英国语文第三册 第37期:鸵鸟(下)

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　　Dr. Moffat, in his book called Missionary¹ Labours in South Africa, describes the method of the wild Bushmen in hunting the ostrich²: 莫法特博士有一部名为《南非的传教士》的著作，书中描述了布希曼人捕杀鸵鸟的方法：

　　A native is dressed with the skin and feathers of one of these birds; and, thus disguised, he goes near to a flock of ostriches³. 一个人穿上和鸵鸟肤色和羽毛一样的衣服，伪装起来，靠近鸵鸟群。

　　He mimics⁴ the real bird, by pecking on the ground, and shaking his feathers. 他会模仿其它鸵鸟叮地面，抖羽毛。

　　He trots⁶ and walks along, until he gets within bow-shot. 他一路小跑，跟着鸟群走，直到在鸟群中有了一矢之地。

　　Then he shoots a poisoned arrow at one of the flock, and generally succeeds in taking his prey⁷. 随后他会向其中一只鸟射一只毒箭，然后成功获取猎物。

　　A traveller relates that, at a French factory on the River Niger,he once saw a young ostrich so tame, that it let a little black boy mount on its back. 据一个游客叙述，他曾在尼日尔河边上的一座法国工厂看见过一只很温顺的鸵鸟，任由一个黑人小男孩骑到它的背上玩耍。

　　No sooner did it feel the weight of the boy than it set off. 它很快就感觉到了男孩的重量，并开始走动起来。

　　At first it moved at a sharp trot⁵, and then it stretched out its wings, and ran with the fleetness of a race-horse round the village! 起初是快速的小跑，随后张开翅膀飞奔起来，村子里任何一匹赛马都比不上它的速度！

　　The ostrich is chiefly valued for the beautiful white feathers of its wings and tail.  鸵鸟主要是因其翅膀和尾巴上美丽的白色羽毛而受到珍惜。

　　The young reader may not know that the crest⁸ of the Prince of Wales is formed of three ostrich feathers,  年轻的读者可能不了解，《威尔士王子》里的王冠就是由鸵鸟的三根羽毛做成的，

　　with a motto meaning "I serve." The origin of this is said to have been as follows: 上面有一句格言为“我为人人。”据说，这一说法的起源是这样的：

　　The King of Bohemia, who was slain⁹ at the battle of Crecy in the year 1346, wore this crest and motto.  1346年，波西米亚国王命丧克雷西战役战场，他当时带着王冠和这句格言。

　　These were assumed by his conqueror¹⁰, Edward, Prince of Wales, known as the Black Prince, and have been worn ever since by the heir to the British crown. 这都是战胜方人称黑太子的威尔士王子爱德华所虚构，并延续了下来，英国国王的的王冠上还有这样的装饰。

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