Why Can The Ostrich Not Fly?

鸵鸟为何不会飞？

（选自《英语阅读大观》第四部 动物世界）

鸵鸟，是世界上的最大的鸟(又名非洲鸵鸟)，雄鸟高约2.75米。它们生活在沙漠草原地带。但是它们却不会飞。鸵鸟坚硬的脚爪补偿了这一缺陷，鸵鸟每小时可以奔跑70公里。鸵鸟的腿长而健壮，它的双翼却很小。由于它们像骆驼那样，可以在热带沙漠中奔跑，所以它们被称作“鸵鸟”。鸵鸟的翅膀确实小，但它跑得快，快得如同飞起来一般。有一句谚语叫“一只把头埋在沙子里的傻鸵鸟”，来描述鸵鸟的傻乎劲，但鸵鸟真的那么傻吗？来看看这篇文章吧。

 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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