新西兰英语 504 Penguins in Tauranga covered in oil

 　　Oil from the Rena continues to float on the sea and finish on the beaches around Tauranga. Many penguin¹ eggs will not hatch² this spring because wildlife rescue workers are saving³ the adult penguins⁴ instead. Wildlife workers are checking penguin nests. When they find adult penguins covered in oil, they take the penguins away to clean them. Sometimes this means the eggs will get cold and the chick inside the egg will die.

　　Workers tried giving the eggs to another pair of adult penguins but these penguins would not sit on the eggs.

　　For wildlife workers, it is a hard decision to make – do they save the parents or the eggs? Most baby penguins die in the first two years of life, even in normal times, but adult penguins usually live many years. They can lay more eggs next year.

　　These are little blue penguins. Around the Bay of Plenty there are about 200 to 300 pairs of penguins sitting on eggs at the moment. However many penguins have oil on their feathers and many have died.

　　Questions

　　What do you know about little blue penguins? Where do they live? How big are they? How long do they live? Why do baby penguins die in the first two years? How many eggs do adult penguins lay?

　　Find out all you can about little blue penguins.

1 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

2 hatch   

n.孵化，舱口；vt.孵，孵出，策划；vi. 孵化

参考例句：

• No one knows how the new plan will hatch out.谁也不知道这新方案将怎样制订出来。
• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。

3 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

4 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》