英国学生科学读本 第93期:蝌蚪与青蛙(2)

 　　The tadpole¹ is now able to walk, and to breathe the air just as we do, so it crawls out of the pond and lives in the damp grass. 现在, 蝌蚪能够爬行了, 而且可以像人类一样进行呼吸。因此, 它们会离开池塘, 进入到潮湿的草地中生活。

　　Its tail becomes still shorter, and soon disappears. 它的尾巴会变得更短, 然后便消失不见了。

　　Now it is no more a tadpole; it has become a young frog. 这时, 它不再是蝌蚪, 而是发育成为幼年青蛙。

　　Every one must have seen frogs jumping about in the wet grass by the roadside on a summer evening. 大家肯定都在夏季傍晚时候的路边湿草地里, 看到过一蹦一跳的青蛙。

　　They are quite harmless, and you may take one in your hand without any fear. 它们不会对我们造成任何威胁, 因此你不必害怕, 可以拿起来放在手中仔细观察。

　　But if you do pick one up to look at it, be very careful not to hurt it. 然而, 如果你真的这样做, 请不要弄伤它。

　　Look at the squat², stumpy body of the animal, with its very short neck and three-cornered head. 你可以看到它矮胖、粗短的身体, 短短的脖子以及三角形的脑袋。

　　The frog is about two or three inches in length, and is mottled with brown and yellow on the back; but it is lighter³ in colour underneath⁴. 青蛙的体长大约在两到三英寸, 背部长满了棕黄色的斑点；但是它的腹部颜色却比较明亮。

　　The skin has no fur or hair, but it is covered with a slimy fluid. 青蛙的皮肤上没有任何毛发, 但是却覆盖着一层黏滑的液体。

　　The two hind⁵ legs are long and Strong. Each of the hind feet has five toes, which are joined by a web. 青蛙的两条后腿又长又壮, 每只后脚都有五根脚趾, 通过蹼连接在一起。

　　The two front legs are much shorter and weaker. 两条前腿较短, 也远没有那么粗壮。

　　The front feet have only four toes each, and they are not webbed. 前脚只有四根脚趾而且没有蹼。

　　The limbs of the frog remind us of those of the rabbit; 青蛙的四肢与兔子颇为相似,

　　for with both these animals it is the hind legs which do most of the work in helping⁶ them to move about.  因为这两种动物都主要依靠后腿进行运动。

　　The frog has no tail; and although it has a backbone⁷, it has no ribs⁸. 青蛙没有尾巴；虽然长有脊柱但是却没有肋骨。

　　Its two eyes are large, and stand far out from its head. 青蛙的两只眼睛很大而且突出在脑袋之外。

　　Each eye has two eyelids¹⁰, the under eyelid⁹ being made of thin and clear skin. 每只眼睛都长有两层眼皮, 下面那层眼皮由轻薄的透明皮肤构成。

　　The frog has a large mouth; but as it does not chew its food, it has only a few tiny teeth in its upper jaw¹¹. 青蛙的嘴巴很大；但是, 它很少会咀嚼食物, 因此只有在上腭处长有几颗小牙齿。

1 tadpole   

n.[动]蝌蚪

参考例句：

• As a tadpole changes into a frog,its tail is gradually absorbed.蝌蚪变成蛙，它的尾巴就逐渐被吸收掉。
• It was a tadpole.Now it is a frog.它过去是蝌蚪，现在是一只青蛙。

2 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

3 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

4 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

5 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

8 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

9 eyelid   

n.眼睑，眼皮

参考例句：

• She lifted one eyelid to see what he was doing.她抬起一只眼皮看看他在做什么。
• My eyelid has been tumid since yesterday.从昨天起，我的眼皮就肿了。

10 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。