評論
打印
LESSON 31 The sky-lark
第三十一課 云雀
Sky-larks are plentiful everywhere in Europe, and in winter they fly about in large flocks.
在歐洲，云雀隨處可見。冬天，云雀成群結隊地活動。
Their summer food is mostly earth-worms, but in winter they are driven to vegetable diet.
他們夏天的食物主要是地上的蟲子，但是在冬天卻被迫吃素。
We call the wild plants weeds, and the garden ones flowers;
我們把野外的草叫做野草，把花園離的稱為花；
but each alike bears its little seeds after its own kind, and each of these little seeds has its own work to do.
但是類似的一點是，它們都含有小籽兒，每一粒小籽都有自己的用處。
We gather the pods of our sweet-peas and our lupines, and store them carefully away till we plant them the following summer.
我們把香豌豆和羽扇豆的豆莢收集起來，仔細保存好，直到第二年夏天拿去播種。
And the wild-flower seeds—does nobody gather them?
野花的種子，沒有人收集嗎？
Yes; God lays them in his storehouse, and not one is wasted.
是的；上帝將其收入自己的倉庫中，沒有一粒被浪費。
Some fall to the ground, ready to take root and grow up in the spring-time, but the greater part are for the spreading of the little birds' table.
有些掉到了地上，等到春天來臨時發芽成長。但是，更大的部分則成為了小鳥們的盤中餐。
The larks especially feed on these seeds in the winter, and all the cold weather through they come and eat, and are satisfied.
尤其是冬天天寒地凍時，云雀就會來吃，它們這就很滿足了。
Everybody loves the sky-lark's song;
沒有人不喜歡云雀的歌聲；
and sometimes, when people have gone away to other lands, they have taken a sky-lark with them, to remind them of their own old home.
有時人們出門遠行也會帶上一只云雀，以此提醒自己不要忘了老家。
There was once a poor old widow, who, finding it hard work to get her living at home,
曾經有一個可憐的老寡婦，發現在家鄉太難謀生，
thought that she would like to go to the gold-diggings in Australia.
于是決定加入去澳大利亞的淘金大軍。
So she crossed the sea to that far-off country.
于是她漂洋過海，去了那個遠方的國度。
The only treasures she possessed she took with her.
她所帶的身家中，有一個就是她的寵物鳥云雀。
One of these was a pet sky-lark, which had been used to live in a small wicker cage, outside her cottage window.
此前，她將它養在窗戶邊上一個柳條編制的籠子里。
