英语博客：Chirping Chicks.

 Oh, I haven't been getting much sleep recently. It seems as though* the whole world is noisy. It's summer, and every living thing is feeling fully¹ alive, and therefore, making lots of noise. I often have to put our two dogs in the garage in the early hours of the morning because they have a barking fit* at who knows what*. There are racoon families in our neighborhood. At night they scurry²* around, looking for food in the garbage cans. They need to feed their babies, so they are busy. And, of course, when the dogs pick up their scent³ in the air, it's barking time. Also, the birds are busy feeding their chicks. We have a bird house next to  our deck, in our back yard, with three chicks in it. Very early in the morning you'll hear the chirp⁴, chirp, peep, peep. It's adorable, even if it is at five in the morning. My children have asked me if we can feed them, but of course I told them "no", because who knows what they would give them to eat when I'm not looking..... I would probably find remnants of Oreo cookies in the nest, and some very sick birds. A couple of other birds have nested in our garden recently which I call my angels. They are wood pigeons; over here they call them doves. They make a very soothing⁵ ooo-ooo-ooo sound. When I was growing up in the English countryside, that's a sound that I heard all the time. It takes me back to my childhood, and makes me feel very comfortable. I decided⁶ to take a photo of the nearest nest the other day. It's higher up than my head, so I can't see into it without standing⁷ on something. So, I took the chance of just lifting the camera over my head, clicking, and hoping to get a good shot. It worked. I had obviously made enough noise to disturb the chicks, and, not being able to see whether I was their parent or not, they leaned towards the opening of the birdhouse, and opened their mouths. It's amazing to think that in a few short weeks, these totally vulnerable babies will be flying around, catching⁸ insects. There will be a lot less chirping⁹, and a lot more flying.

 

Grammar notes.

 

Expressions: it seems as though, who knows what, to scurry.

 

1. It seems as though everyone is wearing skinny jeans these days. What ever happened to baggy¹⁰ trousers?

 

2. The attic¹¹ was full of junk: broken furniture, moth-eaten clothes, broken cups and plates, and who knows what else.

 

3. Mice are rodents¹². They run with fast bursts of energy which we call scurrying¹³.

 

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 scurry   

vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马

参考例句：

• I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
• There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。

3 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

4 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

5 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 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。

8 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

9 chirping   

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。

10 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

11 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

12 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

13 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句