Owls Overhead
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Table of Contents Flying in the Moonlight.
内容列表 在月光中飞行.
4 Eyes for the Night.
四眼为夜.
5 Even Better Ears.
5个更好的耳朵。
8 Silent Hunters.
8"无声猎人".
10 Where Owls Live.
10猫头鹰生活的地方。
12 Owls Are Out There.
12个猫头鹰在那里。
15 Glossary.
15 词汇。
16 Flying in the Moonlight It’s a quiet, moonlit night, and you walk along a dirt path on the edge of town.
16 在月光下飞行 这是静静的月亮之夜,
Suddenly, a shadow crosses your path, but you hear no sound.
突然间,一个影子穿过了你的路, 但你没有听到声音。
You look up as a dark shape glides over you and disappears into the nearby trees.
你仰望着一个黑暗的形状 在你上空滑翔 消失在附近的树上
It’s an owl—one of more than two hundred different species of owls that live around the world.
它是一个猫头鹰,是全世界200多只猫头鹰中的一个。
They come in many sizes and live on every continent except Antarctica.
除了南极洲以外,它们有多种规模,生活在每一个大陆上。
Eyes for the Night Many of the adaptations that help owls survive also make them seem mysterious.
帮助猫头鹰生存的许多改编也让他们看起来很神秘.
For instance, most owls hunt at night.
例如,大多数猫头鹰在夜间打猎.
As a result, they don’t have to compete with daytime hunters such as eagles, hawks, and falcons.
因此,他们不必与白天的猎人,如鹰,鹰和猎鹰竞争.
Like most birds, owls can’t move their eyes in their sockets.
猫头鹰与大多数鸟类一样,
Instead, owls must turn their heads to track a moving object.
相反地,猫头鹰必须把头转向跟踪移动对象.
Owls are able to rotate their heads almost all the way around—280 degrees.
猫头鹰几乎可以绕着280度旋转头部。
They can even turn their heads upside down.
他们甚至可以把头颠倒.
Owls’ big eyes are an adaptation, too.
猫头鹰的大眼睛也是一种适应。
These birds can’t see in total darkness.
这些鸟无法在黑暗中看到。
However, their pupils—the black circles in the center of their eyes—can grow large to let in more light.
然而,他们的瞳孔——眼睛中央的黑色圆圈——可以变大,让更多的光照亮。
Their large pupils let them see better in low light than most animals.
它们的大瞳孔让他们在低光下比大多数动物更能看见.
In fact, when light is low, tawny owls see as much as one hundred times better than humans.
事实上,当光线低时,tawny猫头鹰的视线比人类高一百倍.
Northern hawk owl Burrowing owl An owl’s pupils are small in bright light (top) and large in low light (bottom).
北方鹰猫头鹰 猫头鹰的瞳孔发光(上)小而发光(下)大.
Pellets!
佩莱!
Owls can’t chew or grind their food.
猫头鹰不能咀嚼或磨碎食物。
Instead, they often swallow small prey whole.
相反,它们经常吞下整个小猎物.
They can’t digest the unwanted parts of the animals.
他们无法消化动物的不受欢迎的部分。
Teeth, claws, and small bones, stuck together with bits of fur or feathers, end up in the gizzard.
有齿,有爪,有小骨,被皮毛或羽毛相接而成,最后被活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活
That’s a part of their stomach with strong muscles that roll those parts into small balls, called pellets.
这是他们胃部的一部份 有强壮的肌肉 把这些部分 卷入小球, 叫做小球。
A few hours after they eat, owls cough up a pellet.
吃了几小时后,猫头鹰会咳出一丸.
Scientists look through the pellets to learn what owls eat.
科学家们看穿了粒子来学习猫头鹰吃什么.
As good as their night vision is, owls can’t see things close to their faces.
猫头鹰无法看到近在眼前的东西。
Instead, hairlike feathers work like feelers to help owls react to things they touch, sort of like a cat’s whiskers.
相反地,毛发般的羽毛像感应器一样能帮助猫头鹰对所触摸的东西作出反应,有点像猫的胡子.
Even Better Ears To hunt, however, most owls rely on their hearing.
更棒的耳朵 然而要打猎,大多数猫头鹰依靠他们的听力.
Most owls have huge ears, with one higher than the other.
大多数猫头鹰的耳朵很大,一个比另一个高.
The higher one hears sounds from above, while the lower one hears sounds from below.
高者从上而出声;下者从下而出声.
Their flat, round faces help funnel sounds to their ears.
他们的平地,圆形脸孔 帮助漏斗的声音在他们的耳朵。
By moving the feathers around their faces, owls can send more sound to one ear or the other.
