鸚鵡

◎供稿：Juno

鸚鵡是鳥類中最聰明的一種，它在人類的訓練下能說話，還能做許多別的鳥不能做的事，比如用腳吃東西。

Parrots are birds of all colors that usually1)originate from a warm2)habitat .The natural habitat of parrots varies by species now, however, many3)hail from4)tropical or subtropical areas in South America, Central America, Africa,and Australasia.

鸚鵡是一種鳥類，有各種各樣的顏色，通常起源于溫暖的棲息地。鸚鵡的自然棲息地因物種而異，許多鸚鵡來自南美洲、中美洲、非洲和澳大拉西亞（包括澳大利亞、新西蘭及太平洋西南島嶼）的熱帶或亞熱帶地區。

Because the parrot order includes so many different species, parrot sizes vary widely. A major characteristic of a parrot is the5)beak. Parrots are very6)adept at using their beak, it’s almost like a hand for them. They use it to climb, hold things, manipulate things, and, of course, to eat! They can grasp onto their food with one foot and then move it up to their beak so they can7)nibble on it. Their tongues are made up of small bones that make them8)flexible enough to manipulate the food. In the wild, parrots eat flowers, fruit, nuts, plants, and insects.

1) originate [??r?d??ne?t] v.源自

2) habitat [?h?b?t?t] n.棲息地

3) hail [he?l] v.來自

4) tropical [?tr?p?kl] adj.熱帶的

5) beak [bi?k] n.喙

6) adept [??dept] adj. 熟練的

7) nibble [?n?bl] v.細咬

8) flexible [?fleks?bl] adj.靈活的

由于鸚鵡有很多不同的物種，所以大小差別很大。鸚鵡的一個主要特征是它的喙。鸚鵡非常善于使用它們的喙，這幾乎就像用手一樣靈活。它們用喙攀爬、拿東西、處理東西，當然，也用喙處理食物！它們可以用一只爪抓住食物，然后放到喙里細咬。它們的舌頭由小骨頭組成，所以足夠靈活，可以控制食物。在野外，鸚鵡吃花朵、水果、堅果、植物和昆蟲。

One of the most9)endearing traits of parrots for many people is their ability to talk or10)mimic noises.Parrots are very good mimics and can copy sounds that they hear in their environment; they can even copy human words and laughter. Parrots are smart because they have a brain neural11)circuit similar to12)primates. Scientists believe that parrots have the same logic as a 4-year-old human child.

對許多人來說，鸚鵡最可愛的特征之一是它們說話或模仿聲音的能力。鸚鵡非常擅于模仿，它們可以模仿在環境中聽到的聲音，甚至可以模仿人類的話語和笑聲。鸚鵡很聰明，因為它們的大腦神經回路類似于靈長類動物。科學家認為鸚鵡的邏輯與4歲孩子的邏輯是相同的。

9) endearing [?n?d??r??] adj.可愛的

10) mimic [?m?m?k] v. 模仿

11) circuit [?s??k?t] n.回路

12) primate [?pra?me?t] n.靈長目動物