Colorful Mandarin Duck Excites New Yorkers

 

It is not easy to excite New Yorkers. This is one reason why actors and other famous people move to the city. They can live quieter lives and escape the paparazzi photographers who would follow them in Hollywood.

But New York has a new media star. And this star is not living so quietly.

The star is a colorful Mandarin¹ duck. The bird first appeared this month in a small body of water in Manhattan’s Central Park.

Large crowds have gathered to see the duck. Reporters have been following its every move. The media attention on the duck has earned the name “quackarazzi” – a word combination² of paparazzi and the sound a duck makes!

The duck has chosen to live in a costly³ part of New York -- just off Fifth Avenue, near the historic⁴ Plaza⁵ Hotel. There, hundreds of people turn up every day, hoping to see the bird show off its extremely colorful feathers.

Many people like the duck because its colors are like “sunsets,” says New Yorker Joe Amato. He comes to the park nearly every day with his camera equipment.

Bird lovers⁶ have been keeping record of the bird’s daily life through social media postings and videos. People have noted⁷ how effortlessly the duck moves through the water. Newspaper writers have reported on its clashes⁸ with the common New York ducks.

This week, New York’s newest celebrity⁹ seemed to enjoy its fame, showing off its wings while members of the “quackarazzi” pushed each other to get a closer look.

Leesa Beckmann traveled over two hours from her home in New Jersey¹⁰ to see the duck. She says her 90-year-old mother has been talking all about the duck since its first appearance.

“I’ve got to see this…duck,” Beckmann told her mother. She plans to take pictures and give them to her mother.

Bird expert Paul Sweet heads a large collection of bird species¹¹ at the New York-based American Museum of Natural History. He says there is nothing special about a Mandarin duck in Central Park. Central Park Zoo has its own Mandarin duck, he says. These ducks are often imported to the United States from Asia for use on private property.

Sometimes they escape, he said. Sweet said he believes this duck is an escapee. If it were wild, he added, traditional bird watchers -- often called birders -- would be “very excited.” And they are not.

“A lot of non-birders tend to see (colorful) birds as more beautiful,” Sweet said. “But to me, it’s no more beautiful than, say, a sparrow.”

In this case, though, common New Yorkers get to decide what is beautiful. And they have clearly chosen this Mandarin duck.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

paparazzi – n. photographers who follows famous people in order to take their pictures and then sells the pictures to newspapers or magazines

feather – n. the light growths that make up the outer covering of the body of a bird

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

sparrow – n. a common type of small bird that usually has brown or gray feathers

1 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

2 combination   

n.组合，合并，联合；

参考例句：

• He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
• The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

5 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

6 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 clashes   

冲突( clash的名词复数 )； 不协调； （两群人之间的）打斗

参考例句：

• Clashes broke out between police and demonstrators. 警方与示威者发生了冲突。
• Several policemen were injured in the clashes. 几名警察在冲突中受伤。

9 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。