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CHAPTER LXX SHELLS
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IN Uncle Paul’s room was a drawer full of shells of all sorts. One of his friends had collected them in his travels. Pleasant hours could be passed in looking at them. Their beautiful colors, their pleasing but sometimes odd shapes, diverted the eye. Some were twisted like a spiral stair-case, others widened out in large horns, still others opened and closed like a snuff-box. Some were ornamented1 with radiating ribs2, knotty3 creases4, or plates laid one on another like the slates5 of a roof; some bristled6 with points, spines7, or jagged scales. Here were some smooth as eggs, sometimes white, sometimes spotted8 with red; others, near the rose-tinted opening, had long points resembling wide-stretched fingers. They came from all parts of the world. This came from the land of the negroes, that from the Red Sea, others from China, India, Japan. Truly, many pleasant hours could be passed in examining them one by one, especially if Uncle Paul were to tell you about them.

One day Uncle Paul gave his nephews this pleasure: he spread before them the riches of his drawer. Jules and Claire looked at them with amazement9; Emile was never tired of putting the large shells to his ear and listening to the continual hoo-hoo-hoo that escapes from their depths and seems to repeat the murmur10 of the sea.

Cassis

“This one with the red and lace-like opening comes from India. It is called a helmet. Some are so large that two of them would be as much as Emile could carry. In some islands they are so abundant that they are used instead of stones and are burnt in kilns11 to make lime.”

“I would not burn them for lime,” said Jules, “if I found such beautiful shells. See how red the opening is, how beautifully the edges are pleated.”

“And then what a loud murmur it makes,” added Emile. “Is it true, Uncle, that it is the noise of the sea echoed by the shell?”

Spiny12 Mollusk13

“I do not deny that it resembles a little the murmur of waves heard at a distance; but you must not think that the shell keeps in its folds an echo of the noise of the waves. It is simply the effect of the air going and coming through the tortuous14 cavity.

“This other belongs to France. It is common on the shores of the Mediterranean15 and belongs to the genus cassis.”

“It goes hoo-hoo, like the helmet,” Emile remarked.

“All those that are rather large and have a spiral cavity do the same.

“Here is another which, like the preceding, is found in the Mediterranean. It is the spiny mollusk. The creature that inhabits it produces a violet glair, from which the ancients derived16, for their costly17 stuffs, a magnificent color called purple.”

Paludinid?

“How are shells made?” asked Claire.

“Shells are the dwellings18 of creatures called mollusks, the same as the spiral snail20’s shell is the house of the horny little animal that eats your young flowering plants.”

“Then the snail’s house is a shell, the same as the beautiful ones you have shown us,” Jules observed.

“Yes, my child. It is in the sea that we find, in greatest number, the largest and most beautiful shells. They are called sea-shells. To these belong the helmet-shell, cassidula, and spiny mollusk. But fresh waters, that is to say streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, have them too. The smallest ditch in our country has shells of good shape but somber21, earthy in color. They are called fresh-water shells.”

“I have seen some in the water resembling large, pointed22, spiral snails23,” said Jules. “They have a sort of cap to close the opening.”

“They are Paludinid?.”

“I remember another ditch shell,” said Claire. “It is round, flat, and as large as a ten or even twenty-sou piece.”

Planorbin?

“That is one of the Planorbin?. Finally, there are shells that are always found on land and for that reason are called land-shells. Such is the spiral snail.”

“I have seen very pretty snails,” Jules remarked, “almost as pretty as the shells in this drawer. In the woods you see yellow ones with several black bands wound round them in regular order.”

“The creature we call the spiral snail—isn’t it a slug that finds an empty shell and lives in it?” asked Emile.

“No, my friend; a slug remains24 always a slug without becoming a snail; that is to say, it never has a shell. The snail, on the contrary, is born with a tiny shell that grows little by little as the snail grows. The empty shells you find in the country have had their inhabitants, which are now dead and turned to dust, only their houses remaining.”

“A slug and a snail without its shell are very much alike.”

“Both are mollusks. There are mollusks that do not make shells, the slug for example; others that do make them, such as the snails, the Paludinid?, and the cassidid?.”

“And of what does the snail make its house?”

“Of its own substance, my little friend; it sweats the materials for its house.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Don’t you make your teeth, so white, shiny, and all in a row? From time to time a new one pushes through, without your giving it any thought. It does it by itself. These beautiful teeth are of very hard stone. Where does that stone come from? From your own substance, it is clear. Our gums sweat stone which fashions itself into teeth. So the snail’s house is built. The little creature sweats the stone that shapes itself into a graceful25 shell.”

“But to arrange stones one on another and make houses of them you need masons. The snail’s house is made without masons.”

“When I say it is done by itself, I do not mean that the stone has the faculty26 of making itself into a shell. You never see rubble27 piling itself unaided into a wall. God, the Father of all things, willed that the stone should arrange itself in a mother-of-pearl palace to serve as a dwelling19 for the poor animal, brother to the slug, and it is accomplished28 according to His will. In like manner He told the stone to grow up into beautiful teeth from the depths of the rosy29 gums of little boys and girls, and it is done as He willed.”

