All About Kites

All About Kites written by Elizabeth Austin illustrated by Maria Voris

《风筝的一切》 作者：伊丽莎白·奥斯汀 插画：玛丽亚·沃里斯

Introduction. A kite is one of the oldest, simplest toys. People all around the world enjoy flying kites. Kites come in every size, shape, and color you can imagine. Did you know that kites are designed to be both toys and tools? Some kites are made to be art as well.

引言。 风筝是最古老、最简单的玩具之一。 世界各地的人们都喜欢放风筝。 风筝有你能想象到的各种尺寸、形状和颜色。 你知道风筝不仅被设计成玩具，还是工具哦？ 有些风筝甚至还属于艺术品。

History of Kites Kites were named after a bird with wide wings that soars high in the sky on air currents. No one knows who made the first kite, but Chinese writers wrote about them over 2 ,000 years ago. One famous Chinese legend tells a story about a man who used a kite to attack a fort. He couldn't find a way to get inside, so he tied himself to a huge kite and flew over the fort's wall. The soldiers were terrified to see a man flying, so they ran away.

风筝的历史：风筝得名于一种翅膀宽大、能顺着气流在高空翱翔的鸟类。 没人知道是谁做出了第一只风筝，不过早在2000多年前，中国的文人就有过关于风筝的记载了。 中国有个著名的传说，讲的是一个人用风筝攻打堡垒的故事。 他找不到攻入堡垒的办法，就把自己绑在一只巨大的风筝上，飞过了堡垒的城墙。 士兵们看到有人飞在天上，吓得四散奔逃。

There is a famous story about the American diplomat and inventor Ben Franklin. He used a kite to prove his idea that lightning was made of electric current. He tied a metal key to a kite string. Then he and his son flew the kite during a thunderstorm. Electricity from the storm clouds ran down the wet string to the metal key. When he reached toward the key, he got a surprise. The electricity jumped from the key and gave him a shock. Do not try this dangerous experiment yourself. When Ben Franklin tried it again, he was hurt badly.

有个著名的故事和美国外交官、发明家本·富兰克林有关。 他用风筝证明了自己的猜想：闪电是由电流构成的。 他把一把金属钥匙系在风筝线上。 然后他和儿子在雷雨天放飞了风筝。 暴风云里的电顺着淋湿的风筝线往下导，传到了金属钥匙上。 他伸手去碰钥匙的时候，吓了一大跳。 电从钥匙上跳了出来，电了他一下。 你们可千万别尝试这个危险的实验哦。 本·富兰克林后来再做这个实验的时候，伤得很重。

Many Uses for Kites People sometimes used kites for fishing. They put a fish hook and bait on the long kite tail. Then they sailed the kite far from shore. The kite tail dragged in the water so the fish could see the bait. It bit the bait and was caught, and then the kite was pulled in.

风筝的多种用途 人们有时候会用风筝钓鱼。 他们把鱼钩和鱼饵系在长长的风筝尾巴上。 然后把风筝放到离岸边很远的地方。 风筝的尾巴拖在水里，鱼儿就能看到鱼饵。 鱼儿咬了鱼饵就会被钩住，之后人们把风筝拉回来就行啦。

Weather kites carried scientific instruments into the sky. They recorded wind speed and temperature high in the clouds.

气象风筝会携带科学仪器升到空中。 它们会记录云层高处的风速和温度。