The Tortoise and the Eagle

    “If only I could fly，”sighed a tortoise one day，looking up at thebirds whirling and gliding¹ far above him．“what a different person I would be．It's just a question of getting off the ground．If I could get high enough in the air I could soar as well as any bird．”
    He began to practise little leaps，waving his forepaws in the air and stretching his neck as far as it would go．He even jumped off a couple of small rocks to try his skill，but each time he landed rather heavily on his stomach．“If only I could get right up there where the wind would catch me．”he grumbled²．One day when he was watching the birds as usual，a great eagle landed on a low branch beside him and began to preen³ his feathers．The tortoise regarded him enviously⁴．Then he had an idea．“Will you teach me to fly，Mr．eagle？”
    “Teach you to fly？But that's impossible．”laughed the eagle．“You have no wings for taking off．You'd better stay on the ground，my tortoise，where you belong！”
    The tortoise did not give up．He pleaded and begged；offering the eagle all kinds of rewards until at last the eagle agreed reluctantly to help him．“All you have to do is take me up into the air．Then I'll be carried along by the wind just as you are．”said the tortoise confidently as the eagle grasped him in his talons⁵．Higher and higher the eagle rose until the trees and houses were like match stick toys below them．“Now！”cried the tortoise excitedly．“Let me go and tell me what to do with my legs…”
    The eagle opened his claws but before he had time to give a word of advice the tortoise had fallen straight down to the hard，rocky ground far below！
    Don't try to be something you are not．Exercises：
    判断对（T）、错（F）：
    ①The tortoise wanted to fly up into the air just like any bird．②In the end，the tortoise died．③The eagle agreed to help him without any condition

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 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

3 preen   

v.（人）打扮修饰

参考例句：

• 50% of men under 35 spend at least 20 minutes preening themselves every morning in the bathroom.50%的35岁以下男性每天早上至少花20分钟在盥洗室精心打扮。
• Bill preened his beard.比尔精心修剪了他的胡须。

4 enviously   

adv.满怀嫉妒地

参考例句：

• Yet again, they were looking for their way home blindly, enviously. 然而，它们又一次盲目地、忌妒地寻找着归途。 来自辞典例句
• Tanya thought enviously, he must go a long way south. 坦妮亚歆羡不置，心里在想，他准是去那遥远的南方的。 来自辞典例句

5 talons   

n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部

参考例句：

• The fingers were curved like talons, but they closed on empty air. 他的指头弯得像鹰爪一样，可是抓了个空。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• The tiger has a pair of talons. 老虎有一对利爪。 来自辞典例句