北極燕鷗是一種特別的鳥。遷徙時，它們從北極圈飛往南極圈，再飛回起點，整個旅程非比尋常，歷時一年之久。這種鳥的遷徙路線在全球鳥類中屬最長，但它們在途中也會停下來歇歇腳。北極燕鷗在英國北部繁殖，以北大西洋中部的魚類為食，為漫長的旅程積攢體力。本期節(jié)目介紹這種鳥漫長而艱苦的遷徙之旅。

詞匯：bird migration 鳥類遷徙

Back in 2010, an international research team fitted?tracking devices?to birds they believed to be special –?Arctic terns. And it turns out they were right, as described in US journal, PNAS. The Arctic tern has an extraordinary year-long?migration?from the?Arctic Circle?to the?Antarctic Circle?and back again.

早在2010年，一個國際研究小組就在他們認(rèn)為很特殊的鳥類——北極燕鷗身上安裝了追蹤裝置。事實證明他們是對的，正如美國期刊《美國科學(xué)院院刊》所描述的那樣。北極燕鷗從北極圈到南極圈之間進(jìn)行為期一年的非同尋常的遷徙，然后再返回。

What does this?route?look like? Arctic terns begin their migration in the?Northern hemisphere?in the summer, which is?breeding?season. As it gets colder and darker, turning to winter, the birds fly?southward, parallel to the coast of South America or hugging the coast of the African?continent?to reach their winter?feeding ground, the Antarctic Circle. And they do not always fly in a straight line. While heading back up north, their?flight path?mimics an S-shape which they follow to save energy while navigating the?wind systems?in the different hemispheres. This journey is a?round-trip?of up to 35,000km long, which makes the Arctic tern's migration the longest of any bird. Plus, they see more daylight than any other animal on Earth!

這條路線是什么樣的?夏季是北極燕鷗的繁殖季節(jié)，它們開始在北半球遷徙。隨著天氣越來越冷，越來越黑，進(jìn)入冬季，這些鳥向南飛行，與南美洲海岸平行，或擁抱非洲大陸的海岸，到達(dá)它們的冬季覓食地——南極圈。而且它們并不總是直線飛行。當(dāng)它們返回北方時，它們的飛行路線模仿s形，在不同半球的風(fēng)系統(tǒng)中航行時，它們遵循s形飛行以節(jié)省能量。這是一次長達(dá)35,000公里的往返旅程，這使得北極燕鷗的遷徙成為所有鳥類中最長的。此外，它們比地球上任何其他動物都能看到更多的日光!

But, on this epic journey, the birds do take some well-deserved breaks. Heading northward, the population stops on the north and west coast of the UK to breed. A female?lays?one to three eggs in a?nest, and after an?incubation?period of around three weeks, they?hatch, and fluffy brown and grey?chicks?emerge. Meanwhile, the adult birds feed in the shallow coastal waters on fish, such as sand-eels. In contrast, while heading south, the birds appear to?stop off?in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, where they indulge on fish and?zooplankton, preparing themselves for their long journey ahead.

但是，在這段史詩般的旅程中，鳥兒們確實得到了一些應(yīng)得的休息。它們向北遷徙，在英國北部和西海岸停留繁衍后代。一只雌鳥在巢中產(chǎn)下一到三個蛋，經(jīng)過大約三周的孵化期后，它們孵化出來，生出毛茸茸的棕色和灰色的小雞。與此同時，成年鳥在淺海水域以沙鰻等魚類為食。相反，當(dāng)它們向南飛行時，它們似乎會在北大西洋中部停留，在那里盡情享受魚類和浮游動物，為未來的長途旅行做準(zhǔn)備。

So, if you ever see a little black and white bird with red legs and a red?beak, show them some appreciation. They have flown a long way to see you!?

所以，如果你看到一只黑色和白色的小鳥，紅腿和紅嘴，向它們表示感謝。他們飛了很長的路來看你!

詞匯表

tracking device 跟蹤裝置
Arctic tern 北極燕鷗
migration 遷徙
Arctic Circle 北極圈
Antarctic Circle 南極圈
route 路線
Northern hemisphere 北半球
breeding 繁殖
southward 向南地
continent 大陸
feeding ground 覓食地
flight path 飛行路線
wind system 風(fēng)系
round-trip 往返旅程
lay 產(chǎn)（蛋）
nest 鳥窩，鳥巢
incubation 孵化
hatch （雛鳥）孵出，破殼而出
chick 雛鳥
stop off 中途停留
zooplankton 浮游動物
beak （鳥）嘴，喙

測驗與練習(xí)

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. How long is the migration of an Arctic tern?

2. Why do the birds fly south in the winter?

3. True or False??When flying north, Arctic terns fly in a straight line.

4. Where and why do the birds stop in the UK?

5. What do Arctic terns eat?

2.?選擇意思恰當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. We're travelling up the country but don't know which _______ to take.??

route? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?continent? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? migration? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?beak

2. Unfortunately, microplastics have been found in the?_______ of many fish.? ??

round-trip? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? feeding grounds? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?flight paths? ? ? ? ? ? ? wind systems

3. I can't swim, so I usually stay in the?_______ end of the pool.??

north? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?southward? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? shallow? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? fluffy

4. We watched two birds building a?_______ in the oak tree in our garden.

chick? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?zooplankton? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?nest? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? incubation

5. The children were allowed to?_______ the penguins at the zoo today!

lay? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?hatch? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? breed? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?feed

答案

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。?

1. How long is the migration of an Arctic tern?
The Arctic tern has an extraordinary year-long migration.

2. Why do the birds fly south in the winter?
Because it gets colder and darker in the Northern hemisphere.

3. True or False??When flying north, Arctic terns fly in a straight line.
False. While heading back up north, the flight path mimics an S-shape.

4. Where and why do the birds stop in the UK?
The population stops on the north and west coast of the UK to breed.

5. What do Arctic terns eat?
Fish, such as sand-eels, and zooplankton.

2.?選擇意思恰當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. We are travelling up the country but don't know which?route?to take.

2. Unfortunately, microplastics have been found in the?feeding grounds?of many fish.

3. I can't swim, so I usually stay in the?shallow?end of the pool.?

4. We watched two birds building a?nest?in the oak tree in our garden.?

5. The children were allowed to?feed?the penguins at the zoo today!

文章來源BBC，侵權(quán)刪，本文僅用于英語學(xué)習(xí)。