英国学生科学读本 第33期:美丽的鸽子(1)

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　　第33课 美丽的鸽子

　　I am sure that you all know a pigeon when you see one, and that you like and admire this pretty bird.

　　小朋友, 你们看见鸽子, 一定都认识吧? 你们也一定都喜欢、珍爱这种美丽的鸟儿吧?

　　Have you ever tried to count all the kinds of tame pigeons you have seen? There are the white fantail, the pouter with its breast puffed¹ out, the common house-pigeon, the carrier-pigeon, and many others.

　　你们数过, 自己见过多少种家养的鸽子么? 有洁白的“扇尾鸽”；胸脯挺得老高的“凸胸鸽”；常见的“家鸽”；“信鸽”；还有很多其他种类。

　　Now all these are really of the same family; and they are all cousins of the wild, blue rock-pigeon, which builds its nest in the holes of rocks.

　　其实, 这些鸽子都是同一个家族的, 都是野生的蓝灰色“原鸽”的近亲。它们在岩石的洞穴里搭窝。

　　The pigeon has a strong backbone²; but like all other birds, it can only bend the part of its backbone which isin its neck. It can bend its neck so well, however, that it is able to reach every part of its body with its bill.

　　鸽子有一条强壮的脊椎骨, 不过, 跟所有其他的鸟儿一样, 鸽子能自由弯曲的脊椎骨, 只有颈部的一部分。鸽子的颈部灵活极了, 鸽子的喙, 可以够到全身任何一个地方！

　　The bill is strong and horny, and it has to act both as a hand and as a mouth. With its bill the pigeon picks up the seeds on which it lives.

　　鸽子的喙是角质的, 非常坚硬, 既有嘴的作用, 也有手的作用。鸽子以种子为食, 它就是用喙来啄食种子的。

　　The pigeon, like all other birds, has hollow bones. This makes its body very light, so that it can fly easily.If the bones of birds were either solid, or filled with marrow³ as ours are, they could not fly so well as theycan with their light and hollow bones.

　　跟所有别的鸟儿一样, 鸽子的骨头也是空心的。这就让鸽子的身体非常轻, 很容易就能飞起来。要是鸟的骨头是实心的, 或者跟人类的骨头一样填满了骨髓, 飞起来的时候, 就不如带着轻巧的空心骨头飞得那么好了。

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