新西兰英语 454 Penguin swims to New Zealand

 　　An Emperor Penguin¹ managed to swim 4,000 km from Antarctica to New Zealand. A woman found the penguin on Peka Peka Beach about 40 km north of Wellington last Monday. The last time an Emperor Penguin was found in New Zealand was in 1967 on a beach in Southland so this is very unusual. Many people have been watching the penguin on the beach but they were careful not to go too close.

　　Emperor Penguins² live in Antarctica on the ice in temperatures as cold as -60 degrees Celsius³. The temperature on Peka Peka Beach this week has been around 10 degrees. Emperor penguins eat snow if they get too warm or if they are stressed. This penguin started eating sand and bits of wood from the beach, perhaps thinking this was snow. By Friday, it started to look sick so it was taken to Wellington zoo, in a box of ice.

　　At the zoo, a vet⁴ x-rayed the penguin and found about 3kg of sand in its stomach. She washed out the penguin’s stomach but did not manage to get rid of all the sand. She said she will let the penguin rest and try again on Monday. It is very sick and may not survive.

　　The vet thinks this penguin is a young male, probably 10 months old because chicks are usually hatched⁶ in August or September. The young penguins leave the ice when they are a few months old and stay in the sea for four years before returning.

　　Emperor Penguins are the largest penguins and they live only in Antarctica. They can grow to 1.2m high and weigh about 40kg. This one weighs 27kg.

　　Vocabulary

　　vet is short for a veterinarian, an animal doctor.

　　x-rayed is used as a verb here. The noun is x-ray. In English, nouns are often used as verbs.

　　get rid of – take it all away. To get rid of rubbish is to throw it away (in the bin)

　　survive – manage to stay alive

　　hatch⁵ – chick comes out of the egg

　　Grammar

　　let the penguin rest – let + noun + verb e.g. let someone drive; make can be used the same way e.g. make someone drive

　　Simple present tense is used for facts, things that are true, e.g. eat snow, leave the ice, are the largest etc.

　　Questions

　　Why were people careful not to get too close to the penguin?

　　Do you think the penguin will swim away when it is well again?

1 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

2 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

4 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

5 hatch   

n.孵化，舱口；vt.孵，孵出，策划；vi. 孵化

参考例句：

• No one knows how the new plan will hatch out.谁也不知道这新方案将怎样制订出来。
• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。

6 hatched   

孵化( hatch的过去式和过去分词 )； 孵出，破壳而出； 秘密策划，（尤指）密谋； 使（小鸟、小鱼、小虫等）孵出

参考例句：

• Silkworms are fed mulberry leaves after they have hatched. 蚕孵出后食桑叶。
• Ten out of the set of twelve were hatched. 一窝十二个蛋孵出了十个。