55 How It Got the Name
一個名字的由來
“I think crows are pests,” John said, biting into a crisp biscuit.
“我認為烏鴉是有害動物。”約翰邊說,便咬了一口脆餅干。
“I do too, but this one is rather rare,” I replied.
“我也這樣認為,但我們要找的這種卻是很稀罕,”我回答到,
“Its feathers are the color of crude oil.
“它有原油色的羽毛,
It has a crimson head.
深紅色的頭。
The pattern resembles a royal crown.
樣式很像一個皇家王冠。
It is probably a result of crossbreeding.
它可能是雜交繁殖的結果。
I learned about crossbreeding when I read a critique of that famous book about bird-breeding.
我是從閱讀那本關于鳥類雜交的著作的評論開始懂得雜交知識的。
It was a very critical article.”
那是篇很重要的文章。”
“We've been crisscrossing this crosscut forest for hours,” John said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“我們已經來回往返橫切森林好幾個小時了,”約翰說著,擦了擦頭上的汗水。
“How are we supposed to find it?”
“我們怎樣才能找到它呢?”
“There it is,” I replied.
“它在那。”我回答,
“It's stuck in that crevice near that crooked tree.
“它夾在那棵彎樹旁的裂縫里。
Call the rest of the rescue crew. We might need some help.”
去呼叫其他救援人員,我們可能需要一些幫助。”
Soon, there was crowd of rescuers around us.
不久,來了一群救援人員。
“This is a crucial moment,” I told everyone. “Be quiet.”
“現在是緊要關頭,”我對大家說,“要保持安靜。”
I crept towards the crevice.
我朝裂縫爬過去。
I cringed when I saw that a branch from a fallen tree had crippled the crow's legs.
來到眼前,當我發現原來是倒下的大樹的樹枝傷及烏鴉的雙腿而致殘的時候,我畏縮不前了。
It was suffering.
它痛苦地掙扎。
This was a critical point in the mission.
這是救援任務的緊急關頭。
I called out for someone to hand me a metal tool to pry the branch away from the crow.
我叫別人遞給我一個金屬工具把樹枝從烏鴉身上撬開。
“Here, use this,” John said, as he handed me a crude looking metal bar.
“給,用這個。”約翰說著,遞給我一個外觀粗糙的金屬棒。
It was a crucial moment.
決定性的時候到了。
I used the bar to pry the fallen tree from the crevice and to pull the branch off the crow.
我用那根棒子把倒在地上的樹從裂縫處撬起,把壓在烏鴉身上的樹枝拉走。
“Whew, thank goodness for this tool,” I signed.
“哇!多虧了這個棒子。”我長出了一口氣,
“Hey, John, what do you call this metal bar?”
“嗨,約翰,這跟金屬棒叫什么?”
“It doesn't have name,” John replied.
“它沒有名字,”約翰回答到,
“But perhaps from now on, we should call it s crowbar.”
“但也許從現在開始,我們可以管他叫烏鴉棒,也就是撬棍的意思。”