2.The cow has short straight hair all over her body.There is a tuft of long hair at the end of her tail，with which she drives away the flies.
3.Most cows have horns.Some of them are straight，and others curved.You may have seen cows using their horns to drive away dogs that tried to bite them.When they do this，they put down their heads and rush at the dogs，trying to toss them in the air.The horns are hollow，and are made of the same kind of stuff as our finger nails.
4.Now，look at the hoof of the cow，and you will see that it is split or “cloven.”The cloven hoof is really two hoofs，which are the strong nails of the cow‘s toes.The cow has four toes on each foot；two long toes in front，and two short ones behind.
5.Have you ever seen a cow eating？If youlooked into her mouth，you would see that she has eight sharp cutting teeth in the front of her lower jaw；but in the front of her upper jaw she has no teeth.She has a hard pad there instead.
6.The cow takes the grass between this pad and her front teeth and tears it off.Then she s w a l l o w s t h e g r a s s w i t h o u t chewing it.When the cow has eaten a good deal of grass，shelies down and begins to chew the cud.
7.This means that she brings the grass up again，a little at a time，out of her stomach into her mouth.She chews the grass well this time with her broad back teeth，and then swallows it again.This time the grass goes into another part of the cow’s stomach.
8.The cow is of great use to us.We like to drink her milk；and we make some of the milk into butter and cheese.
9.After the cow is killed，she is also of use to us.Her flesh is very good for food.The flesh of the cow is called beef，and that of the calf is called veal.
10.The skin or hide of the cow is made into leather for our boots and shoes.The horns are made into combs，spoons，and cups.Buttons，and the handles of knives，are also made of cow‘s horn.
11.The fat of the cow，called tallow，is used for making soap and candles.Even the cow’s hair is of use，for it is mixed with the plaster which is put on the walls of our rooms.The hair holds the plaster together，and keeps it from falling off the walls.
SUMMARY
The cow has horns and cloven hoofs.It eats grass.It gives us milk，which we drink and from which we make butter and cheese；it supplies us with beef；its skin or hide is made into leather；its horns are made into combs，buttons，handles of knives，etc.；its fat，called tallow，is used for making soap and candles；and its hair is mixed with plaster for putting on the walls of ourrooms.A young cow is called a calf，and the male of the cow is called an ox or a bull.
【中文阅读】
1．小朋友们都知道牛，也都喜欢听牛的故事。小牛的英语叫calf，成年的公牛英语叫ox或bull。①2．牛浑身都长着短毛，尾巴尖儿上，还有一丛长毛，牛就用这丛长毛赶苍蝇。
3．大多数牛都有角。有些牛角是直的，有些牛角是弯的。你可能见过，牛会用角赶跑那些想咬它的狗。这时候，牛把脑袋低下，朝着狗冲过去，想把狗一下子撞飞！牛角是空心的，跟咱们的指甲，是一样的东西做的。②4．看看牛的蹄子。你看见蹄子是“分开”的，也可以说是“分趾”
（cloven）。这种“分趾”其实是两个“蹄子”，也就是牛脚趾上坚硬的指甲。牛的每只脚上都有四个脚趾，两个长脚趾在前面，两个短脚趾在后面。
5．你见过牛吃东西吗？朝牛嘴里看，就能看见，牛的下颌前面，有八颗锋利的下门齿，但是上颌没有门齿，只有一个硬硬的齿垫。
6．牛把青草咬在齿垫和下门齿中间，撕下来，然后不嚼就把草吞了下去。牛吃了很多草之后，就卧下来开始“反刍”（chew the cud）。③7．“反刍”的意思，是把草一点儿一点儿地，从胃里退回到嘴里，用后面的臼齿细细地嚼一遍，然后再咽下去。这次的草，就到了牛胃的另一个地方。
8．牛对我们的用处可大了！我们都喜欢喝牛奶，还把一些牛奶做成黄油和奶酪。
9．牛死了之后，也是对我们有用的：牛肉是很好的食物。牛肉的英语叫beef，小牛肉的英语叫veal。④10．牛皮（hide）可以做成皮，用来做我们穿的鞋和靴子。牛角可以做成梳子、勺子、杯子、扣子。还有，刀把儿也是牛角做的哦！⑤11．牛的脂肪就是牛油（tallow）。牛油可以做肥皂和蜡烛。连牛毛也是有用的，它可以跟灰泥混合在一起，涂在屋子的墙上。牛毛可以让灰泥牢固，不让它从墙上掉下来。⑥译注①生物学上，牛属于“脊索动物门”“哺乳纲”“偶蹄目”“牛科”。
②这种东西是“角质”，英语的名词是horn，和“角”是同一个单词。牛角一般由角蛋白（keratin）和其他的蛋白质组成。牛角的外面是角质，里面是真皮的骨质。
③这是一个很老的词组。反刍最新的英语词是ruminate。
④中国人最熟悉的牛的传统用途，大概就是种田了。早在周代就已经开始用牛耕地，汉代已经有了详细的牛耕方法。因为牛对农业非常重要，在很长的历史时期，中国都是禁止宰杀耕牛的。随着农业机械化程度的提高，牛在农业上的用武之地越来越小了。现在，中国养牛主要是为了牛肉和牛奶。
⑤现在，鞋的材料出现了“人造革”，英语叫artificial leather，是一种外观类似皮革的塑料制品。课文里提到的日用品，现在大部分都是金属和塑料做的。
⑥这是英国的传统工艺。因为牛毛比较贵，中国以前用过麻纤维、碎棉花、麦秸等等。现在，人们往墙上涂的不再是灰泥，而是性能更好的水泥。
A GLASS OF WATER