LESSON 5 The humming-bird
第五课 蜂鸟
Under the shade of a tree, at the end of one of the twigs, hangs a tiny little nest. It swings in the air, and is as light as a feather; for it is made chiefly of moss and down. It is very snug; and within it lie two tiny eggs, of the size of peas, and as white as snow.
在树荫下,树梢中,挂一个小巢。在空中摇荡，它轻如鸿毛;它主要由苔藓构成。它非常舒适;在这躺两个小鸟蛋蛋,豌豆大小的,洁白如雪。
Watch a moment, and we shall see what bird it is that has built the nest; for she has only gone to have a sip of honey. It is a lovely place to watch in. Flowers scent the air. Yonder is a deep wood; and strange flowers of every shape and size grow all about. Some are like monkeys, some like bees, some like butterflies. These flowers are called orchids. They grow in England, only not nearly so large as in warm countries.
看一下,我们将看到什么鸟,建造了鸟巢,因为她只去喝花蜜。这是一个可爱的地方。花香四溢。绿树成荫;奇花异遍地。有的像猴子,有的像蜜蜂,有的像蝴蝶。这些花叫做兰花。他们只生长在英格兰,在温暖的国家远没有这么大。
Hark! the bird is coming. It is the smallest bird in the whole world. Its body is no bigger than a hazel-nut. But its feathers are more lovely than I can describe.It has a green crest on its head, which sparkles like a little star. The colours on its body are green, and gold, and purple. You can scarcely tell where one ends and another begins.
听!这只鸟来了。这是全世界最小的鸟。它的身体是没有比榛子。但是比我可以描述它的羽毛更可爱。它头上有一个绿色的波峰,火花像个小明星。身体的颜色是绿色的,黄金,和紫色。你几乎很难辨别哪里开始，哪里结束。
If you look about, you will see more of these little creatures. They are called humming-birds, and live in hot countries,—in India, as well as in America. The woods and groves are alive with them. They flash about here and there, clad in all the colours of the rainbow. The eye is never tired of watching them.
如果你看到,你会看到更多的这些小动物。他们被称为只蜂鸟,生活在炎热的国家,像在印度,以及在美国。它们给深林增添了活力。他们窜来窜去，,穿着彩虹的所有颜色。看着他们，眼睛永远不会累。
The humming-bird in the picture is sitting on its eggs, to hatch its young ones. When the mother bird is tired, her mate comes and takes her place. Then up she springs, and darts away into the woods, where she chooses some flower that has honey in it.
图片上是一只蜂鸟坐在它的卵上,孵化它下一代。当鸟妈妈累了,她的伴侣就会代替她。然后飞起她的泉水,和飞镖走到树林里,她选择一些有蜜的花。
As she hovers in the air, she moves her wings about so quickly that you can hardly see them. Her wings make a humming sound as she hovers over the flower; and it is from this that she gets her name.
当她在空中盘旋着,她煽动她的翅膀太快,你很难看到她们。她的翅膀发出嗡嗡作响的声音徘徊在花;丛中，并从这个,她得到了她的名字。
But she is thinking now about the insects.There are a great many of these, hidden at the bottom of the flower. She soon spies them out, and she darts her long tongue into the midst of them. Some insects stick to it; for the tongue is sticky, as if it had been rubbed with glue. The insects are drawn into her mouth; she swallows them, and then darts out her tongue for more.
但她现在想着她的昆虫。有很多这样的虫子隐藏在花的底部。她很快发现,她伸出长舌。一些昆虫粘着花瓣,舌头是粘性的,好像被抹上胶水。昆虫是卷入她的嘴,她吞下他们,然后快步吐出她的舌头。
All this time, she is hovering over the flower, and humming with her wings. When she has had enough of insects, she sips a little honey, and flies back to her nest.
她一直在花的上空,用她的翅膀嗡嗡作响。当她已经吃够了昆虫、喝小口蜂蜜,就回巢。
QUESTIONS
问题
Of what is the nest of the humming-bird made? Where does it hang? What is the size of the bird? In what kind of countries do they live? What is the humming-bird in the picture doing? Who takes her place when she is tired? What causes the humming? What do these birds feed upon?
蜂鸟的巢是什么做的?它挂在哪里?鸟的有多大?他们生活在哪些国家?图片中的蜂鸟在做什么?当她累了谁替他工作，什么原因导致嗡嗡作响的?这些鸟吃什么?
