【英语时差8,16】寒冷的脚和温暖的翅膀（上）

Most birds you see standing¹ on only one leg are doing an impressive balancing act while tucking² the second leg into their feathers. This is much easier to recognize in large birds, such as flamingos³, but the behavior itself is common to most birds. So, the real question is: why do they do that? The answer is that birds use their feet for temperature regulation. In most birds the legs and feet are unfeathered, and thus lose heat very quickly — the same way your exposed hands get cold in winter faster than your clothing-covered torso. That makes the bare feet great conductors: when the bird’s overall body temperature is too high, it can cool off by standing on both legs and letting the wind carry away heat. When the temperature drops too low, it can pull one leg up and lose less heat.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 tucking   

手压实（砂型）

参考例句：

• He crouched, tucking his knees under his chin. 他蜷曲着，把两个膝盖缩拢在颚下。
• I can assure you that we have every chance of tucking his ass into jail. 我敢向你担保，我们完全有把握将这头蠢驴塞进监狱。

3 flamingos   

n.红鹳，火烈鸟（羽毛粉红、长颈的大涉禽）( flamingo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Flamingos stand in a salt lake in Larnaca, Cyprus. 塞浦路斯的拉纳卡市一个盐湖中的火烈鸟。 来自互联网
• The research started researchers studied greater flamingos and in a bird sanctuary in southern Spain. 研究人员在西班牙南部的一个鸟类保护区对大型火烈鸟进行研究。 来自互联网