ALL srtsf marvelus tales were tld abut the wealth and wndersf the New Wrld.
It was said that smewhere in the New Wrld there was a Funtainf Yuth， and that if yu bathed in itr drankf its water， yu wuld becme yung again.
It was said that smewhere in the New Wrld there was a city called E1 Drad builtf slid gld.
S everyne wh liked adventure and culd get enugh mney tgether wentff in searchf these things that might make him famusr healthy， wealthyr wise，r frever yung.
nef these men was Pnce de León， a Spaniard. Pnce de León， was lking fr the Funtainf Yuth. While searching fr this lifegiving water， he fund Flrida. But insteadf finding the Funtainf Yuth， he lst his life in fighting with the peple wh already lived in Flrida.
Anthernef these men was Hernand de St. He was searching fr El Drad， the cityf gld. While ding s， he discvered the lngest river in the New Wrld-the Mississippi. Insteadf finding E1 Drad， de St was taken sick with fever and died. Nw， the Spaniards， t make the Native Americans fear them， had said that de St was a gd and culd nt die. Inrder t cver up the fact that de St had actually died， his men buried him at night in the river he had discvered. They then said that he had gnen a trip t heaven and wuld presently return.
The first cuntry yu cme t suthf the United States is called Mexic. Here lived at that time a natinf Indians knwn as Aztecs. These Aztecs had a very advanced civilizatin. They did nt live in tents but in huses. They built fine temples and palaces. They made rads and aqueducts， smething like thsef the Rmans. They had enrmus treasuresf silver and gld. Yet the Aztecs wrshiped idls and sacrificed human beings t them. Their king was a famus chief named Mntezuma.
A Spaniard named Crtés was sent t cnquer these Aztecs. He landedn the shref Mexic and burned his ships s that his sailrs and sldiers culd nt turn back. The Aztecs had never seen hrses， smef which the Spaniards had brughtver acrss the water， and they were astnished at what seemed t themterrible beasts that the Spaniards rde. When the Spaniards fired their cannn， the Aztecs were terrified. They thught it was thunder and lightning that the Spaniards had let lse.
Crtés mvedn tward the Aztec capital， the cityf Mexic， which was builtn an island in the middlef a lake. The peple he metn the way fught desperately， but as they hadnly such weapns as men used in the Stne and Brnze Ages， they were n match against the guns and cannnf the Spaniards.
Mntezuma， their chief， wishing t make friends， sent Crtés rich gifts， cartladsf gld， and when Crtés reached the capital city Mntezuma treated him as a guest insteadf an enemy and entertained him and culd nt d enugh fr him. Crtés tld Mntezuma all abut the Christian religin and tried t make him a Christian als， but Mntezuma thught hiswn gds just as gd as the Christian Gd， and he wuld nt change. Then suddenly Crtés tk Mntezuma prisner， and terrible fighting began. At last Mntezuma was killed， and Crtés succeeded in cnquering Mexic， fr thugh the Aztecs fught desperately and bravely， sht and shell were t much fr them.
In Peru in Suth America was still anther natinf civilized Indians even mre wealthy than the Aztecs. They were called Incas， and it was said that their cities were paved with gld.
A Spaniard named Pizarr went t Peru t cnquer it as Crtés had cnquered Mexic. Pizarr tld the ruler， wh was called the Inca， that the ppe had given the cuntry t Spain. The Inca had never heardf the ppe and must have wndered what the ppe had t d with Peru and hw he culd give it away. Naturally the Inca wuld nt give up his cuntry t Spain. Then Pizarr tk it away. He had but a few hundred men， but he had cannns， andf curse the Incas culd nt stand up against cannn.
Anther peple fund by the Spanish were the Mayas. The Mayas livedn land that tday is in Mexic and als Guatemala. The Mayas had a written language that we arenly beginning t figureut hw t read. They als invented a calendar and had builtbservatries frm which t watch the stars. They built tall pyramids that remind usf the ancient Egyptian pyramids. Like the Incas， the Mayas were cnquered by Spanish guns.
The Aztecs， the Incas， and the Mayas-these arenly threef many native peples that were living in America when the Spanish came. And d yu knw-Incas， Aztecs， and Mayas are still alive tday， and yu can visit Central and Suth America and see smef the wnderful things they built.
France andther cuntriesf Eurpe als sentut explrers t cnquer partsf America， and then missinaries t teach Native Americans the Christian religin， but these yu will hear mre abut when yu study American histry.
320 美国学生世界历史 · A Child"s Histryf the wrldManyf the explrers were really pirates， even wrse pirates than the Nrsemen wh raided England and France， because they murdered peple wh were withut equal weapns t fight back. The excuse theyften gave fr ding s was that they wanted t make the natives Christians. N wnder that the natives did nt think muchf the Christian religin if it taught murderf peple wh culd nt defend themselves. The Muslims made cnverts with the swrd， but the Christians made cnverts with sht and shell.
