1.Do you like shrimps？They are very nice to eat at tea-time along with bread and butter.Next time you have shrimps for tea，you must look at them well before you eat them.
2.The shrimps you eat have been boiled，and this made them look red；but when they are in the sea，their colour is like that of the sea-sand.
3.The shrimp has a smooth，hard skin or shell all over the outside of its body，and its flesh is inside this skin.It has a large head，made of what looks like one big ring of hard skin.Its body and it’s tail are made of many smaller rings，all joined together.
4.Do you see the black eyes of
the shrimp？They look like little knobs，and stick out on the front of its head.Two pairs of feelers also grow out of its head.They help the shrimp to feel its way along the dark bottom of the sea.
5.The shrimp has several pairs of limbs.Some of these it uses for biting off its food.Other limbs are used like jaws for chewing its food.
6.Underneath the body there are five pairs of limbs-one pair joined to each ring of the body-and these are its legs or walking limbs.
7.It is very hard to catch a shrimp with the hand.If you look at its tail，you will see that it is shaped like a fan.The shrimp can bend its tail forward below its body very quickly.This makes it shoot backwards so quickly that we can scarcely see it as it moves.
8.Shrimps are caught in nets fastened to long wooden handles.Men walk along the sand in the shallow water，and push these nets in front of them.Then many shrimps jump into the nets，and are caught.
9.The mother shrimp lays many eggs at a time.They float in the sea，and change into little shrimps.As the little shrimp grows，its hard skin becomes too small for it.Then it throws off its old skin，and a new and larger one grows.
10.Next time you go to the sea-side，try to catch some shrimps with a little net，and have them boiled for your tea.
SUMMARY
The shrimp is a small kind of shell-fish.Its body is made up of rings of hard skin or shell joined together.With its pair of feelers it feels its way along the dark bottom of the sea.It uses some of its limbs for biting off and chewing its food.Its tail helps it to swim very quickly.The mother shrimp lays many eggs，which float in the sea and change into shrimps.Shrimps are caught with nets.
【中文阅读】
1．小朋友，你喜欢吃虾吗？在下午茶的时候，就着面包和黄油吃虾，可好吃了！下次，你在下午茶吃虾的时候，一定要仔细看看。①2．小朋友吃的虾是已经煮熟了的，所以看起来是红色的；但是，海里的虾的颜色，跟海沙的颜色是一样的。
3．虾的身体外面包着一层光滑、坚硬的皮，也叫甲壳（），这层皮里面才是肉。虾的头很大，看上去就像甲壳的一个大“体节”。虾的身体和尾巴，是很多小体节连在一起构成的。②4．你看见虾的黑眼睛了吗？就像两个小圆疙瘩一样，突出在脑袋前面。脑袋上还长着两对触角，可以帮助虾在黑暗的海底探路。③5．虾长着好几对足，有些足用来“咬掉”小块的食物，有些足的功能像上下颌一样，可以用来咀嚼食物。④6．虾的身体下面还有5对足，每个体节上长着一对；这些足就相当于虾的“腿”，也叫“步足”。⑤7．想用手抓到虾是很困难的。看看虾的尾巴，能看见它的形状像一把扇子。虾可以飞快地将尾巴往前弯，弯到身子底下，这样就能让它猛地向后冲去，动作太快，我们都看不清它是怎么移动的！
8．人们捕虾，用的是渔网。渔网固定在长长的木柄上。人们沿着浅水的沙子一直走，把渔网放在前面，就有很多虾跳进渔网，被逮住了。⑥9．母虾一次产卵能产很多。虾卵浮在海水中，孵出小虾。小虾长大了，甲壳盛不下身体了，就会扔掉旧的甲壳，长出新的、更大的甲壳。
10．下次你去海边的时候，也试着用小渔网抓点儿虾，在下午茶的时候煮着吃吧！
译注
①虾属于“节肢动物门”“甲壳（）纲”“十足目”“游泳亚目”。就着面包和黄油吃虾，这是英国小朋友的习惯，中国读者大概会觉得很好玩。
②其实，虾的头，学名叫“头胸部”，也是分节的，只不过愈合在一起了，看不出来。
③虾的眼睛和昆虫的眼睛一样，也是“复眼”，成年对虾的一只复眼大约由几千到几万只小眼组成。虾还长着“眼柄”，用来朝不同方向转动眼睛。
④比如对虾：取食的足叫“颚足”，咀嚼食物的足叫“口肢”，分别都有3对。
⑤除此以外，虾的身体后面还有5对“游泳足”和1对“尾肢”。请你数数看，加上最前面的两对触角，虾一共有多少对足？
⑥捕虾也可以用捕虾笼，不过，现在人工养殖的虾很多，2007年，全世界的养殖虾数量已经超过了捕捞虾。
A BLOCK OF SALT
