英语博客：Chirping Chicks.
时间：2019-01-01 作者：英语课 分类：英语博客 A cup of English
Oh, I haven't been getting much sleep recently. It seems as though* the whole world is noisy. It's summer, and every living thing is feeling fully 1 alive, and therefore, making lots of noise. I often have to put our two dogs in the garage in the early hours of the morning because they have a barking fit* at who knows what*. There are racoon families in our neighborhood. At night they scurry 2* around, looking for food in the garbage cans. They need to feed their babies, so they are busy. And, of course, when the dogs pick up their scent 3 in the air, it's barking time. Also, the birds are busy feeding their chicks. We have a bird house next to our deck, in our back yard, with three chicks in it. Very early in the morning you'll hear the chirp 4, chirp, peep, peep. It's adorable, even if it is at five in the morning. My children have asked me if we can feed them, but of course I told them "no", because who knows what they would give them to eat when I'm not looking..... I would probably find remnants of Oreo cookies in the nest, and some very sick birds. A couple of other birds have nested in our garden recently which I call my angels. They are wood pigeons; over here they call them doves. They make a very soothing 5 ooo-ooo-ooo sound. When I was growing up in the English countryside, that's a sound that I heard all the time. It takes me back to my childhood, and makes me feel very comfortable. I decided 6 to take a photo of the nearest nest the other day. It's higher up than my head, so I can't see into it without standing 7 on something. So, I took the chance of just lifting the camera over my head, clicking, and hoping to get a good shot. It worked. I had obviously made enough noise to disturb the chicks, and, not being able to see whether I was their parent or not, they leaned towards the opening of the birdhouse, and opened their mouths. It's amazing to think that in a few short weeks, these totally vulnerable babies will be flying around, catching 8 insects. There will be a lot less chirping 9, and a lot more flying.
Grammar notes.
Expressions: it seems as though, who knows what, to scurry.
1. It seems as though everyone is wearing skinny jeans these days. What ever happened to baggy 10 trousers?
2. The attic 11 was full of junk: broken furniture, moth-eaten clothes, broken cups and plates, and who knows what else.
3. Mice are rodents 12. They run with fast bursts of energy which we call scurrying 13.
- The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
- They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
- I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
- There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。
- The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
- The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
- The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
- The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。
- 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。
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
- 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。
- There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
- Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
- The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。
- The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。
- My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
- Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。
- Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
- What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？
- Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句