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The Canary Bird
第二課 金絲雀
Are you fond of birds? Perhaps you have one at home. It is very cruel to keep such birds as sparrows or swallows in cages, because these birds like better to fly about in the open air.
小朋友，你喜歡鳥兒嗎？你家里可能也養(yǎng)了一只鳥兒吧！把麻雀、燕子一類的鳥兒關(guān)在籠子里，是很殘忍的，因?yàn)檫@些鳥兒，更喜歡在天上自由自在地飛翔。
But there is a small yellow bird, called the canary, which we may keep in a cage, if we are kind to it; for, if we let it fly away, it would soon die in this cold country of ours. It is better that it should live in a warm house.
但是有一種黃色的小鳥，叫做金絲雀（the canary bird）。這種鳥兒，只要我們好好地對待它，是可以養(yǎng)在籠子里的。因?yàn)橛奶鞖夂芾?，如果讓金絲雀飛走了，它過不了多久就會凍死的。金絲雀最好生活在溫暖的屋子里。
The canary and other birds have bones and muscles very much like those in our own bodies. Their bones, however, are hollow and very light. This makes it easy for them to fly.
金絲雀和別的鳥兒，它們的骨頭和肌肉，都跟我們?nèi)祟惖暮芟?。但是鳥兒的骨頭，中間是空的，很輕很輕。這樣它們就很容易飛起來。
See how the canary is clothed. It is covered with feathers. Some of them are long, and these are used for flying. The others are short, and serve to keep the bird warm.
看一看金絲雀穿的美麗衣裳，它渾身上下都蓋著羽毛。有一些羽毛比較長，是用來飛翔的。另外一些羽毛比較短，是用來保暖的。
All birds have two legs and two arms; but these arms are not like ours. We call them wings, and the birds use them for flying.
所有的鳥兒，都有兩個后肢，兩個前肢。但是鳥兒的前肢， 跟我們?nèi)祟惖牟灰粯?。我們管鳥兒的前肢叫“翅膀”，鳥兒就是用翅膀來飛翔的。
Look at the canary’s foot. It has one strong toe behind, and three toes in front. This foot is just the right shape for holding firmly to the branch or perch on which the canary sits. So the canary is called a perching bird. It cannot walk as we do, but it hops or jumps along the ground.
看看金絲雀的腳。它的腳有一個強(qiáng)健的腳趾朝后，三個腳趾朝前。這樣的腳，形狀很適合緊緊地抓住樹枝，或者棲息在金絲雀坐著的地方。所以，我們把金絲雀叫做木棲鳥類。金絲雀不能像人類一樣走路，但是可以在地上，用 單腳或者雙腳跳。
What a strong beak the canary has! With its beak it splits open the seeds on which it feeds. And do you see its bright eyes, looking like black beads?
金絲雀的嘴真硬啊！鳥的嘴叫喙。它就是用喙來啄開谷粒，美餐一頓的。你看見它那兩只明亮的眼睛了嗎，像小黑珠一樣？
The canary has rather a long tail, and this tail helps to steady the bird and to guide it when it flies.
金絲雀有一條長長的尾巴，幫它保持平衡，在飛翔的時候，尾巴還能幫它導(dǎo)向。
The canary builds a little nest of wool, hair, or moss, and in this nest the mother bird lays her eggs. Then she sits on the eggs to keep them warm.
金絲雀的鳥巢是用羊毛、頭發(fā)、苔蘚搭起來的，金絲雀媽媽就在這個小巢里下蛋，然后坐在蛋上，給蛋保暖。
In thirteen days the young birds come out of the eggs, and the mother and father feed them many times a day.
過了13天，小鳥就破殼而出了！金絲雀爸爸媽媽每天會喂它好幾次。
Why do we keep canaries? It is because they look so pretty with their yellow and green feathers, but still more because they have such a sweet song.
我們?yōu)槭裁匆B(yǎng)金絲雀呢？因?yàn)榻鸾z雀的羽毛有黃有綠，非常好看。更重要的，是因?yàn)樗韬寐牁O了！
Keep your canary’s cage clean, and give the bird fresh water to drink and seed to eat every day. Then it will repay you by its sweet singing all day long.
一定要勤打掃金絲雀的籠子，每天給它喝干凈水，吃谷粒，它就能一天到晚為你唱出甜甜的歌。
