Why Can The Ostrich Not Fly?

鴕鳥為何不會飛？

（選自《英語閱讀大觀》第四部 動物世界）

鴕鳥，是世界上的最大的鳥(又名非洲鴕鳥)，雄鳥高約2.75米。它們生活在沙漠草原地帶。但是它們卻不會飛。鴕鳥堅硬的腳爪補償了這一缺陷，鴕鳥每小時可以奔跑70公里。鴕鳥的腿長而健壯，它的雙翼卻很小。由于它們像駱駝那樣，可以在熱帶沙漠中奔跑，所以它們被稱作“鴕鳥”。鴕鳥的翅膀確實小，但它跑得快，快得如同飛起來一般。有一句諺語叫“一只把頭埋在沙子里的傻鴕鳥”，來描述鴕鳥的傻乎勁，但鴕鳥真的那么傻嗎？來看看這篇文章吧。

 The largest bird that cannot fly also happens to be the largest living bird in the world. This is the huge North African ostrich. When the male, or cock, is fully grown, he reaches a height nearly eight feet and many weigh close to three hundred pounds. His wings are very small and the wing feathers are very soft, therefore he does not fly.

You have probably heard the old saying about the “foolish ostrich burying his head in the sand”. Well, the os­trich is not nearly as foolish as he is said to be. In the day­time, when the hen is sitting on the eggs, she does not want to be seen; but, instead of sticking her long neck up into the air, she bends her neck and head down and presses flat along the sand. That way, she can best protect the eggs and herself.

Because the ostrich cannot fly up into the air to escape from danger on the ground, he has to remain alert at all times. Luckily, he has very sharp eyesight and hearing. As he lives in the desert and open plains, he can stop danger in time to race away. The ostrich can run so fast that it almost seems as if he was flying.

Sometimes, when a person has a small appetite, we say that he “eats like a bird”. That bird is definitely not the ostrich! An ostrich will eat anything under the sun. When an ostrich died in a zoo, scientists cut it open to see what it had eaten. Here are some of the things found in the bird’s stom­ach: three pieces of wood, part of a film roll, a nail, a screw, a French coin, three handkerchiefs, four pennies, part of a chain and eighteen pieces of wire.

Comprehension Questions:

1. The ostrich buries her head in the sand because ______

A. she is foolish enough to do anything.  

B. she is shy enough.

C. she has to keep herself from being attacked. 

D. she likes doing so.

2. An ostrich has a ______ neck, _______ wings and ______ feathers.

A. small, soft, long            B. soft, long, small

C. long, small, soft            D. long, large, soft

3. "An ostrich will eat anything under the sun" means _______

A. An ostrich will eat everything when the sun shines.

B. An ostrich won't eat anything if the sun hasn't risen.

C. An ostrich likes to eat under the sun.

D. Anything on the earth is what the ostrich eats.

4. Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage? ______

A. Hatching eggs is not the female ostrich's job.

B. An ostrich eats almost all kinds of thing.

C. An ostrich lives in North Africa.

D. An ostrich can run fast.

5. When we say “Someone eats like a bird”, we mean ______

A. he eats too much                      B. he is a bird    

C. he eats only a little                    D. he likes eating a bird

(Answers: CCDAC)

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