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Lesson17 THE RABBIT
第17課 兔子
I know a boy who has some tame rabbits. He keeps them in the yard behind his house, in a box called a rabbit-hutch. His rabbits are black and white, but wild rabbits are grey or brown.
我認識一個男孩子, 他家里養了幾只家兔。他把兔子養在后院一個叫“兔屋”的箱子里。他的兔子是黑色和白色的, 但是野兔是灰色或者褐色的。
The rabbit is nearly as large as a cat. It has a backbone, and four legs, like the cat. The hind-legs of the rabbit are longer and stronger than the forelegs, so that it can jump very well.
兔子的大小跟貓差不多, 也跟貓一樣, 有一條脊椎骨和四條腿。兔子的后腿比前腿長, 能跳得特別遠。
The rabbit is covered with fur, which is made of short hairs that stand out from the skin. The fur keeps the rabbit warm, and it is always clean, for no dirt will stick to it.
兔子的身體也蓋著一層毛皮, 長著突出在皮膚外面的短毛。毛皮可以讓兔子暖和, 而且毛皮一直是干凈的, 因為灰塵不會沾在上面。
Look at the. rabbit's ears. How long they are, and how easily it can move them about, so as to hear the least sound!
看看兔子的耳朵。耳朵好長啊, 而且兔子很容易就能來回轉動耳朵, 這樣連最小的聲音也能聽見！
The rabbit's mouth is very funny. Its upper lip is cut into two parts. It has six sharp front teeth for cutting—four in the upper jaw, and two in the lower jaw. At the back of the mouth it has teeth with flat tops for grinding its food. RABBIT'S MOUTH（兔子嘴）
兔子的嘴很有意思, 上唇是分成兩塊兒的。兔子嘴前面長著六顆鋒利的牙齒, 上頜有四顆, 下頜有兩顆。嘴后面的牙, 頂上是平的, 用來把食物磨碎。
The rabbit feeds on grass and roots and leaves, and even on the bark of young trees. It digs a deep hole or burrow in a sandy bank, and makes its nest there.
兔子吃的是青草、草根、樹葉, 有時候還吃小樹的樹皮。兔子在沙子很多的田埂或者斜坡上挖一個深深的洞穴, 就在那里面做窩。
A sandy place where many rabbits live is called a rabbit-warren. If you pass one of these in the dusk, you will see on every side of you little white stars of fur dancing about, and then sinking into the ground.
一個沙子很多, 又有很多兔子住的地方, 我們叫它“兔子窩”。晚上經過兔子窩的時候, 四面八方都會看見小小的、毛茸茸的白色星星來回飛舞, 然后鉆進地里去。
When it is too dark to see the brown fur of the rabbits, you can see the white tufts on their tails as they run away to their burrows. This makes them look very funny in the dusk.
要是天太暗了, 看不見兔子的灰色毛皮, 也能看見兔子跑回洞去時, 尾巴上的一叢白毛。這就讓兔子在傍晚的樣子非常好玩。
The rabbit has whiskers on each side of its mouth. Its burrow is quite dark under the ground; but its whiskers are feelers, and keep it from hitting its head against anything.
兔子的嘴, 兩邊也有胡子。地底下的兔子洞里非常黑, 兔子的胡子就是“觸角”, 有了胡子, 兔子就不會把腦袋撞到別的東西上了。
Notice the large eyes of the rabbit, so bright and so brown. And see, it has five toes on each fore-foot, but only four toes on each hind-foot. FORE-FOOT（前腳）
注意兔子的大眼睛, 很亮, 是深灰色的。再看看它的腳, 每只前腳上都長著五個腳趾, 但是每只后腳上只有四個腳趾。
I hope that, if you ever have rabbits, you will be kind to them, and give them plenty of green leaves to eat, and keep their hutch clean and dry. HIND-FOOT（后腳）
小朋友, 你要是養了兔子, 我希望你一定要好好照顧它們, 給它們充足的綠葉子吃, 把兔子窩打掃得干干凈凈, 不讓兔子窩受潮。
