第62课 吃苦耐劳的驴子

　　Have you ever heard a donkey bray? What a noise he makes! Even if you have not heard one, I am sure that you have all seen a donkey, and perhaps some of you have ridden one at the seaside on a holiday. The animal which we call the ass or donkey looks somewhat like the horse, but it is much smaller. It is covered with grey hair, and you may notice a long dark stripe running along the spine or back-bone, and a shorter stripe across the shoulders.

　　你有没有听到过驴叫？那种声音可真不是一般的洪亮啊！即便你没有听到过驴叫，那么我肯定，你绝对看到过这种动物，有些人可能在海边度假的时候还骑过毛驴呢。这种被称作驴子的动物样子与马有几分相似，但是体型较小。它身披灰毛，你可能还会注意到，它的脊椎或脊梁处有一条深色的条纹，另外还有一条较短的条纹贯穿双肩。

　　The donkey has long ears, which it lays backwards when it is angry. Its tail is somewhat like that of the cow; it is covered with short hairs, and has a tuft of long hairs at the end. The donkey finds its tail very useful for driving away the flies.

　　驴子的耳朵很长，当它生气的时候耳朵便会向后伸展。它的尾巴跟牛尾很像，上面长满了短毛，而尾部则是一簇长毛。当驴子想要驱赶蚊蝇的时候，它们的尾巴就能够派上大用场。

　　Along the top of its neck it has a short mane. The mane stands upright, and does not fall down over its neck like that of the horse. The donkey has two large, bright eyes, and two nostrils placed just above the mouth.

　　驴子的颈部顶端长有粗短的鬃毛。与马不同，驴子的鬃毛是直立的，不会垂下遮挡住颈部。驴子的双眼又大又亮，两个鼻孔位于嘴巴正上方。

　　If we look inside the donkey's mouth, we shall find that the teeth are very much like those of the horse. In the front of the mouth there are six chisel-shaped teeth in each jaw, with which the donkey bites or cuts off its food; and at the back of the mouth there are six flat-topped teeth in each jaw at each side, with which it grinds its food to small pieces before swallowing it. The donkey lives on vegetable foodonly, and it eats grass, hay, oats, and even thistles.

　　我们观察驴子嘴巴的内部结构，就会发现，它们的牙齿与马的牙齿非常相似。驴子嘴巴前部的上下腭都长有六颗凿子状牙齿，通过这些牙齿，它们就能够撕咬与切断食物；再来看驴子嘴巴的后部，那里的上下腭每一侧则分布着六颗平顶的牙齿，它们正是利用这些牙齿对食物进行碾磨，然后再吞入胃中。驴子是纯粹的草食动物，它们吃的是青草、干草、燕麦，甚至蓟种植物。