【中文阅读】
关于新大陆的富有和神奇，流行着各种各样不可思议的故事。 据说在新大陆的某个地方，有一处"青春泉"，如果你在里面洗个澡或喝上几口泉水，你就能返老还童。 还传说在新世界的某个地方，有座叫黄金国的城市，整个城市是用纯金建造的。 所以凡是喜欢历险而且能够筹到足够钱的人都出发去新大陆寻找这些神奇的东西，期待自己因此而获得健康和名誉、财富和智慧，甚至永葆青春。 这其中有个人西班牙人，叫庞塞 德莱昂，去新大陆寻找"青春泉"。在寻找这赋予生命之泉的过程中，他找到了佛罗里达。但是他非但没有找到青春泉，反而和当地的原居住民发生了冲突，并丧了命。
还有个叫埃尔南多 德 索托的人，也踏上了寻找"黄金国"的探险之路。在路 途中，他发现了新大陆最长的河流--密西西比河。他没有找到黄金国，却得了病， 发高烧，死在他乡。西班牙人为了让美洲印第安人畏惧他们，就说德 索托是个神， 神是不会死的。为了掩盖德 索托已死的事实，他的部下在夜里把他葬在了由他发现 的密西西比河里。然后他们说他去天堂旅行了，马上就会回来的。
与美国南部接壤的国家被称为墨西哥。当时这里生活着一个印第安部落，叫做 阿兹特克人。这些阿兹特克人有着非常先进的文明。他们不是住在帐篷里，而是住 在房子里。他们建造了精美的寺庙和宫殿。他们还修建道路和类似于罗马人建的那 种高架渠。他们有大量的白银和黄金。不过，阿兹特克人的宗教还处在偶像崇拜的 水平，还实行人祭。他们的国王是个有名的首领，名叫蒙提祖马。
一个名叫科尔特斯的西班牙人被派去征服这些阿兹特克人。他在墨西哥海岸登 陆，并烧毁了船只，这样水手和士兵们就被断了后路。西班牙人穿越大洋时还随船 带来了一些马，阿兹特克人从未见过马，他们看到西班牙人骑的马大为震惊，以为 它们是一种可怕的野兽。西班牙人开炮射击时，阿兹特克人惊恐万分。他们以为那 是西班牙人释放的雷和电。
科尔特斯向阿兹特克人的都城墨西哥城进军，墨西哥城建在一个湖心的岛上。 一路上他遇到的阿兹特克人都拼死抵抗，但是他们使用的武器非常粗陋，就像石器 和青铜时代的武器一样，所以无法和西班牙人的枪炮抗衡。
蒙提祖马，他们的首脑，希望和西班牙人划地为友，送给科尔特斯丰厚的礼物和好多车的黄金；当科尔特斯到了都城后，蒙提祖马没有把他当做敌人，而是像对 待上宾一样殷勤款待，可谓无微不至。科尔特斯给蒙提祖马讲了基督教的情况，想 让他也成为基督徒，但是蒙特祖马认为自己的神和基督教的神一样好，他不会改变 信仰。于是科尔特斯突然发难，把蒙特祖马抓了起来，双方展开了激烈的战斗。最 后蒙特祖马被杀死，科尔特斯成功地征服了墨西哥，尽管阿兹特克人殊死搏斗，但 是他们毕竟不是子弹和炮弹的对手。
在南美洲的秘鲁还有一个较文明的印第安部落，他们甚至比阿兹特克人还要富 有。他们被称为印加人，据说他们在城里用黄金铺设街道。
一个名叫皮萨罗的西班牙人进军秘鲁，准备像科尔特斯征服墨西哥城一样征服 秘鲁。皮萨罗告诉印加的国王，教皇已经把这个国家赐予西班牙了。印加国王从未 听说过教皇，一定很奇怪教皇和秘鲁有什么关系，他怎么就能把秘鲁送给别人。自 然印加国王是不会把自己的国家拱手相让的。于是皮萨罗把这个国家夺过来。他只 带了几百人，但他有大炮，印加人当然抵抗不住大炮。
西班牙人发现的另一个部落是玛雅人。玛雅人生活在现在墨西哥和危地马拉的 土地上。玛雅人有文字，这种文字该怎么读，直到今天我们才刚刚摸出点门道。他 们还发明了一种历法，并建造了天文台来观测星象。他们建造了很多高大的金字塔， 这让我们想起古埃及的金字塔。和印加人一样，玛雅人也被西班牙的枪炮征服了。
阿兹特克人，印加人，玛雅人--这些部族在西班牙人来到时，只是生活在美 洲的印第安部族中的三支。你知道吗，印加人、阿兹特克人和玛雅人如今还生活在 美洲，你可以在中美洲和南美洲，参观他们建造的那些奇妙的建筑物。
法国和欧洲的其他国家也派出了探险者去攻占美洲的一些土地，然后又派出传 教士向美洲印第安人传播基督教，不过当你学习美洲历史的时候，老师会告诉你更 多这方面的故事。
许多探险者实际上就是海盗，甚至比袭击英国和法国的挪威人还要坏，因为他 们把那些武器落后、无力反击的人都残杀了。他们给自己杀人经常找的借口是，他 们想让土著人成为基督徒。如果基督教教人杀害无力自卫的无辜百姓，那也就难怪 那些土著人对基督教没有什么好感了。穆斯林用剑逼迫人改变信仰，而基督徒用子 弹和炮弹逼迫人改变信仰。