AS IT IS 2016-04-27 Baby Eagles in Washington, DC Get Their Names

AS IT IS 2016-04-27 Baby Eagles in Washington, DC Get Their Names

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Freedom and Liberty are not just important ideas in the United States. They are the names of two baby bald eagles in Washington, D.C.

The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States. The birds are not actually bald, as the name suggests. They have white feathers covering their head.

The D.C. Eagle Cam launched in February. Since then, people from 100 countries have watched the website’s live stream of the birds over 35-million times.

The names, Freedom and Liberty, were chosen after 30,000 suggestions were posted on social media.

One person said he voted for the names Stars and Stripes.

Bald Eagle Cam viewers have seen the babies break open their eggs and grow under the care and supervision¹ of their parents. The adults are named Mr. President and The First Lady.

The baby eagles are about six weeks old. They were named at a ceremony earlier this week in the U.S. National Arboretum².

The babies are expected to leave their home, high on a Tulip Poplar tree, sometime in June, when they will be about 12 weeks old.

The American Eagle Foundation helped to set up the webcam last winter. Students from two universities set up the cameras and connected electrical cables to batteries that are powered by the sun’s energy.

The president of the foundation says he hopes the eaglets will grow up, find a partner and return to set up their own nest. He hopes they will raise their babies in Washington, D.C.

On social media, people have been posting comments about the baby birds since they were born.

One person said her father watches the eaglets every day.

Another said, “So awesome⁴ to watch them close-up and live!”

Many people said they were “obsessed” with watching the baby eagles.

Words in This Story

awesome – adj. causing feelings of fear and wonder : causing feelings of awe³

obsess– v. to be the only person or thing that someone thinks or talks about

arboretum – n. a place where trees and plants are grown in order to be studied or seen by the public

bald – adj. having no hair or very little hair on the head

1 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

2 arboretum   

n.植物园

参考例句：

• We can go to the arboretum in the southern suburb.我们可以去南郊的植物园。
• The arboretum is full of exotic flowers and rare herbs.植物园里长满了各种奇花异草。

3 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

4 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.