温馨夜读 PART1 12 If So For Birds, Why Not For Man？鸟儿尚且如此，何况人呢？

 

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[00:01.30]If So For Birds, Why Not For Man？鸟儿尚且如此，何况人呢？

[00:12.02]This is a true story.

[00:13.77]It was on a winter morning, near Oxford¹, Maryland,

[00:17.22]that a friend of mine set the breakfast table beside the huge window,

[00:21.98]which overlooked the Tred Avon River.

[00:24.60]Across the river, beyond the dock, the snow laced the rim² of the shore in white.

[00:29.85]For a moment she stood quietly, looking at what the night’s storm had painted.

[00:34.99]Suddenly she leaned forward and peered close to the frosted window.

[00:39.59]“It really is true，” she cried out loud. “There is a goose out there.”

[00:45.39]She saw a large Canadian goose, very still,

[00:49.37]its wings folded tight to its sides, its feet frozen to the ice.

[00:54.79]Then from the dark skies, she saw a line of swans.

[00:59.18]They moved in their own singular formation, graceful³, intrepid⁴, and free.

[01:04.65]Suddenly they floated from the top of the sky downward

[01:09.14]and at last surrounded the frozen goose.

[01:11.64]Seeing this, my friend feared what life it still had

[01:15.71]might be pecked out by those great swan bills.

[01:18.87]Instead, amazingly, those bills began to work on the ice.

[01:24.67]At last, the goose was rimmed⁵ by a narrow margin⁶ of ice instead of the entire creek⁷.

[01:30.46]The swans rose again, hovered⁸ in a circle, awaiting the results of their labors⁹.

[01:36.26]The goose’s head lifted. Its body pulled.

[01:39.55]Then the goose was free and standing¹⁰ on the ice.

[01:42.83]But it seemed not be able to fly. Later, four of the swans came down around it.

[01:49.83]Their powerful beaks¹¹ scraped the goose’s wings

[01:53.02]from top to bottom and rode up its body,

[01:55.73]chipping off the ice held in the feathers.

[01:58.58]The goose spread its wings as far as they would go.

[02:02.74]When at last the wings reached their fullest,

[02:06.74]the four swans took off and joined the hovering¹² group.

[02:10.29]They resumed flying in perfect formation, to their secret destination.

[02:15.21]Behind them, rising with incredible speed and joy, the goose moved into the sky.

[02:21.99]It followed them, flapping double time, until it caught up,

[02:26.24]until it joined the last end of the elegant line.

[02:29.54]My friend was deeply moved with tears running down her cheeks.

[02:34.36]Even birds give a hand to those in trouble.

[02:37.53]I just often think of this story in the bad moments and tell myself,

[02:42.36]“If so for birds, why not for man？”

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

3 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

4 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

5 rimmed   

adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边

参考例句：

• Gold rimmed spectacles bit deep into the bridge of his nose. 金边眼镜深深嵌入他的鼻梁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Trees rimmed the pool. 水池的四周树木环绕。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

7 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

8 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

9 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

12 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。