第66课 鸡蛋与小鸡

　　All birds lay eggs. But just as birds differ very much in size, so do their eggs. The eggs of the little humming-bird are no bigger than peas, while each egg laid by the ostrich is as big as twenty-four hen's eggs.

　　所有的鸟类都会下蛋。不过, 鸟类的体型差异巨大, 所以它们的蛋同样大小不一。娇小的蜂鸟产下的蛋如同豌豆般大小, 而鸵鸟的蛋却足足有二十四个鸡蛋那么大。

　　In spring the wild birds of our woods and hedges build neat little nests of twigs and hay and straw, and line them with wool and feathers. Then they lay their eggs; sometimes only two or three, and sometimes twice as many, in each nest. These eggs are nearly always beautifully marked with various colours.

　　每逢春天来临之际, 树林与草丛中的野生鸟类都会用小树枝、干草与麦杆筑造精巧的小窝, 在其中铺垫上柔软的羊毛及羽毛。然后, 它们就在上面生蛋。有时候, 一个鸟巢中可能只有两三颗蛋, 而有时候蛋的数量则能够达到两倍之多。这些鸟蛋总是能够呈现出各种美丽的颜色。

　　We should hardly think it possible that any child would like to rob the birds of their pretty eggs, and yet many children are wicked enough to do so. The eggs are of no use to the children, and are soon broken and lost, while the birds miss them very much.

　　我们很难想象, 哪个孩子会从这些小鸟手中抢夺它们心爱的鸟蛋。然而, 的确还有很多淘气的孩子会这样做。这些鸟蛋对于他们来说毫无用处, 很快就会被打碎或者弄丢, 而鸟妈妈们则只能伤心不已。

　　But with our tame fowls it is quite different. We make nests for them, and feed and care for them, and they lay so many eggs that they do not show any signs of distress when we take them away. Wild birds lay only a few eggs during the spring, but hens lay eggs nearly all the year round.

　　然而, 对于那些我们驯养的家禽来说, 情况就不一样了。我们会给它们搭建巢穴、喂食并悉心照料。而它们则会生下很多的蛋, 当我们把这些蛋都取走时, 它们也不会有任何不安的迹象。野生鸟类只会在春季生下几颗蛋而已, 但家养的母鸡几乎一年到头都能够下蛋。

　　Let us look well at a hen's egg. Its colour is white, and its surface is full of very small holes or pores. These pores let in air for the chick inside to breathe.

　　让我们仔细观察一下鸡蛋。它白色的外壳上布满了很小的孔洞也叫气孔, 蛋壳里面的小鸡就通过这些气孔进行呼吸。

　　The egg is oval in shape, but it is more pointed at the one end than at the other. This shape prevents it from rolling out of the nest so easily as it would do if it were shaped like a ball. The oval shape also makes the egg very strong. A man may squeeze the ends of an egg as hard as he can between the fingers and thumb of one hand without breaking it; but it is easily broken by pressing on its side, or by a sudden tap.

　　鸡蛋呈椭圆形, 不过其中一端比另一端稍尖。如果是圆形的话, 鸡蛋就很容易滚到窝的外面, 但是这种椭圆形结构却能够有效避免此类情况。此外, 这样的结构还可以让鸡蛋更加结实。如果我们用一只手攥住鸡蛋的两端, 无论怎样用力, 都很难把它捏碎。然而, 如果按住鸡蛋一侧或者突然敲击, 就能够轻而易举地把它弄破