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Saving the Birds
添加时间:2014-07-15 13:58:37 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • One day in spring four men were riding on horseback along a country road. These men were lawyers, and they were going to the next town to attend court.

    There had been a rain, and the ground was very soft. Water was dripping from the trees, and the grass was wet.

    The four lawyers rode along, one behind another; for the pathway was narrow, and the mud on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly, and talked and laughed and were very jolly.

    As they were passing through a grove1 of small trees, they heard a great flutterin over their heads and a feeble chirping2 in the grass by the roadside.

    "Stith! stith! stith!" came from the leafy branches above them.

    "Cheep! cheep! cheep!" came from the wet grass.

    "What is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer, whose name was Speed. "Oh, it's only some old robins4!" said the second lawyer, whose name was Hardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones out of the nest. They are too young to fly, and the mother bird is making a great fuss about it."

    "What a pity! They'll die down there in the grass," said the third lawyer, whose name I forget.

    "Oh, well! They're nothing but birds," said Mr. Hardin. "Why should we bother?"

    "Yes, why should we?" said Mr. Speed.

    The three men, as they passed, looked down and saw the little birds fluttering in the cold, wet grass. They saw the mother robin3 flying about, and crying to her mate.

    Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. In a few minutes they had forgotten about the birds.

    But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and very gently took the little ones up in his big warm hands.

    They did not seem frightened, but chirped5 softly, as if they knew they were safe.

    "Never mind, my little fellows," said Mr. Lincoln "I will put you in your own cozy6 little bed."

    Then he looked up to find the nest from which they had fallen. It was high, much higher than he could reach.

    But Mr. Lincoln could climb. He had climbed many a tree when he was a boy. He put the birds softly, one by one, into their warm little home. Two other baby birds were there, that had not fallen out. All cuddled down together and were very happy.

    Soon the three lawyers who had ridden ahead stopped at a spring to give their horses water.

    "Where is Lincoln?" asked one.

    All were surprised to find that he was not with them.

    "Do you remember those birds?" said Mr. Speed. "Very likely he has stopped to take care of them."

    In a few minutes Mr. Lincoln joined them. His shoes were covered with mud; he had torn his coat on the thorny7 tree.

    "Hello, Abraham!" said Mr. Hardin. "Where have you been?"

    "I stopped a minute to give those birds to their mother," he answered.

    "Well, we always thought you were a hero," said Mr. Speed. "Now we know it."

    Then all three of them laughed heartily8. They thought it so foolish that a strong man should take so much trouble just for some worthless young birds.

    "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "I could not have slept to-night, if I had left those helpless little robins to perish in the wet grass."

    Abraham Lincoln afterwards became very famous as a lawyer and statesman. He was elected president. Next to Washington he was the greatest American.

     9级    英语故事 
     单词标签: grove  chirping  robin  robins  chirped  cozy  thorny  heartily 


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    1 grove [grəʊv] v5wyy   第7级
    n.林子,小树林,园林
    参考例句:
    • On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees. 山顶上一片高大的树林。
    • The scent of lemons filled the grove. 柠檬香味充满了小树林。
    2 chirping [t'ʃɜ:pɪŋ] 9ea89833a9fe2c98371e55f169aa3044   第10级
    鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )
    参考例句:
    • The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫,把我们吵醒了。
    • The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。
    3 robin [ˈrɒbɪn] Oj7zme   第10级
    n.知更鸟,红襟鸟
    参考例句:
    • The robin is the messenger of spring. 知更鸟是报春的使者。
    • We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin. 我们看见了一只知更鸟,知道春天要到了。
    4 robins [ˈrəubinz, ˈrɔbinz] 130dcdad98696481aaaba420517c6e3e   第10级
    n.知更鸟,鸫( robin的名词复数 );(签名者不分先后,以避免受责的)圆形签名抗议书(或请愿书)
    参考例句:
    • The robins occupied their former nest. 那些知更鸟占了它们的老窝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
    • Benjamin Robins then entered the fray with articles and a book. 而后,Benjamin Robins以他的几篇专论和一本书参加争论。 来自辞典例句
    5 chirped [tʃɜ:pt] 2d76a8bfe4602c9719744234606acfc8   第10级
    鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )
    参考例句:
    • So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽,在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
    • The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。
    6 cozy ['kəʊzɪ] ozdx0   第8级
    adj.亲如手足的,密切的,暖和舒服的
    参考例句:
    • I like blankets because they are cozy. 我喜欢毛毯,因为他们是舒适的。
    • We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire. 我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
    7 thorny [ˈθɔ:ni] 5ICzQ   第11级
    adj.多刺的,棘手的
    参考例句:
    • The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem. 年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
    • The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson. 孩子们辩论功课中的难点。
    8 heartily [ˈhɑ:tɪli] Ld3xp   第8级
    adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
    参考例句:
    • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse. 他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
    • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily. 主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。

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