1. 你好呀，狮城小岛国！/ Hello, Little Lion City Island!

亲爱的小朋友，你有没有翻过家里的世界地图，找过一只“小狮子”呀？在世界地图的最下方，东南亚的位置，有一个像小狮子脑袋的红点点，那就是我们的探险目的地——新加坡（Singapore，名字来自马来语 *Singapura*，意思是“狮子城”）。它的面积只有733平方公里，比6个北京朝阳区加起来还小，比香港特别行政区也小了一大圈，却住了差不多590万人，比整个北京市的人口的一半还要多哦！是不是已经觉得这个小岛国很神奇了？

Dear little friends, have you ever flipped through the world map at home, looking for a "little lion"? At the very bottom of the world map, in Southeast Asia, there is a little red dot shaped like a lion's head — that is our adventure destination, Singapore. The name "Singapore" comes from the Malay word *Singapura*, which means "Lion City". Its area is only 733 square kilometers, smaller than the total of 6 Chaoyang Districts in Beijing, and even smaller than the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, but it is home to nearly 5.9 million people, almost half the population of the entire Beijing city. Isn't that amazing already?

一、地图上的“C位小岛”：新加坡在哪里呀？

Singapore sits right at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula, sandwiched between Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south. It looks like a tiny little red gem on the map, surrounded by blue sea. The most important "super highway" in the world — the Strait of Malacca — passes right by its doorstep. This strait connects the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and about one-third of all the world's cargo ships pass through it every year, carrying oil, toys, clothes, snacks, and all kinds of things to different countries. It's like the only snack shop alley next to your school — everyone who goes to and from school has to pass by it.

新加坡刚好坐在马来半岛的最南端，北边挨着马来西亚，南边挨着印度尼西亚，在地图上就像一颗小小的红色宝石，被蓝色的海水围着。全世界最忙的“超级海上大走廊”——马六甲海峡，刚好从它家门口过。这条海峡连接太平洋和印度洋，全世界每年有三分之一的货船都要从这里走，运石油、运玩具、运衣服、运零食，还有各种各样好玩的东西去各个国家，就像你家学校门口唯一的那条小吃街，所有上学放学的人都要从这儿过。

<小知识 sidebar> 🛳️ 马六甲海峡小科普： 这条海峡全长约1080公里，最窄的地方只有37公里宽，相当于你跑40次学校操场那么长，走3个操场那么宽。因为太忙啦，有时候船多了还要排队等“放行”呢！ </小知识>

<details> <summary>🛳️ Fun Fact: The Strait of Malacca</summary> This strait is about 1,080 kilometers long, and its narrowest point is only 37 kilometers wide — that's like running 40 times around your school playground, or walking across 3 playgrounds side by side. It's so busy that sometimes when there are too many ships, they have to wait in line for "permission to pass"! </details>

如果你坐飞机从中国飞往新加坡，只需要飞4-5个小时，相当于从北京飞到广州的时间，是不是特别近？很多小朋友暑假跟着爸爸妈妈去新加坡玩，下了飞机不到半小时就能到酒店，放下行李就去吃好吃的海南鸡饭啦！ If you take a plane from China to Singapore, it only takes 4 to 5 hours — about the same time as flying from Beijing to Guangzhou, isn't that super close? Many kids go to Singapore with their parents for summer vacation, and they can get to the hotel less than half an hour after landing, drop their bags, and go eat delicious Hainanese chicken rice right away!

二、100年前的小渔村，长啥样呀？

1819年，一个叫莱佛士的英国人第一次登上新加坡岛的时候，岛上只有大约150个人，都是打渔为生的渔民，还有几个做小买卖的商贩。那时候的新加坡根本不是什么大都市，大家住的都是用木头和棕榈叶搭起来的木屋，屋子底下用木桩撑着，涨潮的时候屋子还会晃来晃去，像在海面上飘的小船。岛上没有马路，只有踩出来的泥巴小路，晚上没有路灯，大家只能点着椰子油做的小油灯，或者靠渔船的渔火照明。

In 1819, a British man named Raffles first set foot on the island of Singapore. At that time, there were only about 150 people on the island, all fishermen who made a living from the sea, and a few small traders. Singapore was not a big city at all back then. Everyone lived in wooden houses built with wood and palm leaves, propped up by wooden piles under the house. When the tide rose, the house would sway, like a small boat floating on the sea. There were no roads on the island, only muddy paths trampled out by people. At night, there were no street lights, so everyone could only light small coconut oil lamps, or rely on the fishing lights of fishing boats for lighting.

那时候的小渔村有个很可爱的名字，叫“丹那美拉”（*Tanah Merah*，马来语意思是“红土”），因为岛上的泥土是红棕色的，像红土的颜色。渔民们每天天不亮就出海打渔，捞上来的鱼一部分自己吃，一部分拿到码头去卖，换椰子、换米、换盐。岛上还有很多椰子树，小朋友们每天放学就爬树摘椰子，用石头砸开喝椰子水，甜丝丝的，比现在的汽水还好喝。要是捞上来好看的贝壳，还能拿去换椰子糖吃，一颗糖能甜一下午。 The small fishing village had a cute name back then, called *Tanah Merah*, which means "red soil" in Malay, because the soil on the island was reddish-brown. Fishermen went out to sea to fish before dawn every day. Part of the fish they caught was for themselves, and part was sold at the dock in exchange for coconuts, rice, and salt. There were also many coconut trees on the island. Kids climbed trees to pick coconuts after school every day, cracked them open with stones to drink coconut water, which was sweet, even better than soda now. If they found beautiful shells, they could exchange them for coconut candy, and one piece of candy could make them happy for a whole afternoon.

