英國語文第四冊(雙語):燕子(2)

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When the young are hatched, there is indeed no play-work;

當(dāng)雛燕破殼而出時，確實就沒有玩耍這回事了；

for they have tremendous appetites, and from early dawn till dark the old birds are on the wing to supply their wants.

因為它們有著巨大的胃口，從早上到晚上，父母們一直在飛著給它們尋找需要的食物。

It is pleasant to wake up in the early summer mornings and hear the low, pleasing twitter of the swallow-brood in the chimney,

在初夏的清晨醒來，聽著煙囪上一窩小燕子低吟是愉悅的，

as they wonder in their narrow nursery what the great world is like.

它們想知道在它們狹窄的窩外面，那寬廣的世界是什么樣子。

Other nestlings can peep out and see something of it; but the young swallows know nothing till at last,

其他雛鳥可以探出頭來看到一些東西，但是雛燕卻對外界卻一無所知；

some happy morning, their father and mother contrive to get them up into the air and place them in a row upon the house-top.

直到最后，在某個愉快的早晨，爸爸媽媽設(shè)法將它們弄到天上去，并且在屋頂上把它們排成一排。

You may often see them there, in the middle of summer, and the parents feeding them.

你可能經(jīng)常會在仲夏時看到它們，它們的父母在給它們喂食。

By degrees they learn to fly, but they still require to be fed.

漸漸地，它們學(xué)會了飛翔，但是仍然需要父母的喂食。

At a given signal, the young one flies to meet the old one, uttering a little complacent squeak, which I suppose means "Thank you."

在給出一個信號后，小燕子飛出去見年老的燕子，故意殷勤地小聲發(fā)出吱吱聲，好像在說“謝謝”。

They meet for a moment, and part again; but in that moment the young bird has eaten his dinner

它們碰一會面之后，就重新分開；但就在那時，這只小燕子會吃完它的晚餐

—consisting of several courses, too, for the parent supplies him with a whole mouthful of collected insects at once.

——晚餐也由幾部分組成，因為父母會一下子把收集到的滿口昆蟲都給它。

At last they are able to shift for themselves: and now will the old birds be able to take breath after their labours, and enjoy themselves a little?

最后，它們終于可以自己飛翔了?，F(xiàn)在，老鳥們在勞累之后能喘口氣，享受一下了嗎？

No such thing. They begin at once to think about a second family;

沒有這種事。它們立刻開始考慮建筑第二個家庭，

for they rear two broods every season, and the summer is not long enough to allow of a rest between them.

因為它們每個季節(jié)都要養(yǎng)兩窩子女，夏天很短，它們沒時間休息。