Probably the most typical mirage picture is one of a lake in a waterless desert．There may even be the appearance of waves breaking on the shore．The easiest form of mirage to study，however，is one that has been seen by millions of people—those seeming strips of water on asphaltsurfaced highways that vanish when one approaches them．
Gordon rates Operation Long Distance as the most puzzling of mirage forms，since it nullifies basic law of physics．The law states that the apparent size of an object diminishes as we move away from it；however，this kind of mirage will carry a picture of a ship，a town，or an island a thousand miles and set it up in the sky as big as life．
Mirages may have had an effect on history：a World War Ⅰstory，which has not been positively verified，deals with acrucial battle between the Turks and the British．Supposedly，the stronger Turkish army was gaining the advantage when one of its outposts reported British reinforcements advancing．After a hurried conference，the Turkish forces withdrew．In reality there were no advancing British troops—what had been reported was a mirage showing men who were a hundred miles away．
对历史产生影响的海市蜃楼
海市蜃楼是一层空气之间的光发生折射形成的。气象学家詹姆斯·H.戈登说，这层空气甚至能抗住较强风力而不会被吹散。
最典型的海市蜃楼画面，或许莫过于无水沙漠中的一个湖泊的景观了。画面中甚至还会出现波浪拍打湖岸。然而，可供研究的最简单的一种海市蜃楼，则是为数百万人所亲眼见过的那一种——那些柏油马路上的狭长条水面的幻景，人们走近时，这种幻景便消失了。
戈登把“远景幻象”列为海市蜃楼中最使人迷惑不解的一种，因为它等于取消了物理学上的一条基本定律。这条定律指出，一个物体的外显体积，随我们远离这一物体而变小。然而，，这种海市蜃楼却从千里之外摄来一艘船、一个城镇或一个岛的画面，让其映于空中，大小犹如实景。
海市蜃楼也许早已对历史产生过影响。在第一次世界大战中，有一则未经证实的报道，讲到了土耳其人和英国人之间进行的一次关键性战役。大概内容是，较强的土耳其军队正处于优势之中，这时，它的一个前哨基地却报告说，英国的援军正在逼近，土耳其部队慌忙磋商后即行撤退。实际上，那时根本没有向前挺进的英军——所报告的是映出英国士兵的一幅海市景，当时，这些士兵还远在100英里之外。
Climbing Out of a Spaceship
onto the Surface of the Moon
We have just climbed out of a spaceship onto the surface of the moon．Behind us is the ship，half in the sunlight and half in deep shadow．A few miles ahead is a wall of mountains towering against the black sky．And there，as though resting on the mountains，is a great ball of light，beautifully colored in blue and green and brown with a patch of dazzling white at the top．It is our own faraway world—the earth．
We take a step and rise like prize jumpers－up，float，and down again．Hopping carefully，we explore the valleys，the sloping crater walls，the shadowy crater floors．
Not a sound can be heard—there is no air to carry sound，no wind；there are no smells，no plants，no animals，There is nothing but rock and dust，blinding sunlight and cold black shadows．
从宇宙飞船登上月球表面
我们刚刚从宇宙飞船中爬出来，登上了月球的表面。我们的后面便是宇宙飞船，它一半沐浴在阳光中，一半埋在沉沉的阴影里。几英里外的前方是一道山的屏障，高高耸入黑色的长空。有一只巨大的光球，像停留在山峦上似的，呈现出美丽的光彩，有蓝，有绿，也有棕色，顶端则抹上了一层炫目的白色。那就是遥远的我们自己的世界——地球。
我们每走一步，便高高地升起来，就像职业跳高运动员一样——升上去，飘浮一会，又落下来。我们用单脚小心地跳着走，探索着山谷、倾斜的环形峭壁和幽暗的环形的山底。
什么声音也听不到——没有空气传送声音，没有风，没有气味，没有植物，没有动物。除了岩石和灰尘、炫目的阳光和寒气逼人的阴影，什么也没有。
Copper，the First Metal
That Man Learned to Make
Copper was the first metal that man learned to make．In some mountainous lands there were rocks streaked with green minerals．One day some rocks were accidentally heated by a roaring fire．When the fire burned low，little beads of copper were seen on the rock wall．
After that，men heated the rock deliberately to see whether more copper would appear．They soon found a good way to make copper．They would build a trench on a hillside and fill it with charcoal and copperbearing rock．They covered this furnace with flat stones．
They started a wood fire to heat the charcoal and the hot charcoal released copper from the rock．A hot red pool of melted metal formed at the mouth of the trench．When it was cool，the solid metal could be lifted out and cut and pounded into shapes．
铜，人类学会冶炼的第一种金属
铜是人类学会冶炼的第一种金属。在一些山地，有带绿色矿物条纹的岩石。一天，一些岩石意外地被冲天大火烧热。火势减弱以后，石壁上出现了小铜珠。
从那以后，人们便有意识地把岩石加热，看还有没有铜出现。他们很快找到了一种炼铜的好方法。他们在山坡上挖一条深沟，然后把木炭和含铜的岩石填进去，再用扁平的石头把这个炉子盖好。
他们生起柴火，烧热木炭。灼热的木炭使铜从岩石里游离出来，在沟口形成一池红色的滚烫的熔化金属。当它冷却后，那固体状的金属便可以取出来，切割和敲打成各种形状。
Meteorite Worship
Men seem to have always taken an interest in meteorites，but not until the early nineteenth century were these objects considered worth preserving for scientific study．
in the beginning，people believed that because meteorites fell from the heavens，they were either gods themselves or messengers from the gods．Thus the more civilized of early men carefully kept the meteorites，draping them in costly linens and anointing them with oil．In many instances，the people built special temples in which the meteorites were to be worshiped．Mediterranean Sea，and in Africa，India，Japan，and Mexico；such worship still persists in some regions．
Although many people held meteorites in reverence，particularly if they were seen to fall，other practicalminded individuals made good use of the durable and easilyworked alloy provided by nature in the nickeliron meteorites．They frequently used this metal to make tools，and often pots and other utensils．Throughout history，meteoritic iron has been used in the manufacture of special swords，daggers，and knives for members of royalty．Attilla and other early conquerors of Europe boasted of“swords from heaven”．As late as the end of the nineteenth century，several swords were made from a Japanese iron meteorite at the command of a member of the Japanese court．
陨星崇拜
人们似乎一直总是对陨星感兴趣，不过，到19世纪初叶，陨石才被认为值得保存，以供科学研究用。
当初人们认为，由于陨星从天而降，它们或本身是神，或是神所派来的使者。于是，早期人类中文明水平较高者便把陨石精心保存下来，用昂贵的亚麻覆盖着，并且涂油使它神圣化。
在许多情况下，人们还建起特殊的庙宇，让人们崇拜陨星。在地中海地区，在非洲、印度、日本和墨西哥，对陨星的崇拜很久以前就是一件普遍的事。这种崇拜至今仍存留在某些地区。
虽然许多人对陨星怀有崇敬之意，特别是当他们看到陨星降落的时候。然而另外一些有实际头脑的人，对这耐久又易于熔铸的镍铁质陨石中的天赐合金，却充分加以利用。他们常常用这种金属制造工具，而且多半是制造锅和其他器具。在整个历史上，陨石铁一直用来为王室成员特制剑、匕首和刀。阿提拉和其他早期欧洲征服者，都曾吹嘘过“天赐宝剑”。迟至19世纪末，在日本的一位宫廷成员的命令下，一颗日本的铁质陨石方被用来铸造了好几把剑。