“I begin to feel rather friendly toward the snail, the voracious30 animal that eats our flowers,” said Jules.

“I do not care to make you friendly with it. Let us make war on it since it ravages31 our gardens; it is our right; but do not let us disdain32 to learn from it, for it has many beautiful things to teach us. To-day I will tell you of its eyes and nose.”

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1 ornamented af417c68be20f209790a9366e9da8dbb     
adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 ribs 24fc137444401001077773555802b280     
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹
参考例句:
  • He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
  • Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。
3 knotty u2Sxi     
adj.有结的,多节的,多瘤的,棘手的
参考例句:
  • Under his leadership,many knotty problems were smoothly solved.在他的领导下,许多伤脑筋的问题都迎刃而解。
  • She met with a lot of knotty problems.她碰上了许多棘手的问题。
4 creases adfbf37b33b2c1e375b9697e49eb1ec1     
(使…)起折痕,弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 ); (皮肤)皱起,使起皱纹
参考例句:
  • She smoothed the creases out of her skirt. 她把裙子上的皱褶弄平。
  • She ironed out all the creases in the shirt. 她熨平了衬衣上的所有皱褶。
5 slates ba298a474e572b7bb22ea6b59e127028     
(旧时学生用以写字的)石板( slate的名词复数 ); 板岩; 石板瓦; 石板色
参考例句:
  • The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦,并非石板瓦。
  • They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。
6 bristled bristled     
adj. 直立的,多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动,他们都怒发冲冠。
  • All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先,大家都气得怒发冲冠。
7 spines 2e4ba52a0d6dac6ce45c445e5386653c     
n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 );脊椎;(动植物的)刺;书脊
参考例句:
  • Porcupines use their spines to protect themselves. 豪猪用身上的刺毛来自卫。
  • The cactus has spines. 仙人掌有刺。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
8 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
9 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
10 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言
参考例句:
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
11 kilns a783251ff4c9ad3d87dce8463073429b     
n.窑( kiln的名词复数 );烧窑工人
参考例句:
  • Bricks and earthware articles are baked in kilns. 砖和陶器都是在窑中烧成的。 来自辞典例句
  • The bricks are baking in the kilns. ?里正在烧砖。 来自辞典例句
12 spiny 3F9zU     
adj.多刺的,刺状的;n.多刺的东西
参考例句:
  • This is the Asiatic ornamental shrub with spiny branches and pink blossoms.这就是亚洲的一种观赏灌木,具有多刺的枝和粉红色的花。
  • Stay away from a spiny cactus.远离多刺仙人掌。
13 mollusk u6ozk     
n.软体动物
参考例句:
  • I swear I have never seen such a mollusk with thorns all over its body.我敢发誓我从来没有见过这种全身长满棘刺的软体动物。
  • The colour varies with the mollusk and its environment.颜色因母体及其环境的不同而异。
14 tortuous 7J2za     
adj.弯弯曲曲的,蜿蜒的
参考例句:
  • We have travelled a tortuous road.我们走过了曲折的道路。
  • They walked through the tortuous streets of the old city.他们步行穿过老城区中心弯弯曲曲的街道。
15 Mediterranean ezuzT     
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
  • Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
16 derived 6cddb7353e699051a384686b6b3ff1e2     
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取
参考例句:
  • Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
18 dwellings aa496e58d8528ad0edee827cf0b9b095     
n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
  • The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
20 snail 8xcwS     
n.蜗牛
参考例句:
  • Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
  • Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。
21 somber dFmz7     
adj.昏暗的,阴天的,阴森的,忧郁的
参考例句:
  • He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
  • His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。
22 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
23 snails 23436a8a3f6bf9f3c4a9f6db000bb173     
n.蜗牛;迟钝的人;蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
25 graceful deHza     
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的
参考例句:
  • His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
  • The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
26 faculty HhkzK     
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员
参考例句:
  • He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
  • He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。
27 rubble 8XjxP     
n.(一堆)碎石,瓦砾
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后,花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
  • After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。
28 accomplished UzwztZ     
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
参考例句:
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
29 rosy kDAy9     
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的
参考例句:
  • She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作,生活看上去很美好。
  • She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。
30 voracious vLLzY     
adj.狼吞虎咽的,贪婪的
参考例句:
  • She's a voracious reader of all kinds of love stories.什么样的爱情故事她都百看不厌。
  • Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector.约瑟夫·史密斯是个如饥似渴的藏书家。
31 ravages 5d742bcf18f0fd7c4bc295e4f8d458d8     
劫掠后的残迹,破坏的结果,毁坏后的残迹
参考例句:
  • the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难
  • It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。
32 disdain KltzA     
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑
参考例句:
  • Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
  • A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。


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