译林版牛津高中英语(必修3):Unit 1 The world of our senses-Project(3)（在线收听）

The wonderful world of pigeons

鸽子的精彩世界

It is night. All is quiet. The soldiers are asleep while a guard watches for the enemy.

现在是晚上。安静无比。士兵们都入睡了，只有一个警卫监视着敌情。

There is a flash, and the sound of guns!

出现一道光，还有枪响声。

They are being attacked! Hundreds of enemy soldiers rush towards them.

他们被突袭了！数百的敌军向他们冲来！

They are all going to be killed unless they get help. What should they do?

除非能得到帮助，否则他们都将被杀死。他们该怎么办？

An officer writes a short message quickly on a small piece of paper: 'Being attacked! Hurry!'

一位军官快速地在一张小纸片上写下一条简短的讯息：“遭遇袭击！火速支援！”

He rolls up the paper and puts it into a small case, and then reaches into a cage and gets a bird.

他把纸片卷起来，放进一个小盒子里，然后伸手探入一个笼子捉出一只鸟来，

Attaching the message to its leg, he sets the bird loose.

把讯息条绑在它的腿上后，他放飞了这只鸟。

It immediately flies into the air and disappears in the dark.

它立即飞入空中，消失在夜色里。

Will the bird arrive in time? Will they be saved?

这只鸟能够准时到达吗？他们能够得救吗？

Though it may seem hard to believe, the bird the officer uses is the same bird often seen in public parks--the pigeon.

虽然这似乎难以置信，但那位军官所用的鸟儿和我们常在公园里看到一种鸟是同样的--鸽子。

Pigeons have a wonderful sense of direction and can find their way home over long distances.

鸽子具有很强的方向感，能够从很远的距离找到回家的路。

Indeed, pigeons have been known to fly home from as far away as 1,800 kilometres.

事实上，人们都知道，鸽子曾经从1800公里远的地方飞回家。

That is why pigeons have been used since ancient times to carry the news or even the mail.

那就是为什么鸽子从古代起就被用来传送消息、甚至是邮件的原因了。