通过将羽毛围绕相貌移动,猫头鹰可以向一耳或一耳发出更多的声音.
Doing this helps them locate prey.
这样做有助于他们找到猎物。
The hairlike feathers on owls’ faces help them react to things they touch.
猫头鹰脸上有毛发般的羽毛,
Some owls even have these feathers on their feet!
有些猫头鹰脚上还有这些羽毛!
Owl pellet Owls have very large ears, which are hidden under feathers.
猫头鹰 猫头鹰的耳朵非常大,被隐藏在羽毛下.
Some owls have thin skin that covers the ears’ openings.
有些猫头鹰皮肤薄,覆盖了耳朵的开口.
Their hearing is so good that they can hear bugs in grass or mice in snow.
他们的听力非常好,可以听到草中的虫子或雪中的老鼠.
In fact, owls have better hearing than any other group of birds.
事实上,猫头鹰的听觉比其他鸟类群都要好.
Great gray owls can hear a mouse hidden under 18 inches (46 cm) of snow.
大灰猫头鹰可以听到一只被隐藏在18英寸(46厘米)下雪的老鼠.
Once they’ve located their prey, they can dive under the snow to grab a meal.
他们一旦找到猎物,
Barn owls can hear a mouse moving 90 feet (27 m) away and catch one in complete darkness.
巴恩猫头鹰可以听到一只老鼠在90英尺(27米)外移动,并在完全黑暗中捕捉到一只.
They have the best hearing of any animal ever tested.
他们的听觉是最强的 任何动物测试。
Silent Hunters Many animals that owls hunt also have excellent hearing.
沉默猎人 许多捕食猫头鹰的动物也有出色的听力.
So if an owl wants to eat, it must attack by surprise.
所以如果猫头鹰想吃东西,它必须突然袭击.
The soft feathers that cover owls’ bodies allow them to fly silently.
覆盖猫头鹰身体的柔软羽毛允许它们无声地飞行.
A great horned owl will sit high on a tree branch, watching until the time is right to attack.
一只大角猫头鹰会高高地坐在一棵树枝上,看着到攻击时机成熟为止.
A skillful hunter, it feeds on many kinds of animals, even skunks and snakes.
熟练的猎人 它以多种动物为食 甚至臭鼬和蛇
In Florida, one great horned owl tackled a 6-foot (2 m) indigo snake and won.
在佛罗里达州,一只大角猫头鹰 抓住了一条6英尺(2米)高的活蛇,赢了。
It also eats birds, including eight other owl species.
它还会吃鸟类,包括另外八个猫头鹰物种.
In fact, many large owls eat small owls.
事实上,许多大猫头鹰会吃小猫头鹰.
Owls, such as this barn owl, often crush their prey with their strong feet and sharp talons.
猫头鹰,如这个谷仓猫头鹰,常常用强壮的脚和尖锐的地爪来压碎猎物.
The grip of some owls can be ten times stronger than a human’s grip.
一些猫头鹰的抓取力可以比人类的抓取力强出十倍.
Great horned owls are excellent hunters.
大角猫头鹰是优秀的猎人.
They can even catch another bird in flight.
他们甚至可以在飞行中捕到另一只鸟.
While most owls hunt only at night, snowy owls hunt mostly during the day.
虽然大多数猫头鹰只在夜间打猎,但雪地猫头鹰大多白天打猎.
That’s because summer nights in the Arctic are so short.
因为北极夏季的夜晚如此之短。
The tiny elf owl hunts during the day as well, feeding mostly on insects.
小精灵猫头鹰白天也会打猎,主要以昆虫为食.
The main diet for most owls, though, is small mammals—lots of them.
然而,大多数猫头鹰的主要饮食是小型哺乳动物,其中许多是小型哺乳动物。
A hungry great gray owl may eat 1,400 voles in a year.
饥饿的大灰猫头鹰一年可以吃1400伏.
In its lifetime, a barn owl may eat 11,000 mice!
在它的一生中,一个谷仓猫头鹰可能会吃一万一千只老鼠!
Where Owls Live Some owls can live in many different habitats.
猫头鹰生活的地方 一些猫头鹰可以生活在许多不同的栖息地.
The great horned owl lives in swamps, forests, prairies, mountains, and deserts.
大角猫头鹰生活在沼泽地,森林,草原,山地和沙漠.
Barn owls live under bridges as well as in caves, empty houses, church towers—and barns, of course!
巴恩猫头鹰生活在桥梁下以及洞穴,空屋,教堂的塔楼——当然还有谷仓!