<小故事> 以前岛上有个叫小华的小朋友，今年相当于你们的小学三年级，他每天放学都要跟着爸爸出海，帮爸爸收渔网。有一次他们捞上来一个亮晶晶的玻璃瓶，里面还有一张画着小地图的纸，小华以为那是藏宝图，开心得不得了，结果后来才知道，是以前路过这里的商船丢的垃圾😆。不过小华现在已经是老爷爷啦，他的孙子就是我们要认识的新朋友——8岁的小明！ </小故事>

那时候的新加坡还有很多小动物，比如会飞的松鼠、绿油油的小蜥蜴，还有在树上跳来跳去的长尾猴。小朋友们经常跑到树林里玩，爬树、摘野果、抓小螃蟹，晚上还能听到猫头鹰叫。不过那时候也有很危险的东西，比如有时候会有海盗坐着小船来抢渔民的鱼，所以大家晚上都不敢单独出门。 There were many small animals in Singapore back then, such as flying squirrels, little green lizards, and long-tailed monkeys that jumped around in the trees. Kids often ran to the woods to play, climbing trees, picking wild fruits, and catching small crabs. They could even hear owls calling at night. But there were also dangerous things back then. Sometimes pirates would come in small boats to steal fishermen's fish, so no one dared to go out alone at night.

那时候谁能想到，这个只有几百人的小渔村，100多年后会变成全世界最有名的大都市呀？ Who would have thought back then that this small fishing village with only a few hundred people would become the world's most famous metropolis more than 100 years later?

三、现在的狮城，有多酷？

现在的 Singapore 已经完全变啦！你走在街上，抬头就能看到一栋栋比云还高的摩天大楼，最高的那个叫“丹戎巴葛”（*Tanjong Pagar*），有290米高，相当于100层楼那么高，站在顶楼往下看，整个狮城就像铺在盒子里的乐高小人国。还有全世界最厉害的机场之一——樟宜机场（Changi Airport），你别说去机场坐飞机，就算不去坐飞机，专门去机场玩都能玩一整天！机场里有个叫“星耀樟宜”的大商场，里面有全世界最高的室内瀑布“雨漩涡”（*Rain Vortex*），水从十几层楼高的地方哗啦啦冲下来，像一条银色的巨龙，夏天去玩特别凉快，还有很多好吃的店、好玩的游乐场，甚至还有恐龙骨架展览，好多小朋友放假都让爸爸妈妈带自己去机场玩。

现在的 Singapore 已经完全变啦！ When you walk on the street, you can look up and see tall skyscrapers that are even higher than the clouds. The tallest one is called *Tanjong Pagar*, which is 290 meters high, equivalent to a 100-story building. If you stand on the top floor and look down, the whole Lion City looks like a LEGO miniature placed in a box. There is also one of the best airports in the world — Changi Airport. You don't even need to take a plane to go there! Just going to the airport to play can take you a whole day! Inside the airport, there is a big mall called *Jewel Changi*, which has the world's tallest indoor waterfall called the *Rain Vortex*. Water rushes down from more than ten floors high, like a silver giant dragon. It's especially cool to play there in summer. There are also many delicious restaurants, fun playgrounds, and even dinosaur skeleton exhibitions. Many kids ask their parents to take them to the airport for vacation.

还有全世界独一无二的“滨海湾花园”（*Gardens by the Bay*），里面有好多超级大的“超级树”（*Supertrees*），最高的有50米高，比15层楼还高，树顶上还有空中走廊，你走在上面，就像走在森林的树顶上，还能看到整个滨海湾的风景。晚上超级树还会亮起五颜六色的灯光，还会放音乐，就像一场超大的灯光秀，比动画片里的魔法森林还漂亮。 There is also the world's unique *Gardens by the Bay*, which has many huge "Supertrees". The tallest one is 50 meters high, even higher than a 15-story building. There are sky corridors on the top of the trees. When you walk on them, it's like walking on the top of the forest, and you can see the whole Marina Bay view. At night, the Supertrees light up with colorful lights, and play music, just like a huge light show, more beautiful than the magic forest in cartoons.

还有大家都喜欢的鱼尾狮公园（*Merlion Park*），那里有一只 half 鱼 half 狮子的鱼尾狮雕像，是新加坡的象征，它喷出来的水被大家叫做“魔法水”，传说喝了能变得更聪明，好多小朋友去了都要凑到跟前，让爸爸妈妈给自己拍照，还要接一点喷出来的水沾沾“仙气”。 There is also the *Merlion Park* that everyone loves. There is a half-fish half-lion Merlion statue there, which is the symbol of Singapore. The water it sprays is called "magic water" by everyone. Legend says that drinking it can make you smarter. Many kids go there and ask their parents to take photos for them, and even hold out their hands to catch a little spray to get some "magic luck".

不过新加坡最厉害的还不是这些漂亮的地标，而是它藏在漂亮外表下面的四大“秘密武器”，也就是我们今天要探险的四大魔法法宝！我们用不了多久就会认识一个叫小明的新加坡小