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If you have a money-box, can you find out whether there are any of those pieces of matter which we call coins inside it, without opening the box? Yes; you can do this easily by shaking the box: you will then hear the coins rattle, if there are any in it. The sense of hearing is confined to the two parts or organs of the body which are called the ears.
如果你有一个储钱罐, 在不打开它的情况下, 你能知道里面有没有那种被称作硬币的物质吗? 能；很简单, 你只需晃动储钱罐：如果里面的确有硬币, 就能够听到它们相互碰撞而发出的声音。听力来自身体上那两个名为耳朵的器官。
Here are two white powders which look and feel exactly alike, and neither of which has any smell. How can you find out whether they are both made of the same kind of matter or not? Suppose you put a little of each powder on your tongue, so that you may taste it. Now you can tell at once that the one powder is sugar, and that the other is salt.
这里共有两团白色粉末, 它们看起来一模一样而且两者都没有任何味道。你如何确定它们是否属于同一种物质? 如果你分别取下一点粉末并且放在舌头上, 那么你就可以品尝它们的味道。很快, 你便能够知道, 其中一种是糖, 而另一种则是盐。
We possess the five senses called seeing, feeling, smelling, hearing, and tasting. By using these five senses we are able to find out a great deal about the stuff or matter of which this world is made. Anything that affects one or more of our five senses is called matter. Matter is anything that we can see, or feel, or smell, or hear, or taste.
我们具备五种感知能力：视觉、触觉、嗅觉、听觉与味觉。通过这些感知能力, 我们就能够很好地了解构成这个世界的各种物质。任何一种对我们的感知能力形成影响的东西就被称作物质。我们看到、感觉到、嗅到、听到或者品尝到的所有东西都是物质。
Matter is not all alike. If it were, what a dreary world this would be! Different pieces of matter have different forms, colours, tastes, and smells. Some kinds of matter are soft, while others are hard; some kinds are heavy, while others are light.
不同的物质存在不同的特性, 否则的话, 这个世界将是多么的无趣啊！物质的形状、颜色、味道与气味各不相同。有些物质软, 有些物质硬；有些物质重, 另外一些则很轻。
By using our five senses we can distinguish one kind of matter from another, or tell the differences between them; and this knowledge is of great use to us. We should practise using our senses as much as possible, and we should train not only our hands and our eyes, but also our tongue, and our nose, and our ears, until all these organs are able to tell us a great deal about the different kinds of matter around us.
凭借这五种感知能力, 我们就能够分辨不同的物质或者说出它们之间的差异；而这种知识对我们来说极为有用。我们应该尽可能多地练习自己的感知能力, 需要训练双手与双眼, 还要提升舌头、鼻子与耳朵的能力, 直到我们能够利用它们充分感知周围的物质。
