背诵为王 第 四 册 第 46 课

Lesson46 Tigers
Tigers are found in India and most of the countries of South-east Asia. Theylive in forests and grassy¹ plains, where there are plenty of other animalsfor them to hunt for food.
If you see a tiger in the zoo, you may think its coat is brightly collaredand easily seen, but in the jungles and grassland² where it lives, a tiger ishard to see. The sunlight, shining through leaves and branches, makespatches of bright light and shadow. A tiger's golden collared coat mixes sowell into these patches³ of sunlight and shadow that it is not easily seen.
When it walks through the long forest grass, it is also hard to see, for itshair is the same colour as the blades⁴ of yellowish grass and patches of deepshadow.
This camouflage⁵, as we call it, is very important, because tigers arehunters and catch other animals for their food. If the animals could see atiger coming, they would quickly escape. It has strong, sharp teeth which ituses for seizing and eating the animals it catches. A tiger's chief food isdeer, wild pigs, monkeys and other small animals, but it will also killcows. A tiger is also very strong and if it kills a deer or a cow, it willoften drag the dead animal several hundred yards to the shelter of somebushes, where it can eat its meal in peace. Tigers usually hunt and eat atnight, and during the daytime they lie resting, hidden in the long grass.

camouflage 伪装

老虎
老虎生活在印度和大多数的东南亚国家。它们生活在森林里和草原上，那里有丰富的猎物供它们捕食。在动物园里见到老虎，你可能认为它们的皮毛颜色亮丽，很容易被发现，但是在它们所生活的丛林里和草地上，老虎是很难被发现的。阳光穿过树叶和树枝，使光亮和阴影斑驳交错。老虎的金黄色皮毛与这些光亮和阴影很好地融合在一起，使它们很难被发现。老虎走在深深的森林草丛里，也很难被发现，因为老虎的毛发与浅黄色草叶和深色阴影交错的颜色是一样的。
这种我们所说的伪装是非常重要的，因为老虎是猎手，靠捕猎其他动物为食。如果猎物看到老虎来了，它们就会快速地逃离。老虎长着坚硬锋利的牙齿，用来抓住和咬食捕捉到的猎物。老虎主要的食物是鹿、野猪、猴子和其他小动物，但是也会捕食牛。老虎非常强壮，杀死鹿或牛后，老虎通常会将猎物的尸体拖到几百码外的树丛隐蔽处，然后安静地进食。老虎通常在晚上捕猎和进食，白天它们躲在深深的草丛里休息。

1 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

2 grassland   

n.牧场，草地，草原

参考例句：

• There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
• The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。

3 patches   

n.小块( patch的名词复数 )；斑；补丁；小块土地v.补( patch的第三人称单数 )；修理；调停；解决

参考例句：

• The dog's coat is white with black patches. 这只狗的皮毛白色中带有黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She sewed patches on the elbows of jacket. 她在夹克肘部缝了几块补丁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 blades   

n.刀口( blade的名词复数 )；（机器上旋转的）叶片；桨叶；（船桨的）桨叶

参考例句：

• the blades of a propeller 螺旋桨叶
• Stay well away from the helicopter when its blades start to rotate. 直升机的螺旋桨开始转动时，尽量离远点儿。

5 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。