英国学生科学读本 第31期:游来游去的蛇(1)

 　　Lesson 31 The Gliding¹ Snake

　　第31课 游来游去的蛇

　　Snakes belong to the class of animals which is known as reptiles². Very few snakes are found in our country. InIreland there are none at all; and in England and Scotland there are only two kinds to be met with.

　　蛇属于动物界里的“爬虫类”。英国的蛇非常少， 爱尔兰一条蛇也没有， 英格兰和苏格兰也只能见到两种蛇。

　　One of these is the common or ringed grass-snake, which is quite harmless. The other is the poisonous snake called the adder³ or viper⁴.

　　一种是常见的“水游蛇”， 基本是没有害处的；另一种是有毒的“极北蝰”。

　　A full-grown viper is rather less than two feet in length. It is of a brownish-yellow colour, with a chain of black marks running in a zig-zag line down the back.

　　极北蝰长大以后， 也不足两英尺长。身体是棕黄色的， 背上有“之”字形的黑色条纹。

　　In its upper jaw⁵ it has two long hollow teeth or fangs⁶, each of which is joined to a poison-bag in the roof ofthe mouth. When the viper seizes any small animal, the poison runs down through the fangs into the body of theanimal and kills it.

　　极北蝰的上腭有两颗又长又尖的牙， 也就是“毒牙”， 毒牙是中空的， 连接着上腭里面的毒囊。极北蝰抓住小动物的时候， 毒液就会通过毒牙流到动物体内， 把动物杀死。

　　The viper has also a number of small solid teeth. These have their points turned backwards⁷, and help to hold the prey⁸ while it is being swallowed.

　　极北蝰也有很多坚硬的小牙齿， 齿尖是朝后的， 极北蝰吞掉猎物的时候， 这些牙可以抓住猎物， 不让猎物跑掉。

　　The ringed grass-snake has a double row of black spots running down its back. It has also two yellow patches or stripes on its neck. It has no poison-fangs. The ringed snake, like the viper, feeds on small animals, such as frogs and mice.

　　有环纹的水游蛇， 背上有两排黑点子， 脖子上还有两片黑色的斑点， 也叫条纹。水游蛇没有毒牙， 它跟蝰蛇一样， 以青蛙、老鼠一类的动物为食。

1 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

2 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 adder   

n.蝰蛇；小毒蛇

参考例句：

• The adder is Britain's only venomous snake.蝰蛇是英国唯一的一种毒蛇。
• An adder attacked my father.一条小毒蛇攻击了我父亲。

4 viper   

n.毒蛇；危险的人

参考例句：

• Envy lucks at the bottom of the human heart a viper in its hole.嫉妒潜伏在人心底，如同毒蛇潜伏在穴中。
• Be careful of that viper;he is dangerous.小心那个阴险的人，他很危险。

5 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

6 fangs   

n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座

参考例句：

• The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。