英国学生科学读本 第93期:蝌蚪与青蛙(3)

 　　The tongue of the frog is most useful to the creature in catching¹ the flies and other small insects on which it feeds. 青蛙的舌头非常有用, 就是依靠它来捕食苍蝇与其他小型昆虫。

　　It is joined to the lower jaw² in front, and not at the back as our tongues are. 舌头与下腭的前端相连, 而我们的舌头则是长在下腭的后端。

　　The tongue of the frog lies in the mouth pointing backwards³. 青蛙的舌头蜷缩在嘴巴里, 朝向后方。

　　At its tip there is a kind of sticky pad.  它的舌头顶端有一片沾满粘液的区域。

　　When the frog sees a fly which it wants to catch, it thrusts out its tongue till the sticky pad touches the insect, which is then drawn⁴ into the frog's mouth. 当青蛙看到一只想要捕捉的苍蝇时就会伸出舌头, 当那块粘液区域接触到猎物时后者便成为了青蛙口中的美食。

　　The red tongue is thrust out and pulled back so quickly that you can hardly see it move. 红色的舌头瞬间吐出并收回, 你几乎看不到它的移动情况。

　　Have you ever noticed that the frog is always swallowing something? 你有没有注意到这样一个现象：青蛙总是在吞食东西?

　　What he swallows is air; and this is the only way in which the air gets to his lungs. 它吞食的就是空气, 正是通过这样一种方法, 青蛙的肺部才能吸收到空气。

　　Frogs breathe very slowly, and do not take into their bodies so much air in proportion to their size as we do. 青蛙的呼吸非常缓慢, 由于体型相差甚多, 它所需要的空气远没有人类那么多。

　　For this reason the frog's blood is cold, while our blood is warm. 因此, 青蛙属于冷血动物, 而人类则是恒温动物。

　　Frogs do not eat plants, so they do no harm in a garden. 青蛙不以植物为食, 不会破坏我们的花园。

　　But they do a great deal of good in such a place; for they feed on insects and slugs, and other small animals which do eat plants. 实际上, 它们还是花园的卫士, 因为那些以植物为食的昆虫与鼻涕虫正是它们的猎物。

　　Frogs are most often seen in damp and wet weather, for then they come out of their hiding-places to enjoy the moisture. 青蛙最喜欢潮湿的天气, 那时, 它们都会从藏身之处跑出来。

　　They like water because it helps to keep their skin moist. 它们喜欢水, 因为这样可以保持皮肤湿润。

　　If their skin gets dry, they soon die. 如果皮肤变得干燥, 那么青蛙很快就会死亡。

　　Never hurt the poor frogs, for they do no harm but much good. 千万不要伤害可怜的青蛙, 因为它们对人类有百利而无一害。

　　When you hear them calling "Croak⁵, croak, " to each other in the ponds, do not throw stones at them. 当你听到它们在池塘中用“呱呱”的叫声与同伴交流时, 请不要往水中扔石头。

1 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

2 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。

3 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。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 croak   

vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚

参考例句：

• Everyone seemed rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.每个人似乎都有点不对劲，想发发牢骚。
• Frogs began to croak with the rainfall.蛙随着雨落开始哇哇叫。