实战口语情景对话 第1354期:Birds Don't Fly 不会飞的鸟(1)

Todd: So Rachel, you said that in your home country, New Zealand, there're lots of birds that don't fly?
托德：蕾切尔，你之前说过，你的祖国新西兰有很多不会飞的鸟。

Rachel: Yes, there are a lot of birds that don't fly.
蕾切尔：对，有很多鸟不会飞。

Todd: Wow, so I only knew of the kiwi and of course the penguin, but I didn't know of other ones. So first the kiwi. It doesn't fly, right?
托德：哇哦，我只知道几维鸟和企鹅不会飞，不知道其他不会飞的鸟类。首先来说几维鸟。这种鸟不会飞，对吧？

Rachel: That's the famous one.
蕾切尔：几维鸟因不会飞而闻名。

Todd: Right.
托德：对。

Rachel: They don't fly but they can run very fast. I've seen them.
蕾切尔：它们不会飞，不过它们跑得非常快。我看到过。

Todd: Like and are the kiwi all over? Like are there different types of kiwi?
托德：到处都能看到几维鸟吗？几维鸟是否有不同种类？

Rachel: Yeah, there are several different varieties. They're very rare though, and they're nocturnal.
蕾切尔：对，有很多种不同的几维鸟。不过几维鸟非常稀有，而且它们是夜行动物。

Todd: Oh, nocturnal.
托德：哦，夜行动物。

Rachel: I'd say most New Zealanders have never seen one in the wild. I've only seen them in Kiwi parks.
蕾切尔：我认为大多数新西兰人从来没在野生环境中看到过几维鸟。我只在新西兰公园中看到过几维鸟。

Todd: Oh, really.
托德：哦，真的吗？

Rachel: Yeah, you don't see them.
蕾切尔：对，一般看不到它们。

Todd: So, I thought they'd be like kangaroos in Australia, or something like you go and there's one.
托德：我本来以为几维鸟和澳大利亚的袋鼠一样，随处可见。

Rachel: No, they're very precious and very rare. One that you see more often is the pukeko which is ... it looks a little bit like a stork I suppose except it's dark blue.
蕾切尔：不是，几维鸟非常珍贵，而且很稀有。新西兰比较常见的动物是紫水鸡，看起来有点像鹳，不过紫水鸡是深蓝色的。

Todd: What's it called?
托德：那种动物叫什么？

Rachel: Pukeko.
蕾切尔：紫水鸡。

Todd: Pukeko.
托德：紫水鸡。

Rachel: Ah, yeah, and they're a lot more commom. And takahe is another one.
蕾切尔：对，它们更常见。还有短翅水鸡也很常见。

Todd: So the first one ...
托德：第一个……

Rachel: You can see them along the side of the road. When you're driving through the countryside they're much more common.
蕾切尔：你可以在路边看到它们。开车经过乡村时经常能看到。

Todd: So this pukeko, does it fly?
托德：紫水鸡会飞吗？

Rachel: No, they don't fly.
蕾切尔：不会，它们不会飞。

Todd: Really, and it's like a stork. It has long legs?
托德：真的吗？紫水鸡和鹳很像。也有长长的腿吗？

Rachel: It has quite long legs. Yeah, it a very cute little bird, but it's very dark.
蕾切尔：它们的腿的确很长。紫水鸡是一种非常可爱的小鸟，不过羽毛的颜色很深。

Todd: How tall is it? Like up to your knee? Up to your hip?
托德：这种鸟体长多少？到你膝盖吗？还是能到你的臀部？

Rachel: Up to your knees.
蕾切尔：到膝盖。

Todd: Really.
托德：是吗？

Rachel: Cute little bird.
蕾切尔：可爱的小鸟。

Todd: That's awesome. So what was the other one you mentioned?
托德：真不错。你刚提到的另一种鸟是什么来着？

Rachel: Takahe. It's very similar looking to that one. It's a little different. It's difficult to tell apart.
蕾切尔：短翅水鸡。这种鸟和紫水鸡非常像。只有一点儿不同，很难区分。

Todd: Really, and it's also kind of dark blueish.
托德：是吗？短翅水鸡也是深蓝色。

Rachel: Yeah, another one's a kakapo. A very famous one. It's New Zealand's flightless green parrot. It's kind of like a large fat parrot that lives on the ground.
蕾切尔：对，另一种鸟名为鸮鹦鹉，非常有名。这是新西兰不会飞的绿色鹦鹉。这种鹦鹉体型庞大且肥胖，生活在地上。

Todd: Really.
托德：真的吗？

Rachel: It's extremely rare. I'm not sure what the numbers are now, but around twenty years ago I think there were only 45 left.
蕾切尔：这种鹦鹉极为稀有。我不确定现在现存多少只，不过大约20年前其数量仅剩下45只。

Todd: Oh, that is rare.
托德：哦，那很稀有。

Rachel: Extremely rare, so there's an intensive breeding program for them, and of course nobody's seen those in the wild.
蕾切尔：极为稀有，所以有关部门实施了鸮鹦鹉集中复育计划，当然没人在野外看到过鸮鹦鹉。

Todd: Yeah, you have to be careful or it'll go like the way of the Tasmanian tiger.
托德：一定要小心，不然就会像塔斯马尼亚虎一样灭绝。

Rachel: Yeah, they breed and they nest on the ground. They lay their eggs on the ground, so they're very vulnerable to introduced predators, to any animals.
蕾切尔：对，鸮鹦鹉在地上繁衍、建巢。它们在地上生蛋，所以极易受到外来捕食者和其他任何动物的袭击。