The earliest histories were not written，but oral songs and sagas such as the battle and adventure tales told by the poet Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey．
The wandering bards who passed these stories from generation to generation made no attempt to sort out fact from fiction．For them，the grand legends of gods and supernatural heroes were as real and important as actual events．Today we know that many of these ancient sagas，although exaggerated，do have a real basis in fact．
The story of the Trojan War，told in the Iliad，was long thought to be pure fiction：however，today we can visit the ruins of Troy and walk through the gateway，guarded by a ruined tower，through which the Trojan soldiers marched out to meet the forces of the invading Greeks．What is more，the man who discovered the ruins of this city made use of no documents or research materials other than Homer’s description of its location．
The “oneeyed giant”who hurled rocks downupon Odysseus’ships in the Odyssey has been identified as the volcano of Mount Etna，which has frequently poured out rocky death，and whose cone can glow like a single eye against the dark of night．Nearby，in the sea off the coast of Sicily，lie some huge and jagged rocks which look as if a giant might have hurled them there，just as Odysseus’ homecoming sailors reported．
确有真实背景的古代英雄传奇
最早的历史不是以文字记载，而是言传的，如诗人荷马在《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》中讲述的战争与冒险的诗歌和传奇故事等等。
使这些故事代代相传的吟游诗人，从未打算去分清虚构和真实。对他们来说，神和超自然英雄人物宏伟壮烈的传奇故事，就像实际发生的历史事件一样真实和重要。今天我们知道，这些古老的传奇故事中有许多实际上是确有其事的，虽然其中也不免含有夸张的成分。
《伊利亚特》中叙说的特洛伊战争故事，长期以来一直被认为纯属虚构。然而，我们今天却参观了特洛伊城的废墟，穿过一座已毁坏的城楼守护着的城门，特洛伊的士兵正是走过这座城门，去迎战入侵的希腊军队的。更重要的是，发现这座城市废墟的人，除了根据荷马对其位置的描述以外，没有凭借任何文件和研究资料。
在《奥德赛》中，向奥德修斯的船只猛投石块的神奇“独眼巨人”，已被认定是埃特纳火山。这座火山一直在不断地喷出岩石而造成死亡，它的火山锥在黑夜的背景下简直像一只眼睛一样闪闪发光。在不远处的西西里海岸的近海地区，横陈着一些参差不齐的巨石。看起来像被一位巨人老早抛在那儿似的，正如奥德修斯手下那些踏上归途的水手们所报告的那样。
A Century of Hard Work toReestablish the Reputation of the Bloodhounds
Bad publicity almost destroyed the reputation of the bloodhound．During the latter half of the nineteenth century，innumerable road companies toured the United States presenting Uncle Tom’s Cabin，and theaters resounded to the baying of vicious“bloodhounds”pursuing poor Eliza across the ice．The audience who paid admission to be shocked and enraged cared little that the ferocious pack on the stage contained no bloodhounds，but only assorted neighbor hood dogs hired for the performance．
The beasts that tracked slaves weren’t really bloodhounds either，but crossbreeds made vicious by ill treatment，confinement，or fright．The South before the Civil War may not have had a single purebred bloodhound；still，it has taken a century of hard work by the breed’s admirers to reestablish its reputation and to separate fiction from fact．
Stories of bloodhounds’exploits are not exaggerated．Bloodhounds are more successful with older trails and greater distances than other hounds；set midway on a track，they can determine in which direction to head．The quarry who tries any of the timeworn dodges—wearing another man’s shoes or crossing waters—is not likely to get far．
A word of caution to anyone fleeing from a bloodhound：if caught，brace yourself．In all probability，your pursuer will be so happy at finding you that he will embrace you with muddy paws，lick your face friendly，and，unless the police arrive in time，settle his hundredpound weight cozily in your lap．
百年艰苦努力，重振警犬声誉
坏名声差不多毁了大警犬的声誉。19世纪后半期，数不清的巡回剧团遍游美国各地，演出《汤姆叔叔的小屋》。戏院里回响着在冰上追逐可怜的伊莱扎的大警犬的狂吠声。观众们花钱买了入场券，去品尝受惊吓和被激怒的味道，他们对舞台上那群恶狗不是大警犬，而是为演出从邻近租借来的一些杂种狗这一点毫不在意。
追踪黑奴的畜生其实也不是大警犬，而是一些受虐待，遭监禁，或受惊吓而变得凶恶的杂种狗。内战前，（美国）南方也许连一只纯种大警犬都没有。然而，为重建大警犬的声誉，区分真伪，这种狗的赞美者们做出了一个世纪的艰苦努力。
描写大警犬勇建奇功的故事并不夸张。大警犬比其他猎狗更适应古老的山路，能跑更远的路程。把它们留在一条小道的中间，它们能判定该朝哪个方向前进。被它们所追逐的对象，不论施用何种过时的诡计，比如穿别人的鞋或涉水走，一般都不可能逃远。
给任何想逃脱大警犬追逐的人进一言：若被它抓住，打起精神来。你的追逐者很可能会因为发现你而高兴得用泥爪将你拥抱，亲热地舔你的面孔；除非警察及时赶到，它那100磅重的躯体还要舒舒服服躺在你的怀抱中呢。
Speech，the Act of UtteringSounds to Convey Meaning
Speech—the act of uttering sounds to convey meaning—is a kind of human action．Like any other constantly repeated action，speaking has to be learned，but once it is learned，it becomes a generally unconscious and apparently automatic process．
As far as we can determine，human beings do not need to be forced to speak；most babies seem to possess a sort of instinctive drive to produce speech like noises．How to speak and what to say are another matter altogether．These actions are learned from the particular society into which the baby is born；so that，like all conduct that is learned from a society—from the people around us—speech is a patterned activity．
The meandering babble and chatter of a young child are eventually channeled by imitation into a few orderly grooves that represent the pattern accepted as meaningful by the people around him．Similarly，a child’s indiscriminate putting things into his mouth becomes limited to putting food into his mouth in a certain way．