新西兰英语 341 Godwits return to New Zealand

　　Every year, in mid-September, about 100,000 bar-tailed godwits return to New Zealand from Alaska. This godwit is a sea bird about 40cm in height. It wades¹ on long legs in the mudflats at low tides on some beaches and eats insects, crabs² and small plants.
It is an amazing bird because it flies about 11,500 km from Alaska to New Zealand in eight days and nights without stopping. It loses half its body weight on the journey. When it arrives, it loses all its feathers and grows new ones. Then it stays in New Zealand during our summer, getting fat, ready for the return journey.
In March or early April, the godwit leaves New Zealand for Alaska where it breeds. This time, the godwit stops for a short time on the Yellow Sea coast of Korea or China. When the godwit arrives in Alaska it makes a nest and has babies. These young birds also fly to New Zealand in September, after the adults have left. How do they know where to go? It must be genetic³. The young stay in New Zealand for three years before leaving to breed.
Motueka in Nelson held a festival the first weekend in September to celebrate the return of the godwits but this year the festival was too early. The godwits didn’t arrive until later. Christchurch usually celebrates the return of the godwits by ringing the cathedral bells. This year, though, the bells were silent because the bell tower may not be safe after the earthquake.
Discussion Questions
What other migratory⁴ birds do you know? Where do they breed and where do they spend the winter?
How do birds know where to go? Does the wind give them signals?
Do native New Zealand birds migrate⁵? Why or why not?
What other animals migrate?

1 wades   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A lumi wields a golden morningstar with trained ease as it wades into melee. 光民熟练地挥舞钉头锤加入战团。

2 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

4 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

5 migrate   

vi.（候鸟等）迁徙，移居（国外），迁移

参考例句：

• Many birds migrate south for the winter.冬天时，许多鸟类迁徙南方。
• The rich people often migrate in winter to Florida.有钱的人常在冬季搬迁到佛罗里达州去。