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LESSON 51 A beaver town
第五十一課 海貍小城
Beavers were at one time abundant in Europe, but they are now found chiefly in Canada and other parts of North America. The name beaver comes from a word which means builder; and a wonderful little builder he is. But he not only builds houses; he is a capital wood-cutter and a skillful engineer as well.
曾經歐洲有大量的海貍，但是現在卻主要分布在加拿大和北美洲的其他地區。海貍得名于一個意為“建造者”的詞，因為海貍也是很棒的建造者。但海貍不僅會造房子，還是重要的伐木者和熟練的工程師。
During summer, each beaver lives by himself in a burrow, which he digs out near a lake or stream. When winter comes, he quits this retreat, and unites with his fellows to build a winter home. They generally combine in troops of from two to three hundred; so that, when the houses are all built, they form a little beaver town.
夏天，海貍在湖或小溪邊挖洞，每只海貍都單獨住在一個洞穴里。每當冬季降臨，它們就遺棄夏天的住所，和同伴們一起建造冬天的住處。通常，一群海貍由兩到三百只組成；所以，挖好洞穴之后，洞穴就形成了一個小小的海貍城。
They begin by choosing a good site for their town; sometimes on the bank of a lake or a river, and sometimes on an island. They like a river best, because the running stream helps to carry down the trees they use in building.
它們一開始先為小鎮尋址；有時候選在湖岸或河岸上，有時在一座島嶼上。它們最喜歡住在河邊，因為河水會把木頭沖下來為它們所用。
With no tool but their own sharp teeth, they soon cut down a tree. If it stands close to the water, the beavers manage very cleverly to cut it down so that it shall fall into the river. In this way they can get the entire tree floated down the stream. But if the trees are at some distance, they have to cut them into several pieces, and drag them to the river-side with their teeth.
雖然沒有工具，但是它們能用鋒利的牙齒很快啃倒一棵樹。如果樹長在河附近，海貍會很聰明地讓樹倒在水里，這樣整棵樹就會順流而下。但是如果樹木離河邊遠，它們就必須把樹咬成幾段，然后用牙齒拖到河邊。
After they have got a supply of trees, the beavers begin their work of building. The first thing they do is to make a dam across the river. This stops the current, and forms a deep pond at the riverside. The dam is made of logs and branches firmly fixed into the bed of the stream.
有了木材，海貍就開始筑窩了。第一步，它們先在河里用木頭做一個水壩，緊緊嵌入河床，阻斷水流，在河邊形成一個深深的池塘。
The spaces between the posts are filled up with stones and clay, and the whole is made as firm as the little animals can make it. The trees are dragged with their teeth from place to place, as they are wanted; but the stones and clay are carried in an odd way between their fore-paws and their chins.
它們用石頭和黏土堵住樹木間的縫隙，使水壩盡量堅固。它們用牙齒把樹木從一個地方拖到它們建住所的地方；但是，搬運石頭和泥土時，它們用的方法卻很奇怪，前爪和下巴并用。
