林鸟 Birds

威廉·亨利·哈德逊/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……

有很长的一段时间，我总是在攀登一座低矮宽阔的平顶小山。当我从灌木丛中脱身而出，又出现在一片空地时，我已身在一片平坦的高地，周围非常空旷，到处是石楠与荆棘丛生的地方，这中间偶尔也有几处稠密的冷杉与桦木之类的植物。在我面前以及高地的两侧，一眼望去，都是广袤的原野；地面上的景物有时会中断，但这蔚为壮观的青葱翠绿却是连绵不断的，这可能跟最近降雨量的充沛有关。在我看来，南德文郡的绿色实在是太多了，但是它色调的柔和与亮度却过于单一。在领略这番景色之后，山顶上那些棕褐刺目的稀疏草木反而使人心情爽朗。这片石楠丛生之地宛如一片绿洲与避难所，我在这里漫游了很久，直到腿脚淋湿；然后我又坐下把它们晾干，就这样在那里度过了几个小时的愉快时光。让我高兴的是这里没有我们的同类前来打扰，然而，鸟类朋友却有很多。在小道附近的丛林中间，雄雉的啼叫声警告我，我已经进入了禁猎区。不过，禁猎并不严格，因为我所熟识的食腐肉的乌鸦正在那里为它的幼雏觅食。它低飞着穿过树梢间，从我身边掠过，随即逝去。在当下的季节，即早夏时期，当它飞起来的时候，人们是很容易将它与它的近亲白嘴鸭区分开来。在觅食的时候，这种乌鸦在空中平稳而迅速地滑翔着，经常会改变方向，一会儿贴近地面，一会儿又飞得很高，但它一般会保持着大概与树梢平齐的高度。它滑翔与转弯的动作看起来跟鲱鱼鸥相似，但在滑动的时候，它的翅膀会挺得直直的，那修长的尖端呈现出一种微翘曲线。但它们之间最主要的区别还是飞行时头部的姿势不同。白嘴鸭像苍鹭与鹤那样，总是把利喙像长矛那样直挺挺地伸在前面。它飞翔的时候方向明确，毫不犹豫，简直可说是跟着自己的鼻子尖在跑，绝不左顾右盼。而那寻觅肉食的乌鸦却不停地转动着头部，就像海鸥与猎狗那样，一会儿看这边，一会儿又看那边，仿佛正在彻底地搜查地面，或是睁大了眼睛盯着什么模糊的东西。

这个地方不仅有乌鸦，当我从草丛中走出来时，一只喜鹊正在鸣叫，只是不肯露面；过了一会儿，一只橙鸟也向我发出独特的鸣叫。对于这受惊的鸟儿在看到生人侵入其林中净地时胸中突然盟生的盛怒，它们叫声中的警告和咒骂，我有时也深有同感。

这个地方有很多小鸟，好像这里的荒芜贫瘠对它们也有吸引力。各种山雀、鸣禽、云雀以及其他鸟类都正在到处忙着寻找栖息的地方，它们唱着各种各样的歌，时而来自树顶，时而来自地面，时而逼近，时而远离；而随着歌唱者的或远或近，或上或下，也给这些歌声本身带来不同的特点，这样所产生的效果自然就是有千万种声调，非常丰富。唯有峋鸭始终停留在一个地方或保持一种姿势不变，也总是重复着一个调子。尽管如此，这种鸟的鸣叫也并没有像人们所说的那样单调……

词汇笔记

elevation[,elə'veɪʃən]n.高地；海拔；提高；崇高；正面图

Mountaineers sometimes have to use oxygen at this elevation.

登山者在这个海拔有时会用到氧气。

intrude[in'tru:d]v.侵入，侵扰，打扰；闯入；打扰

Be strict, and don't let them intrude on your thoughts.

你必须坚定立场，不能让它们侵入你的思维。

distinguish[dis'tiŋɡwiʃ]v.区分；辨别；使杰出，使表现突出

The little girl could not distinguish many of the wordsr.

这小女孩认不出其中的许多字。

thoroughly['θʌrəlɪ]adv.彻底地；认真仔细地；完全地；非常

They were thoroughly rousted out and their shelters were pulled down.

他们被彻底赶出来，他们的小棚子也被拆掉。

小试身手

有很长的一段时间，我总是在攀登一座低矮宽阔的平顶小山。

译______________________________

让我高兴的是这里没有我们的同类前来打扰，然而，鸟类朋友却有很多。

译______________________________

这个地方有很多小鸟，好像这里的荒芜贫瘠对它们也有吸引力。

译______________________________

短语家族

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

gaze on：看见，凝视

造______________________________

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，不仅

造______________________________