美国小学英语6A教材
2017-07-04 19:13:01 来源: 子路教育网
当你读完这则故事，你就很容易理解为什么会有那么多的人喜欢户外那些事儿，以及喜欢研究野生动物。自然之书是一本充满奥秘且趣味十足的书。在这则故事里，作者克拉伦斯.霍克斯讲述了山齿鹑（又叫鹌鹑）的故事。渐渐地，你就会了解，即使像山齿鹑这样无害的益鸟也过着充满冒险和危机的生活。那么作者一定有双明亮的眼睛，才能观察的这么仔细，对吗？
BOB-WHITE IN SPRINGTIME
Bob-White was not a showy bird, although his suit was neat and quite jaunty. His back and shoulders were grayish brown, while his undersides were lighter. The feathers on the top of his head stood up like a small pompadour, and under his throat was a white necktie. Such a dress would not attract the eyes of his enemies — hawks, owls, or men.
Bob-White sat on the top of the gate one spring morning, whistling his merry call, “bobwhite, bob, bob-bob-white, bob-white, bob, bob-white.” Each time when he stopped whistling he hopped down on the top bar of the gateway and strutted back and forth like a turkey cock. First he would extend one wing to its full sweep, then the other, and finally spreading both wings and his funny short tail he would strut up and down as if to say, “Now if you want to see a fine bird, just look at me.”
山齿鹑和他的春天
山齿鹑不是一种华丽的鸟儿，但是他总是穿戴整洁，给人以活泼欢乐之感。山齿鹑的后背和肩膀呈灰褐色，下半身的颜色则相对较浅。他头顶上的羽毛又高又直，喉咙下部系着一条白色领带。这样的一身打扮并不惹眼，轻易不会招来他的天敌——老鹰、猫头鹰以及人类——的注意。
一个春天的早晨，山齿鹑栖息在门顶上，唱着欢乐的曲子：“鲍勃-怀特，鲍勃，鲍勃-鲍勃-怀特，鲍勃-怀特，鲍勃-怀特。”（“bob-white”为这种鸟的叫声，英语中以其叫声而命名。——译者注）歌声一停，他便会跳到门口栅栏的顶端，趾高气扬地走来走去，像极了一只爱炫耀的雄火鸡。一开始，他会慢慢伸展一侧的翅膀。等到完全舒展开后，他才会抖动另外一侧翅膀，重复之前的动作。最后，他挥动着双翅，甩一甩他那有趣的短尾巴，开始昂首阔步，好像在炫耀说：“你要想亲眼目睹一只无与伦比的鸟儿，直接看我就得了。”
But Bob-White was whistling for something else besides good spirits this morning. He was whistling for a wife. Presently down across the fields as though in answer to his calling came a clear “white, white, white.” Bob-White heard it and was pleased. He redoubled his calls of “bobwhite, bob-white,” and listened regularly for the musical “white, white, white” that came in return from a lady quail down in the thicket.
但这个早上，雄山齿鹑的吟唱不仅仅是因为心情愉悦。这里还有其他的缘由——他正为求偶而歌唱。现在，顺着田野的方向正传来一阵阵清晰的和声——“怀特，怀特，怀特”。山齿鹑听到后非常开心，他一遍又一遍重复着“鲍勃-怀特，鲍勃-怀特”，并不断地听到悦耳动听的应答声——“怀特，怀特，怀特”。那银铃般的声音是藏在灌木丛下面的一只雌山齿鹑发出的。
When this calling and answering had gone on for some time, Bob-White flew away, and his wings made such a whirring sound and struck so fast that this fact alone showed him to be a member of the partridge family. He is the smallest of all the partridges, and is known in parts of the South as the Virginia partridge.
琴瑟和鸣般的应答声持续了一段时间之后，山齿鹑飞起来了，他剧烈地拍打着翅膀，发出了呼呼的声音。单单如此就表明他已经成为鹧鸪家族的一员。而且，他是所有鹧鸪中最聪明的一种，南方有些地区称他为弗吉尼亚山齿鹑。
......
注释与问题
1．作者写这篇故事的主要目的是什么？
(a)告诉我们山齿鹑的习性；
(b)表现了山齿鹑为生存而经历的艰苦磨难，唤起读者对山齿鹑的怜惜和同情之感。
2．这篇故事告诉我们许多有关山齿鹑的有趣事情，比如它的颜色，它是如何飞翔的，等等。列出至少六个此类事实，并将其命名为“有关山齿鹑的报告”。你也许会找到更多的相关内容。
3．山齿鹑是怎样帮助农夫的？
4．问题：
(a)大雪为何使得鸟儿难以生存？（你可以先思考一下再回答这个问题。）
(b)如果你住在农村的话，你可以在冬季为山齿鹑做些什么呢？
5．请认真阅读课文，指出克拉伦斯.霍克斯只通过仔细观察来学会有关山齿鹑知识的两件事情，表明他是一个认真的好学生。也许你不知道，克拉伦斯.霍克斯已经失明很多年了。可是他非常热爱大自然，并进行了非常深入的研究，才写得出这么多户外世界的故事。
