麥兜安靜
Stop That Pacing, Fido
If you are planning a picnic, watch your pets. If your dog paces and your cat twitches, make other plans. It may rain that day. If you want to wash your car, go outside early in the day and look for a spider. If you see a spider spinning a web, get out your soap and bucket. There will most likely be fair weather。
If you would rather fly a kite, look at the stars the night before. If they are bright, find your kite and string. It will be windy the next day. But if you are more in the mood for a swim, listen to the crickets. By counting their chirps, you can tell if it is warm enough。
What do animals know about weather? Dampness collects in the air before rain. It makes each hair in an animal's fur swell. That is why your pets move about restlessly. Spiders do not like dampness in the air, either. A spiderweb will not stick to a damp surface. So if a spider is spinning a web, the air must be dry。
How can stars help you plan your fun? Stars are most easily seen when winds high in the air blow dust and clouds away. These winds will drop to the ground the next day, making it windy. What about those crickets? Count the number of times a cricket chirps in 15 seconds. Then add 37 to find out how warm it is. If you hear 35 chirps, it is 72 degrees。
Words and Phrases 單詞和短語
picnic ['piknik] n. 郊游，野餐
twitch [twitʃ] v. 抽動，顫動，抽搐
spider ['spaidə] n. 蜘蛛
spin [spin] v. 紡織，結(jié)網(wǎng)
cricket ['krikit] n. 蟋蟀
chirp [tʃə:p] n. 唧唧聲，喳喳聲；v. 鳥叫；蟲鳴
dampness ['dæmpnis] n. 潮濕，濕氣
swell [swel] v. 腫脹，膨脹，鼓起
restlessly ['restlisli] adv. 不安地，慌張地
spiderweb ['spaidəweb] n. 蛛網(wǎng)
譯 文
費兜，安靜！
如果你計劃去野餐，請事先觀察你的寵物。如果你的寵物狗來回不停地踱步，或者你的寵物貓不停地抽搐，那么請你改變計劃吧。如果你想給愛車洗個澡，你還是先出門觀察一只蜘蛛吧，如果這只蜘蛛正在織網(wǎng)，那么拿起你的肥皂和水桶去給你的愛車洗澡去吧，因為今天一定是一個好天氣。
如果明天你想去放風箏，請在頭一天晚上先觀察星相，如果星星明亮可見，那么就準備好你的風箏和線吧，因為明天一定是一個風和日麗的日子。如果你心血來潮想去游泳，那么去之前，先留心傾聽蟋蟀的叫聲吧。通過數(shù)蟋蟀的叫聲，你能判斷氣溫是否適宜游泳。
是什么讓動物們知道天氣呢？通常下雨前空氣中會聚集潮氣，這些潮氣讓動物們的皮毛膨脹，這就是你的寵物們坐立不安的原因。蜘蛛也不喜歡潮濕的空氣，蛛網(wǎng)表面如果潮濕的話，根本粘不到獵物。因此如果你看見一只蜘蛛在織網(wǎng)，那么空氣一定是干燥的。
星星又是怎樣幫你判斷天氣呢？通常如果高空中有風的話，它會把高空中的灰塵與云層吹散，這樣星星就能清晰可見。這些風在次日會下落到地面，那么第二天就是一個起風的日子。蟋蟀又是怎樣判斷氣溫的呢？通過數(shù)蟋蟀的叫聲，然后把十五秒鐘內(nèi)蟋蟀叫聲的數(shù)量加上三十七，你就會得知當天的氣溫。比如蟋蟀十五秒內(nèi)叫三十五聲，那么那天的氣溫就是七十二華氏度。
