美国小学英语教材6:第36课 山齿鹑家族(7)

 　　Again he repeated the musical call; he and the boy waited and listened. 他再次重复了这个声音，他和小男孩一边等一边听。

　　Then, faint and far across the pasture land, like an echo, came the reply, bob-white, bob-white, bob-bobwhite. 在遥远的牧场那头好似出现了回应，布谷，布谷，布谷。

　　That's a bob-white, whispered Ben. Now keep perfectly¹ still and you will hear something worth while. 本轻声道这是鹑，保持别动，你一定有所收获。

　　Presently the two watchers under the little spruce heard the well-known whir of short, fast-beating wings, 二人在小杉树下听到了耳熟能详快速拍打翅膀发出的嗡嗡声，

　　and a second later Bob-White himself plumped down under the cover within two yards of them. 随后，一只山齿鹑飞进离我们两英尺远的草丛中。

　　He shook the wet from his wings, preened² his feathers for a moment, and then swelling³ out his breast uttered his sweet call note. 他抖抖湿漉漉的翅膀，整理一下羽毛，之后挺起胸膛响起叫声。

　　The old man and the boy waited, listening as the real Bob-White sounded his roll call. 老人和小孩等待，聆听真正的山齿鹑发出一连串叫声。

　　Again came the low whistle from far away in the pasture land, but this time it was only white, white, white. 他们再一次在遥远的牧场上听到了低沉的声音，但这一次只是哇哇哇。

　　Soon the swift whir of beating wings was heard, and a moment later the second quail⁴ alighted under the scrub spruce. 随即听到了急速拍打翅膀的嗡嗡声，随后另一只鹑飞向杉树丛中。

　　Cureet, curee, cur-r, cur-r-r, cried Bob-White in soft, quail words of welcome. Peep, pure-e-, e-e, e-e, replied the chicken. 山齿鹑低声唱着欢迎曲，库伊，库伊，库伊，鸡仔们回应道唧唧，唧唧，唧唧。

　　The greeting and reply were scarcely over when another quail whirred under the bush, and another, and still another. 欢迎和回应远没有停止，一只又一只山齿鹑飞进草丛中。

　　Cureet, cure-e-e, cur-r, cure-e-e, was the greeting of Bob-White to each newcomer 库伊，库伊，库伊，库伊....这是山齿鹑欢迎客人的号角，

　　as they huddled⁵ together and rejoiced in bird language that they had found one another again. 它们簇拥在一起，用它们的语言庆祝重逢。

　　After a few minutes they quieted down, and the listeners knew that the quail 几分钟后它们安静了下来，聆听者知道这些山齿鹑

　　had formed themselves into the well-known bunch and fallen asleep; so they stole quietly away, 聚在一起睡着了，二人静悄悄地离开了，

　　leaving the quail dry and comfortable under the spruce. 让它们在干燥的杉树下享受时光。

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 preened   

v.（鸟）用嘴整理（羽毛）( preen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She preened herself upon her beauty. 她为自已的美貌感到自满。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Pigeons preened their wings and cooed. 鸽子用喙整理翅膀，咕咕地叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

4 quail   

n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖

参考例句：

• Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前，胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
• Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。

5 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。