2.But there is very little water in the glass.Ifwe were to look through a very great thickness of water，we should see that it really has a pale blue colour.The water of the deep sea looks blue，you know.
3.The water in the glass has no smell and no taste.That is a very good thing，for we drink a great deal of water，and we should soon get tired of any taste or smell，however nice it might be.
4.Yet there are some animals that can smell water a long way off.One of these is the camel.Men crossing the hot，sandy desert seek for the green spots where springs of water are found.Longbefore they have seen one of these spots，they know that they are near it by their thirsty camels rushing on，however tired they may be.The camels must have smelt the water far off.
5.When I hold up the glass，you can see my fingers through the water.For that reason we call the water transparent or clear.Never drink any water which is not clear.Muddy water can be made clear by letting it run through a filter.The filter is full of little holes，but these holes are so small that the bits of sand and mud cannot pass through them.
6.Who would try to set fire to the water and make it burn？If you saw any one trying to do so，you would only laugh at him，for you know very well that water will not burn.If your house were on fire，men would come with a fire-engine and pour water on the fire to put it out.
7.Let me slant to one side the glass which holds the water.Now the water runs out，and flows down to the floor in a stream.Because the water will flow，we call it a fluid.
“Men would come with a fire-engine.”（“人们会开来消防车。”）8.There are many other fluids besides water，such as milk and oil.These fluids are also called liquids.
9.The water in the glass has a certain size，but it has no shapeof its own.It takes the form or shape of any glass into which it is poured.
10.Is water of any use？Why，it is so useful that we could not live without it.The water we drink forms a great part of our blood and of our bodies.
11.Then we need water to wash ourselves with，and to wash our clothes and our houses.No liquid will do this so well as water.We also need water for cooking our food.
12.Water is used to make the steam that works our steam-engines.And we sprinkle it over our streets and roads to keep down the dust.
13.Without water there would be no rivers，or ponds，or seas；without water，no trees，or plants，or flowers could live.The world would look very dull without the pretty little brooks and the wide blue ocean.
SUMMARY
Water is colourless，and it has neither smell nor taste.It is transparent，and because it flows it is called a fluid.Water forms a great part of our blood and our bodies.We wash with it，we cook with it；it makes our steam-engines go；it forms our rivers，our ponds，and our seas.Without it neither plants nor animals could live.
【中文阅读】
1．咱们来看看这个杯子里的水吧。这杯水是什么样的呢？是没有颜色的，所以我们说，水是无色的（colourless）。①2．但是，杯子里的水实在太少了。要是咱们看着一层特别厚的水，就会发现，其实这层水是浅蓝色的。小朋友们知道，深深的大海里的水，就是蓝色的。②3．杯子里的水，闻起来没有气味，喝起来也没有味道。这是一件非常好的事，因为我们要喝很多水，不管水的气味和味道多么好，我们都会很快喝腻的。
4．可是，有一些动物，隔着很远就能闻到水的气味。骆驼是这些动物其中的一种。古时候穿越炎热沙漠的人，都要寻找有泉水的绿洲。他们还远远没有看到这些绿洲的时候，就知道绿洲已经近了。因为骆驼渴坏了，不管有多累，都拼命往前跑。这些骆驼就是在很远的地方闻到了水的气味。③5．我举起杯子，你就能透过水，看见我的手指头。所以我们说，水是清澈的，或者是透明的（transparent）。小朋友可不要喝不干净的水啊！但是，泥水也可以用过滤器，变得清澈透明。过滤器上面有很多小孔，这些小孔特别小，泥沙通不过去。④6．谁会想把水点着了，让水燃烧起来呢？小朋友如果看见，有人想把水点着，肯定会笑话他傻。因为你很清楚，水是不会燃烧的。如果你的家不幸着了火，人们会开来消防车，把水喷到火上来灭火。⑤7．我把这杯水歪到一边儿，水就会流出来，沿着一条线流到地板上。因为水是会流动的，所以我们把水叫做“流体”（fluid）。
8．除了水以外，还有好多别的东西也是流体，比如牛奶啊，油啊什么的。这些流体也叫做“液体”（liquid）。
9．玻璃杯里的水有一定的大小，但是没有一定的形状。水倒进什么杯子里，就是什么杯子的形状了。
10．水有用吗？哎呀，实在太有用了，我们没有水就活不下去。我们身体和血液的好大一部分，都是喝下去的水呢！
11．我们还要用水来洗澡，洗衣服，打扫屋子。在所有液体中，水是做这些事儿做得最好的。我们还要用水做饭。
12．蒸汽机里的蒸汽也是水。水还用来洒在街道上，不让尘土飞起来。⑥13．没有水，江河湖海就都没有了。没有水，花草树木就都不能活了。没有蔚蓝的大海，清澈的小溪，这个世界会多么难看呀！
译注
①美式拼写是colorless，少了一个u。
②大海的水是蓝色的，既是因为水里的杂质，也是因为深深的水反射了太阳光里的蓝光。
③严格地说，骆驼不是闻到了水的气味，而是闻到了水中杂质的气味，或者感觉到空气变湿了。
④现在市场上的过滤器一般叫“净水机”，英语是water purifier；过滤水的材料有陶瓷滤芯、超滤膜、活性碳等等。
⑤看到这种古老的马拉水泵消防车，读者大概会觉得很有意思。这种消防车最早出现在1518年德国的奥格斯堡市（Augsburg）。1829年，伦敦用上了蒸汽水泵消防车，但依然是用马拉的。20世纪初，人们发明了内燃机汽车，很快用在了消防上，但这时候的消防汽车还属于新发明，相当靠不住，所以这本书上的消防车还是马车。1901年8月，英国的利物浦市（Liverpool）发生了一场火灾，消防汽车第一次出动，可是等它开到现场的时候，比它后出发的消防马车已经抢在它前面赶到了。20世纪20年代，才出现了性能比较好的内燃机消防车。经过100多年的发展，消防汽车已经变得五花八门，它的灭火工具，除了最常用的水枪之外，还有泡沫灭火器、干粉灭火器、二氧化碳灭火器等等。
⑥亲爱的读者，你还能说出哪些水的用处呢？
THE GOLD-FISH