英语访谈对话 286 The Kiwi

 　　Todd: OK, Leonard, now, when most people think of Kiwi, at least Americans, we think of the fruit.

　　Leo: Right, right. Also in Japan as well.

　　Todd: Oh, really! OK. But, uh, people from New Zealand are called Kiwis not because of the fruit I take it.

　　Leo: That's right. That's right. The nickname¹ for New Zealanders is Kiwi, and actually the Kiwi bird... Kiwi is actually a Maori name, and Maori are the native people of New Zealand.

　　Todd: Oh, wow!

　　Leo: And so Kiwi, the pronunciation of Kiwi K-I-W-I KEE-WEE, Maori has similar pronunciation to the Japanese language, ah, ee, uu, eh, oh. They pronounce the vowels².

　　Todd: OK. I'm..what is Kiwi?

　　Leo: A kiwi is a nocturnal bird, which only walks, it doesn't fly.

　　Todd: OK. So nocturnal means it only comes out at night.

　　Leo: Right. Right. And in the deep forest. Actually, you'd never see a Kiwi if you went to New Zealand, unless you went to the zoo.

　　Todd: Oh, really!

　　Leo: Right!

　　Todd: OK.

　　Leo: And the brown Kiwi is the most, uh, rarest of them all. They're only I think, there are less than one thousand brown kiwis left.

　　Todd: Wow. So..

　　Leo: It can only be found in New Zealand.

　　Todd: Ok. OK. maybe I missed it but can it fly.

　　Leo: No, no it can't.

　　Todd: It can't fly.

　　Leo: It can only walk.

　　Todd: Wow, so it only comes out at night...in the deep forest and it can't fly.

　　Leo: You'd be surprised. If you go to New Zealand, uh, there are over twenty different types of birds that walk.

　　Todd: Really! That's fascinating. Well, thanks for telling us about the Kiwi.

　　Leo: You're welcome.

1 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

2 vowels   

n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册