretell the Weather

Two men were traveling in a wild and lonely part of America.For days they had not even seen a house, only a few huts made of wood, or tents made of skins.Then one day they met an old Indian who earned his living by trapping animals for their fur.They found that he knew their language and they had a little conversation with him.One of them asked him if he could tell them what the weather would be like within the next few days.
"Oh yes,” he said. “Rain is coming, and wind. Then there will be snow for two days, but after that there will be bright sunshine.”
"Isn't that wonderful?” said one man to his friend.“These old Indians know more of the secrets of nature than we do with all our science. They have not been spoiled by civilization.” Then he turned to the old Indian.
"Tell me,” he said,"“how you know all that."
The Indian replied, "I heard it on the radio."

foretell 预言
trap ? 诱捕
spoil ? 宠坏
civilization ? 文明

能够预测天气的印第安人

两个人在美国荒凉偏僻的地方旅行。几天来他们连房子也没有看到过一座，只有几处棚子和皮帐篷。一天，他们碰到了一个上了年纪的印第安人，这个老人以捕猎动物获取皮毛为生。他们发现老人能听懂他们的语言，于是就和老人攀谈了起来。他们中的一人问老人能否告诉他们今后几天的天气如何。
“哦，好的，”老人说，“马上要下雨了，还会刮风。然后会下两天雪，但那以后又会阳光明媚了。”
“简直太奇妙了。”那个人对他的朋友说。“这些印第安人知道的大自然的秘密比我们用科学知识知道得还多。他们没有被文明宠坏。”然后，他又转向那位老印第安人。
“告诉我，”他说，“你是怎么知道这些的？”
印第安人回答，“我听电台里说的。”