英國語文第三冊(雙語):鴕鳥(上)

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LESSON 35 The ostrich

第三十五課 鴕鳥

The humming-bird is the smallest and the ostrich the largest of birds. There are humming-birds no larger than bees, while the ostrich is often ten feet in height, from the crown of the head to the ground.

鴕鳥是最小的鳥類，鴕鳥是最大的鳥類。有的蜂鳥還沒有蜜蜂大小，鴕鳥從頭頂?shù)侥_底卻有十英尺高。

The home of the ostrich is in the sandy deserts of Africa and Arabia. Among the Arabs, it is called the camel bird, from the form of its neck and body. Like the camel, it dwells in the desert, and can live a long time without water.

鴕鳥生活在非洲和阿拉伯的沙漠。由于長相，阿拉伯人把鴕鳥稱為“像駱駝一樣的鳥”，像駱駝一樣，鴕鳥居住在沙漠，長時間缺水也能生存。

Though the ostrich has wings, they are too small for it to fly with; but in running, it uses them like paddles. Spreading them out, and flapping them in the air, it runs along with great speed. The swiftest horse cannot keep up with it! As is said in the Bible, "She lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider."

雖然鴕鳥有翅膀，但是太小，不足以讓它飛起來；但是跑起來時，它的翅膀就像槳。伸展開翅膀，在空中擺動幾下，鴕鳥跑起來就能健步如飛。最快的馬也追不上！就像《圣經(jīng)》里記載：“它把自己高高舉起，嘲笑馬得緩慢。”

The nest of the ostrich is simply a hole in the sand; and there the female bird lays ten or twelve large eggs. She watches her nest very closely, always sitting on her eggs at night, and leaving them only during the hottest part of the day.

鴕鳥的洞穴就是簡單的在沙子里挖個洞；雌性鴕鳥會在洞里埋上十到十二個大鴕鳥蛋。它密切注視著它的洞穴，晚上坐在鴕鳥蛋上，只有在一天中最熱的時候才會離開。

The eggs are prepared for food in various ways; and some people are very fond of them. The shells also are made into cups and ornaments of different kinds.

鴕鳥蛋有許多不同的吃法；是有些人的摯愛。他們把蛋殼做成形狀各異的杯子和飾物。

The ostrich is often hunted on horseback; but so rapid is its flight, that the hunters would seldom succeed in catching it, if they did not know that it never runs in an even course, but zig-zag. So they let it go winding and doubling about, while they themselves push straight forward, thus saving time and keeping up with it.

獵人們騎著馬去獵殺鴕鳥；但是如果他們不知道鴕鳥從不走直線而是走之字形路線這一訣竅，很少能打到健步如飛的鴕鳥。所以獵人們會讓鴕鳥走曲線并讓它折返，那樣鴕鳥就會自己沿著直線跑，既可以節(jié)省時間，也不會跟丟獵物。

The chase sometimes lasts two or three days, till the poor bird is tired out; for though swift, it is not so strong as a horse.

有時候要花上兩三天去追捕一只鴕鳥，直到可憐的獵物筋疲力盡；這樣，盡管它們還是很敏捷，但已經(jīng)比不上馬得速度。