Elf owl Snowy owl A barn owl lives up to its name by raising its young in a barn.
精灵猫头鹰雪地猫头鹰 A 谷仓猫头鹰通过在谷仓中抚养幼年而活到其名下.
Some owls require a special habitat, though.
不过有些猫头鹰需要特殊的栖息地.
Burrowing owls live mostly on the prairie and nest underground, using old burrows dug by mammals.
埋伏猫头鹰主要栖息于草原上和地底的巢穴上,使用由哺乳动物所挖取的老洞穴.
When open spaces are hard to find, they move to cemeteries and golf courses, and even near airport runways.
当空地难找时,他们会搬到墓地和高尔夫球场,甚至靠近机场跑道.
Spotted owls can only survive in old- growth forests.
斑点猫头鹰只能活在老树林里
By 1994, 80 percent of their former habitat had been destroyed by logging.
到1994年,他们原有的栖息地有80%被伐木破坏.
To protect the spotted owl, loggers cut down fewer trees, but barred owls have since taken over spotted owl habitat.
为了保护斑点猫头鹰,伐木者砍倒了较少的树木,但被禁的猫头鹰从此占领了斑点猫头鹰栖息地.
Today, they outnumber spotted owls in the northwestern United States.
今天,它们的数量超过了美国西北部发现的猫头鹰。
An Owl’s Housekeeper Screech owls in Texas hunt snakes.
德克萨斯州的猫头鹰守门员史克威尔猎蛇.
However, they bring one kind of snake back to their nest alive: the blindsnake.
然而,它们却将一种蛇活活地带回了巢穴:百叶窗.
They let it go inside the nest, where it eats the maggots that feed on the dead animals stored there.
他们让它进入巢穴, 在那里它食用食用在那里所储存的死去的动物。
The snake becomes a housekeeper!
蛇变成管家了!
Burrowing owls can scare away other animals by making a sound like a rattlesnake’s.
挖出像响尾蛇一样的声音,
Spotted owls do not fly south for the winter.
有斑点的猫头鹰不会在冬天南飞
Owl Sounds Owls aren’t always silent, nor do they all hoot.
猫头鹰的声音 猫头鹰并不总是沉默,
They use different sounds to call a mate, warn of danger, or claim an area.
他们使用不同的声音叫一个伴侣,警告危险,或者要求一个区域.
Each species has its own calls that set it apart from other owls.
每个物种都有自己的呼号,使其与其他猫头鹰区分开来.
A great horned owl can bark like a dog and meow like a cat.
一个大角猫头鹰可以叫出像狗一样的叫声,而叫出像猫一样的叫声.
Barn owls don’t hoot—they scream.
巴恩猫头鹰不喊叫,
Their strange cry and ghostly appearance once made some people think of barn owls as bad luck.
他们奇怪的叫声和幽灵的外表曾经让一些人认为谷仓猫头鹰是厄运.
Owls Are Out There It’s rare to see an owl, but they’re out there.
猫头鹰在那里 猫头鹰很少见到,
If you’re in the country and want to spot one, try going out at dawn or dusk.
若你在国内,
Listen for their calls.
听他们的电话。
If you stay out late enough, people might think you’re an owl—a night owl, that is.
如果你迟到, 人们可能会认为你是猫头鹰,
Glossary adaptations (n.)
词汇调整(不详)
changes that allow an animal to survive better in its environment (p.
让动物在环境中更好地生存的变化(p.
5) attack (v.)
5) 攻击(五.
to act harmfully toward (p.
(p.) 采取有害行动。
10) habitats (n.)
10) 栖息地 (n.
the natural environment of a plant or animal (p.
植物或动物的自然环境(p.
12) mysterious (adj.)
12) 神秘 (adj.
odd; not easy to understand (p.
奇;不容易理解 (p.
5) old-growth (adj.)
5) 老增长 (adj.
of or relating to very old forests (p.
或与非常古老的森林有关的森林
14) prey (n.)
14)被猎物 (n.
an animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal (p.
被另一种动物猎取并吃掉的动物(p.
8) rotate (v.)
8) 旋转(五.
to turn on a center; to revolve (p.
打开一个中心;转弯(p.
5) species (n.)
5) 物种 (n.
a group of living things that are similar and can produce young (p.
一组类似活物,能产生出年轻的活物(p.
4) survive (v.)
4)活(五.
to stay alive (p.
为活生生(p.
5) Photographers take pictures of a great gray owl, the largest species of owl in the world.
5)摄影师拍摄出一头大灰猫头鹰的照片,这是世界上最大的猫头鹰物种.