英国语文第四册 第5期:热带地区的景象(5)

The birds are perched around them, suspecting no danger;

这些鸟栖息在他们周围，猜想着没有危险，

but arrow after arrow comes out of this leafy bower¹,

但是箭不断地从这些用树叶遮盖的凉棚射过来，

and strikes down first one, and then another,

打下了第一只鸟，然后又一只，

till the natives think that they have enough.

直到当地人觉得射够了。

They cut off the legs, and stuff the bodies with spices,

他们切下鸟腿，用香料填满鸟的身体，

and make a famous trade of selling them to Europeans.

再把它们卖给欧洲人，算做了一笔好生意。

The natives used to pretend that this bird had neither legs nor stomach!

当地人过去常常假装这种鸟没有腿，也没有胃，

Thus it was believed for a long time that it fed on the dew, and never alighted on the ground.

因此好长一段时间，人们都被认为它以露水为生，从来不会降落到地面上，

This is why it has been called the "Bird of Paradise."

这是为什么它一直被称为天堂鸟的原因。

1 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。