Birds

威廉·亨利·哈德遜 / William Henry Hudson

For some time past I had been ascending a low， broad， f？lattopped hill， and on forcing my way through the undergrowth into the open I found myself on the level plateau， an unenclosed spot overgrown with heather and scattered furze bushes， with clumps of f？ir and birch trees. Before me and on either hand at this elevation a vast extent of country was disclosed. The surface was everywhere broken， but there was no break in the wonderful greenness， which the recent rain had intensif？ied. There is too much green， to my thinking， with too much uniformity in its soft， bright tone， in South Devon. After gazing on such a landscape the brown， harsh， scanty vegetation of the hill-top seemed all the more grateful. The heath was an oasis and a refuge； I rambled about in it until my feet and legs were wet； then I sat down to let them dry and altogether spent several agreeable hours at that spot， pleased at the thought that no human fellow-creature would intrude upon me. Feathered companions were， however， not wanting. The crowing of cock pheasants from the thicket beside the old road warned me that I was on preserved grounds. Not too strictly preserved， however， for there was my old friend the carrion-crow out foraging for his young. He dropped down over the trees， swept past me， and was gone. At this season， in the early summer， he may be easily distinguished， when f？lying， from his relation the rock. When on the prowl the crow glides smoothly and rapidly through the air， often changing his direction， now f？lying close to the surface， anon mounting high， but oftenest keeping nearly on a level with the tree tops. His gliding and curving motions are somewhat like those of the herring-gull， but the wings in gliding are carried stiff and straight， the tips of the long f？light-feathers showing a slight upward curve. But the greatest difference is in the way the head is carried. The rook， like the heron and stork， carries his beak pointing lancelike straight before him. He knows his destination， and makes for it； he follows his nose， so to speak， turning neither to the right nor the left. The foraging crow continually turns his head， gulllike and harrielike， from side to side， as if to search the ground thoroughly or to concentrate his vision on some vaguely seen object.

Not only the crow was there： a magpie chattered as I came from the brake， but refused to show himself； and a little later a jay screamed at me， as only a jay can. There are times when I am intensely in sympathy with the feeling expressed in this earsplitting warning and execration， the startled solitary’s outburst of uncontrolled rage at the abhorred sight of a fellow-being in his woodland haunt.

Small birds were numerous at that spot， as if for them also its wildness and infertility had an attraction. Tits， warblers， pipits， f？inches， all were busy ranging from place to place， emitting their various notes now from the tree tops， then from near the ground； now close at hand， then far off； each change in the height， distance， and position of the singer giving the sound a different character， so that the effect produced was one of inf？inite variety. Only the yellow-hammer remained constant in one spot， in one position， and the song at each repetition was the same. Nevertheless this bird is not so monotonous a singer as he is reputed…

有很長的一段時間，我總是在攀登一座低矮寬闊的平頂小山。當我從灌木叢中脫身而出，又出現在一片空地時，我已身在一片平坦的高地，周圍非常空曠，到處是石楠與荊棘叢生的地方，這中間偶爾也有幾處稠密的冷杉與樺木之類的植物。在我面前以及高地的兩側，一眼望去，都是廣袤的原野；地面上的景物有時會中斷，但這蔚為壯觀的青蔥翠綠卻是連綿不斷的，這可能跟最近降雨量的充沛有關。在我看來，南德文郡的綠色實在是太多了，但是它色調的柔和與亮度卻過于單一。在領略這番景色之后，山頂上那些棕褐刺目的稀疏草木反而使人心情爽朗。這片石楠叢生之地宛如一片綠洲與避難所，我在這里漫游了很久，直到腿腳淋濕；然后我又坐下把它們晾干，就這樣在那里度過了幾個小時的愉快時光。讓我高興的是這里沒有我們的同類前來打擾，然而，鳥類朋友卻有很多。在小道附近的叢林中間，雄雉的啼叫聲警告我，我已經進入了禁獵區。

不過，禁獵并不嚴格，因為我所熟識的食腐肉的烏鴉正在那里為它的幼雛覓食。它低飛著穿過樹梢間，從我身邊掠過，隨即逝去。在當下的季節，即早夏時期，當它飛起來的時候，人們是很容易將它與它的近親白嘴鴨區分開來。在覓食的時候，這種烏鴉在空中平穩而迅速地滑翔著，經常會改變方向，一會兒貼近地面，一會兒又飛得很高，但它一般會保持著大概與樹梢平齊的高度。它滑翔與轉彎的動作看起來跟鯡魚鷗相似，但在滑動的時候，它的翅膀會挺得直直的，那修長的尖端呈現出一種微翹曲線。但它們之間最主要的區別還是飛行時頭部的姿勢不同。白嘴鴨像蒼鷺與鶴那樣，總是把利喙像長矛那樣直挺挺地伸在前面。它飛翔的時候方向明確，毫不猶豫，簡直可說是跟著自己的鼻子尖在跑，絕不左顧右盼。而那尋覓肉食的烏鴉卻不停地轉動著頭部，就像海鷗與獵狗那樣，一會兒看這邊，一會兒又看那邊，仿佛正在徹底地搜查地面，或是睜大了眼睛盯著什么模糊的東西。

這個地方不僅有烏鴉，當我從草叢中走出來時，一只喜鵲正在鳴叫，只是不肯露面；過了一會兒，一只橙鳥也向我發出獨特的鳴叫。對于這受驚的鳥兒在看到生人侵入其林中凈地時胸中突然盟生的盛怒，它們叫聲中的警告和咒罵，我有時也深有同感。

這個地方有很多小鳥，好像這里的荒蕪貧瘠對它們也有吸引力。各種山雀、鳴禽、云雀以及其他鳥類都正在到處忙著尋找棲息的地方，它們唱著各種各樣的歌，時而來自樹頂，時而來自地面，時而逼近，時而遠離；而隨著歌唱者的或遠或近，或上或下，也給這些歌聲本身帶來不同的特點，這樣所產生的效果自然就是有千萬種聲調，非常豐富。唯有峋鴨始終停留在一個地方或保持一種姿勢不變，也總是重復著一個調子。盡管如此，這種鳥的鳴叫也并沒有像人們所說的那樣單調……

記憶填空

1. The was everywhere broken， there was no break in the wonderful greenness， which the recent had intensif？ied. There is too much green， to my thinking， with too much uniformity its soft， bright tone， in South Devon.

2. There are when I am intensely in sympathy with the expressed in this earsplitting warning and execration， the startled solitary’s outburst uncontrolled rage at the abhorred of a fellow-being in his woodland haunt.

佳句翻譯

1. 有很長的一段時間，我總是在攀登一座低矮寬闊的平頂小山。

2. 讓我高興的是這里沒有我們的同類前來打擾，然而，鳥類朋友卻有很多。

3. 這個地方有很多小鳥，好像這里的荒蕪貧瘠對它們也有吸引力。

短語應用

1. After gazing on such a landscape the brown， harsh， scanty vegetation of the hill-top seemed all the more grateful.

gaze on：看見，凝視

2. Not only the crow was there： a magpie chattered as I came from the brake， but refused to show himself； and a little later a jay screamed at me， as only a jay can.

not only：不但，不僅