青蛙的舌頭非常有用, 就是依靠它來捕食蒼蠅與其他小型昆蟲。
It is joined to the lower jaw in front, and not at the back as our tongues are.
舌頭與下腭的前端相連, 而我們的舌頭則是長在下腭的后端。
Thus the tongue of the frog lies in the mouth pointing backwards.
因此, 青蛙的舌頭蜷縮在嘴巴里, 朝向后方。
At its tip there is a kind of sticky pad.
它的舌頭頂端有一片沾滿粘液的區(qū)域。
When the frog sees a fly which it wants to catch, it thrusts out its tongue till the sticky pad touches the insect, which is then drawn into the frog's mouth.
當(dāng)青蛙看到一只想要捕捉的蒼蠅時(shí)就會(huì)伸出舌頭, 當(dāng)那塊粘液區(qū)域接觸到獵物時(shí)后者便成為了青蛙口中的美食。
The red tongue is thrust out and pulled back so quickly that you can hardly see it move.
紅色的舌頭瞬間吐出并收回, 你幾乎看不到它的移動(dòng)情況。
Have you ever noticed that the frog is always swallowing something?
你有沒有注意到這樣一個(gè)現(xiàn)象:青蛙總是在吞食東西?
What he swallows is air; and this is the only way in which the air gets to his lungs.
它吞食的就是空氣, 正是通過這樣一種方法, 青蛙的肺部才能吸收到空氣。
Frogs breathe very slowly, and do not take into their bodies so much air in proportion to their size as we do.
青蛙的呼吸非常緩慢, 由于體型相差甚多, 它所需要的空氣遠(yuǎn)沒有人類那么多。
For this reason the frog's blood is cold, while our blood is warm.
因此, 青蛙屬于冷血?jiǎng)游? 而人類則是恒溫動(dòng)物。
Frogs do not eat plants, so they do no harm in a garden.
青蛙不以植物為食, 不會(huì)破壞我們的花園。
But they do a great deal of good in such a place; for they feed on insects and slugs, and other small animals which do eat plants.
實(shí)際上, 它們還是花園的衛(wèi)士, 因?yàn)槟切┮灾参餅槭车睦ハx與鼻涕蟲正是它們的獵物。
Frogs are most often seen in damp and wet weather, for then they come out of their hiding-places to enjoy the moisture.
青蛙最喜歡潮濕的天氣, 那時(shí), 它們都會(huì)從藏身之處跑出來。
They like water because it helps to keep their skin moist.
它們喜歡水, 因?yàn)檫@樣可以保持皮膚濕潤。
If their skin gets dry, they soon die.
如果皮膚變得干燥, 那么青蛙很快就會(huì)死亡。
Never hurt the poor frogs, for they do no harm but much good.
千萬不要傷害可憐的青蛙, 因?yàn)樗鼈儗?duì)人類有百利而無一害。
When you hear them calling "Croak, croak, " to each other in the ponds, do not throw stones at them.
當(dāng)你聽到它們?cè)诔靥林杏?ldquo;呱呱”的叫聲與同伴交流時(shí), 請(qǐng)不要往水中扔石頭。
英語美文