Why the Cricket1 Chirps2為什么 蟋蟀要鳴叫

向紅

Before things were the way they are， the cricket could fly. He flew faster than the bee. He flew higher than the falcon3.

很久以前，蟋蟀是會飛的。它飛得比蜜蜂快，飛得比獵鷹高。

The cricket wanted to fly all over the world. He flew to the East. Then he flew to the West. And then he flew to the South. But he had never flown to the North.

蟋蟀想飛遍世界各地。它飛到了東方，然后它飛到了西方，接下來飛到了南方。但是它從來沒有飛去過北方。

The ant told him that he should not try. “Its very cold up north，” said the ant. “Its too cold for an ant and too cold for a cricket.”

螞蟻告訴它不要嘗試。螞蟻說：“北邊很冷，對螞蟻來說太冷，對蟋蟀來說也太冷了。”

The cricket， however， did not listen to the ant， because crickets do whatever he wants. He set off for the North at that night. It did not take him long to get there because he was so fast.

但蟋蟀沒聽螞蟻的，因為它一向隨心所欲。那天晚上它就出發(fā)去了北方。它沒花多久就到了北方，因為它飛得很快。

The cricket stopped next to a pine tree as the sun began setting. There was snow everywhere he looked. There was snow on the trees. There was snow on the ground. And there was snow on top of the mountains.

當(dāng)太陽開始落山時，蟋蟀停歇在一顆松樹旁。它四處張望，看見到處都是雪，樹上、地上，還有山頂上都是雪。

The moose4 came walking over to him very slowly. He spoke even more slowly. “Ohhhh...hello，” said the moose. “Warm up. Nighttime is coming.” The cricket， however， did not listen to the moose because crickets do whatever he wants.

駝鹿非常緩慢地走向它，說起話來更慢?！芭丁愫谩！瘪劼拐f，“穿暖和點兒吧，夜晚就要來了。”但是，蟋蟀沒有聽駝鹿的，因為它一向隨心所欲。

He flew up into a pine tree to settle in for a good sleep. It did not take him long to get there because he was so fast. The owl5 came to the same tree. “You should find something from the cold night，” said the owl. The cricket， however， did not listen to the owl because crickets do whatever he wants.

它飛到一棵松樹上安頓好，準(zhǔn)備好好睡一覺。它沒花多久就到了那里，因為它飛得很快。貓頭鷹飛到了同一棵樹上。貓頭鷹說：“你應(yīng)該找些東西好度過這寒冷的夜晚?！斌皡s不聽貓頭鷹的，因為它一向隨心所欲。

He flew away from the owl and he stayed on another tree. All the fast flying made him sleepier than he had ever been. The cricket slept all through the night until morning.

它從貓頭鷹那兒飛走了，待在另一棵樹上。今天所有快速的飛行讓它比以往任何時候都要困倦。它一覺睡到了天亮。

When he woke up， he was ready to go back home and tell the ant about his trip. He jumped high in the air to start flying， but he couldnt. He fell right back into the snow. He jumped again， even higher this time， but his wings would not work. They had been frozen6 during the cold night.

當(dāng)它醒來時，它準(zhǔn)備回家告訴螞蟻它這次旅行的事。它跳到空中準(zhǔn)備飛行，但卻飛不起來了，掉回到了雪地里。它再次跳了起來，這次跳得更高，但是它的翅膀根本不能飛。它們在寒冷的夜晚已經(jīng)被凍住了。

He tried to warm them up by rubbing7 them together， but it was no use. The cricket had no choice but to jump all the way home. It took him days and days to return. By the time he got back， his wings had almost become unfrozen.

它試圖通過摩擦讓它們暖和起來，但這沒用。別無選擇，蟋蟀只能一路跳回家。它花了幾天才回來，等回來的時候，它的翅膀幾乎已經(jīng)解凍了。

But it is important to know that wings are very special and very fragile8. That is why the greatest care should always be taken around them. They are not frozen usually， and once they are， they may never be the same again.

但重要的是，要知道翅膀是非常特殊和脆弱的，這就是為什么要始終特別注意保養(yǎng)翅膀的原因。它們通常不會凍住，但是一旦凍住了，它們可能再也不會和以前一樣了。

So even though the crickets wings were no longer frozen， they still could not fly anymore. And ever since then， the cricket stays on the ground like his friend the ant， and he jumps from place to place. And now the cricket is the fastest jumper there is.

因此，即使蟋蟀的翅膀不再被凍住，它仍然無法飛行。從那以后，蟋蟀就只能像它的朋友螞蟻一樣待在地面上，到處跳來跳去。現(xiàn)在蟋蟀成了速度最快的跳躍者。

At nighttime， you can hear him chirping from rubbing his wings to keep warm. But he is doing much more than just that： At bedtime， the cricket is telling you how warm or cold it is by his chirping. He chirps faster when it is warm， and he chirps slower when it is cold. This way you will not make the same mistake that he did.

到了晚上，你會聽到蟋蟀為了取暖摩擦翅膀，發(fā)出啾啾鳴叫的聲音。但是它所做的不限于此：在睡覺的時候，蟋蟀會通過它的叫聲告訴你，天氣有多暖或多冷。溫暖的時候它會叫得緊湊一些，寒冷的時候它會叫得遲緩一些。這樣，你才不會犯與它相同的錯誤。

A rule says that if you count the number of times a cricket chirps in 15 seconds and add 40， it will give you the temperature9 in degrees.

有條定律指出，如果你數(shù)出蟋蟀在15秒內(nèi)鳴叫的次數(shù)有40次，你就能大致推算出此時的溫度。

（英語原文選自：gutenberg.org）

【Notes】

1. cricket n. 蟋蟀

2. chirp v. （蟲、鳥）吱喳而鳴

3. falconn. 獵鷹

4. moose n. 駝鹿

5. owln. 貓頭鷹

6. frozen? adj. 凍結(jié)的;結(jié)冰的

7. rub v. 擦;摩擦

8. fragile adj. 脆的

9. temperature ?n. 溫度;氣溫