LESSON 21 HUMMING BIRDS 蜂鳥

1.The most beautiful humming birds are found in the West Indies and South America.The crest of the tiny head of one of these shines like a sparkling crown of colored light.

2.The shades of color that adorn its breast, are equally brilliant.As the bird flits from one object to another, it looks more like a bright fl ash of sunlight than it does like a living being.

3.But, you ask, why are they called humming birds? It is because they make a soft, humming noise by the rapid motion of their wings—a motion so rapid, that as they fly you can only see that they have wings.

4.One day when walking in the woods, I found the nest of one of the smallest humming birds.It was about half the size of a very small hen’s egg, and was attached to a twig no thicker than a steel knitting needle.

5.It seemed to have been made of cotton fi bers, and was covered with the softest bits of leaf and bark.It had two eggs in it, quite white, and each about as large as a small sugarplum.

6.When you approach the spot where one of these birds has built its nest, it is necessary to be careful.The mother bird will dart at you and try to peck your eyes.Its sharp beak may hurt your eyes most severely, and even destroy the sight.

7.The poor little thing knows no other way of defending its young, and instinct teaches it that you might carry off its nest if you could fi nd it.

【中文閱讀】

1.世界上最美麗的蜂鳥僅僅在西印度群島和南美洲發現過。其中一只小鳥很特別，它的小腦袋上有一個閃爍著耀眼光芒的頂冠，如同色彩斑斕的璀璨皇冠一樣。

2.裝飾它胸脯的色彩，也同樣光彩奪目。當蜂鳥從一個地方飛到另一個地方，它看上去更像是一道亮閃閃的光，而不僅僅是一個小生命。

3.只是，你可能會問，它們為何被稱為蜂鳥呢？那是因為它們在飛行時急速扇動翅膀而發出細微的嗡嗡聲。蜂鳥顫動翅膀的速度極快，以至于當它們飛過時，人們只能看到空中翱翔而過的翅膀。

4.有一天，我在林中漫步時，發現了一只小蜂鳥的巢，它大概只有半個雞蛋大，附著在一根細如鋼針的小樹枝上。

5.它看上去就像是棉線織成的，上面覆蓋著柔軟的葉子和樹皮。里面有兩只小卵，純白色的，每個卵都像個小糖豆一樣大小。

6.當你靠近這些蜂鳥的巢時，一定要非常小心。因為鳥媽媽會向你撲過來，試圖啄你的眼睛。它那尖尖的鳥嘴或許會重傷你的眼睛，甚至可能會讓你失明。

7.這個可憐的小東西并不知道除此之外還有什么辦法可以保護它的小寶寶。它只本能地以為，一旦你找到鳥巢，就會奪走它的幼子。