英语博客(A cup of English):British Birds

The other day I was cleaning inside a free-standing storage cabinet that we have in the dining room, when I came across a tray that I bought a few years ago in Scotland. It is medium sized, made of a light metal, and has a beautiful picture of British birds. Since I bought the tray I have barely used it. It's perfect for tea for two, or a full meal for one. The picture reminded me of the place I bought it. It was in the gift shop of an owl¹ sanctuary² near the Mull of Kintyre. Do you remember the song by the same name, sung by Paul McCartney and Wings? Well, I won't sing it for you; I would like you to continue listening to my podcasts. But what I will tell you are the names of the most common birds that we speak about in English. The ones that I am most familiar with from the British Isles³ are: the robbin, the dove, the finch⁴, the kingfisher, the bluetit, the crow, the owl, and the hawk⁵. The dove, the crow, the owl, and the hawk I have found in any country that I have visited. The others, though they may be found in other countries, have a certain character and reputation in Britain. The robbin is absolutely tiny, unlike in the U.S. It is also ready for a good fight to defend its territory. The finch and the bluetit are common, colorful (colourful), small and plump, and can be found in lots of traditional stories. Because of its mild climate and geographical⁶ position, Britain has a huge number of migrating birds each year, and ornithology⁷ and pictures of birds are very popular.

Grammar notes.

 Related vocabulary: robbin, dove, owl, hawk, kingfisher.

1. The tiny little, red chested robbins would visit our garden each Christmas.

2. I love the soothing⁸ sound that the doves make.

3. There is an owl in the neighborhood that catches mice at night, and makes a loud hooting⁹ noise.

4. Hawks¹⁰ hover¹¹ high above their prey¹² before they dive down and attack.

5. The kingfisher is such an unusual and skilled bird.

 

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

3 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

4 finch   

n.雀科鸣禽(如燕雀，金丝雀等)

参考例句：

• This behaviour is commonly observed among several species of finch.这种行为常常可以在几种雀科鸣禽中看到。
• In Australia,it is predominantly called the Gouldian Finch.在澳大利亚，它主要还是被称之为胡锦雀。

5 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

6 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

7 ornithology   

n.鸟类学

参考例句：

• He found his vocation in ornithology.他发现自己适于专攻鸟类学。
• His main interests are botany and ornithology.他主要对植物学和鸟类学感兴趣。

8 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

9 hooting   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩

参考例句：

• He had the audience hooting with laughter . 他令观众哄堂大笑。
• The owl was hooting. 猫头鹰在叫。

10 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

11 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

12 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。