美语情景对话 第1354期:Birds Don't Fly 不会飞的鸟(1)

Todd: So Rachel, you said that in your home country, New Zealand, there're lots of birds that don't fly?

托德：蕾切尔，你之前说过，你的祖国新西兰有很多不会飞的鸟。

Rachel: Yes, there are a lot of birds that don't fly.

蕾切尔：对，有很多鸟不会飞。

Todd: Wow, so I only knew of the kiwi and of course the penguin, but I didn't know of other ones. So first the kiwi. It doesn't fly, right?

托德：哇哦，我只知道几维鸟和企鹅不会飞，不知道其他不会飞的鸟类。首先来说几维鸟。这种鸟不会飞，对吧？

Rachel: That's the famous one.

蕾切尔：几维鸟因不会飞而闻名。

Todd: Right.

托德：对。

Rachel: They don't fly but they can run very fast. I've seen them.

蕾切尔：它们不会飞，不过它们跑得非常快。我看到过。

Todd: Like and are the kiwi all over? Like are there different types of kiwi?

托德：到处都能看到几维鸟吗？几维鸟是否有不同种类？

Rachel: Yeah, there are several different varieties. They're very rare though, and they're nocturnal.

蕾切尔：对，有很多种不同的几维鸟。不过几维鸟非常稀有，而且它们是夜行动物。

Todd: Oh, nocturnal.

托德：哦，夜行动物。

Rachel: I'd say most New Zealanders have never seen one in the wild. I've only seen them in Kiwi parks.

蕾切尔：我认为大多数新西兰人从来没在野生环境中看到过几维鸟。我只在新西兰公园中看到过几维鸟。

Todd: Oh, really.

托德：哦，真的吗？

Rachel: Yeah, you don't see them.

蕾切尔：对，一般看不到它们。

Todd: So, I thought they'd be like kangaroos in Australia, or something like you go and there's one.

托德：我本来以为几维鸟和澳大利亚的袋鼠一样，随处可见。

Rachel: No, they're very precious and very rare. One that you see more often is the pukeko which is ... it looks a little bit like a stork I suppose except it's dark blue.

蕾切尔：不是，几维鸟非常珍贵，而且很稀有。新西兰比较常见的动物是紫水鸡，看起来有点像鹳，不过紫水鸡是深蓝色的。

Todd: What's it called?

托德：那种动物叫什么？

Rachel: Pukeko.

蕾切尔：紫水鸡。

Todd: Pukeko.

托德：紫水鸡。

Rachel: Ah, yeah, and they're a lot more commom. And takahe is another one.

蕾切尔：对，它们更常见。还有短翅水鸡也很常见。

Todd: So the first one ...

托德：第一个……

Rachel: You can see them along the side of the road. When you're driving through the countryside they're much more common.

蕾切尔：你可以在路边看到它们。开车经过乡村时经常能看到。

Todd: So this pukeko, does it fly?

托德：紫水鸡会飞吗？

Rachel: No, they don't fly.

蕾切尔：不会，它们不会飞。

Todd: Really, and it's like a stork. It has long legs?

托德：真的吗？紫水鸡和鹳很像。也有长长的腿吗？

Rachel: It has quite long legs. Yeah, it a very cute little bird, but it's very dark.

蕾切尔：它们的腿的确很长。紫水鸡是一种非常可爱的小鸟，不过羽毛的颜色很深。

Todd: How tall is it? Like up to your knee? Up to your hip?

托德：这种鸟体长多少？到你膝盖吗？还是能到你的臀部？

Rachel: Up to your knees.

蕾切尔：到膝盖。

Todd: Really.

托德：是吗？

Rachel: Cute little bird.

蕾切尔：可爱的小鸟。

Todd: That's awesome. So what was the other one you mentioned?

托德：真不错。你刚提到的另一种鸟是什么来着？

Rachel: Takahe. It's very similar looking to that one. It's a little different. It's difficult to tell apart.

蕾切尔：短翅水鸡。这种鸟和紫水鸡非常像。只有一点儿不同，很难区分。

Todd: Really, and it's also kind of dark blueish.

托德：是吗？短翅水鸡也是深蓝色。

Rachel: Yeah, another one's a kakapo. A very famous one. It's New Zealand's flightless green parrot. It's kind of like a large fat parrot that lives on the ground.

蕾切尔：对，另一种鸟名为鸮鹦鹉，非常有名。这是新西兰不会飞的绿色鹦鹉。这种鹦鹉体型庞大且肥胖，生活在地上。

Todd: Really.

托德：真的吗？

Rachel: It's extremely rare. I'm not sure what the numbers are now, but around twenty years ago I think there were only 45 left.

蕾切尔：这种鹦鹉极为稀有。我不确定现在现存多少只，不过大约20年前其数量仅剩下45只。

Todd: Oh, that is rare.

托德：哦，那很稀有。

Rachel: Extremely rare, so there's an intensive breeding program for them, and of course nobody's seen those in the wild.

蕾切尔：极为稀有，所以有关部门实施了鸮鹦鹉集中复育计划，当然没人在野外看到过鸮鹦鹉。

Todd: Yeah, you have to be careful or it'll go like the way of the Tasmanian tiger.

托德：一定要小心，不然就会像塔斯马尼亚虎一样灭绝。

Rachel: Yeah, they breed and they nest on the ground. They lay their eggs on the ground, so they're very vulnerable to introduced predators, to any animals.

蕾切尔：对，鸮鹦鹉在地上繁衍、建巢。它们在地上生蛋，所以极易受到外来捕食者和其他任何动物的袭击。

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重点讲解：
1. know of 听说过；略有耳闻；
I know of him, but I can't really say that I know him.
我只是听说过他，但是我不能说我认识他。
2. all over 到处；遍及；
We have friends all over the world.
我们的朋友遍天下。
3. tell apart 区分；区别；辨别；
Free range and battery eggs, boiled for four minutes, were hard to tell apart.
柴鸡蛋和笼养鸡蛋在煮过4分钟之后很难区分。
4. be vulnerable to 易受伤害的；易受影响的；
Tourists are more vulnerable to attack, because they do not know which areas of the city to avoid.
游客们最容易受到袭击，因为他们不知道应该不去城市里哪些地区。