Life in the Freezer 冰雪童话 - 8

Throughout the winter, adults come and go from their traditional breeding colonies. Antarctica is home to 2 million Kings. In this one colony alone, there are 600,000 of them.

These engaging chicks are so inquisitive¹ that you only have to sit down to their own level for them all to gather around you to try to discover what sort of creature you are. They were hatched last summer, and like the albatross chicks, they are just coming to the end of their first winter. During that period, their parents were out at sea catching² food for them. But each chick was only fed about once every 3 weeks. Left to themselves for so long, er they've all gathered together to form immense creches. This one contains about 50,000 chicks. You might think that this huge congregation would make it almost impossible for a parent returning with food to find its own chick. But not so. The fact is that parent and chick can recognize one another's voice.

A returning adult may spend hours looking for its chick among such a crowd, for the young are inclined to wander. The chick will respond to its parent's call and the parent to the chick's whistle. Eventually they meet. But instead of feeding the chick straight away, the adult leads it through the rookery as if to test the bond between them. At last, in response to its chick's plaintive³ entreaties⁴, the parent regurgitates a meal of squid.

A King Penguin⁵ chick takes more than 12 months to rear. That means that the adults can't breed annually⁶. At best they raise two chicks every 3 years. Because of this, the breeding cycle of any one pair slides out of phase with the seasons. So now, late in winter, there are chicks both young and old, and adults at different stages in their cycle. Some of the adults are going through their pre-breeding moult before going to sea to fatten⁷ up for courtship. Others are already courting, parading back and forth⁸ with a special ritualized walk.

New Words & Phrases

inquisitive:Unduly curious and inquiring好奇的，好询问的

creche:托儿所, 孤儿院

congregation:The act of assembling.
集合：集合的行为

rookery:The breeding ground of certain other birds or animals, such as penguins⁹ and seals.
繁殖地：企鹅和海豹等其它鸟类或兽类的繁殖地

bond:Bond is usually a close relationship between two people, or a trust.关系

plaintive:Expressing sorrow; mournful or melancholy¹⁰.
痛苦的：表示伤心的；悲痛的或忧郁的

entreaty:An earnest request or petition; a plea.
迫切要求或恳求；请求

regurgitate :To cause to pour back, especially to cast up (partially digested food).
反胃：造成回翻，特别是反胃（部分消化的食物）

out of phase :异相地, 不协调地

moult :换毛, 脱毛

1 inquisitive   

adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的

参考例句：

• Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
• A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。

2 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。

3 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

4 entreaties   

n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He began with entreaties and ended with a threat. 他先是恳求，最后是威胁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves. 暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

7 fatten   

v.使肥，变肥

参考例句：

• The new feed can fatten the chicken up quickly enough for market.新饲料能使鸡长得更快，以适应市场需求。
• We keep animals in pens to fatten them.我们把动物关在围栏里把它们养肥。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 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》

10 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。