万花筒 2009-07-19&07-20 背背山企鹅分手了

The San Francisco zoo has the largest collection of Magellanic penguins² this side of the Equator. More than 50 of them live here at the penguin¹ island. But the most famous were Harry³ and Pepper. The two male penguins were a couple for more than 6 years. The zoo even gave them an egg to take care of. That egg hatched and the two raised the chick like any opposite sex couple would. They would preen⁴ each other's feathers and lounge around in the burrow⁵ they shared, but all of that changed last breeding season. The relationship that the two had shared, it seemed, was over. It was clear that Harry and Pepper had broken up when Harry moved out of the burrow that he shared with Pepper, and moved in next door with Linda. Linda was together for years with her mate, Fig⁶, but Fig died, Linda was available and Harry switched sides. That’s Harry and Linda lounging together. Soon after Harry moved in, Linda laid two eggs, and the new power couple on Penguin Island were now a family. Pepper was alone and dealing⁷ with his bachelor existence, but, was it really over between him and Harry? Was Harry really with Linda now? One afternoon Pepper got his answer.

 

“Unfortunately, Pepper, he was probably just kinda of exploring burrows⁸ and checking out where his ex-mate had been, but we were seeing some aggression⁹ from the pair towards him.”

 

Pepper got the message and now it seems that Harry and Linda are happy together, eating fish and laying on the rocks at Penguin Island. Meanwhile Pepper still lives next-door, and it seems to be adjusting fine. These days Pepper is just playing the field and swimming around.

 

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 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 preen   

v.（人）打扮修饰

参考例句：

• 50% of men under 35 spend at least 20 minutes preening themselves every morning in the bathroom.50%的35岁以下男性每天早上至少花20分钟在盥洗室精心打扮。
• Bill preened his beard.比尔精心修剪了他的胡须。

5 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

6 fig   

n.无花果(树)

参考例句：

• The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果，又挑了一个。
• You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 burrows   

n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
• A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句

9 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。