10. Chickens雞

New Words 新單詞

North America

讀音：[nɔ:θ] [ə'merɪkə]

釋義：北美洲

lay (eggs)(v.)

讀音：[leɪ][egz]

釋義：下，產（蛋）（動詞）

wing (n.)

讀音：[wɪŋ]

釋義：翅膀（名詞）

ago

讀音：[əˈgəʊ]

釋義：以前

lived (past tense of live) (v.)

讀音：['lɪvd]

釋義：生活（live的過去式）（動詞）

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A long time ago, all of the world’s chickens lived in the wild. Today, it is very different. Today, nearly all of the world’s chickens live on farms. All over the world, farmers keep chickens for their meat and their eggs.

很久以前，世界上所有的雞都生活在野外。今天就很不一樣了。今天幾乎世界上所有的雞都生活在農場裡。在世界各地，農民養雞是為了它們的肉和蛋。

Most of the world’s chickens are on small farms in Asia and Africa, but there are chicken farms in other parts of the world, too. In North America, the chicken farms are very big. The chicken farms in North America are some of the biggest in the world. Those farms have so many chickens that sometimes the farmers cannot count them all.

世界上大多數雞都在亞洲和非洲的小農場裡，但是世界上其他地方也有養雞場。在北美洲養雞場很大。北美洲的養雞場是世界上最大的養雞場之一。那些農場有很多的雞，有時候農民數不完它們。

The chickens on farms are not as beautiful as those that live in the wild. Chickens on farms are not as beautiful, but they are fatter, have more meat and lay more eggs than chickens in the wild. That is why farmers like to keep them. Both on farms and in the wild, the male chickens are more beautiful than the females.

農場裡的雞不如生活在野外的那些雞漂亮。農場裡的雞沒那麼漂亮，但是它們比野外的雞更肥、肉更多、下更多蛋。那就是為什麼農民們喜歡養它們。不論是在農場裡還是在野外，公雞都比母雞更漂亮。

On small farms in Africa and Asia, chickens can usually move around looking for their food. Many years ago, farmers in America, Australia and other parts of the world let their chickens run around, too. Now it is very different. On big chicken farms, the chickens cannot move around at all!

在非洲和亞洲的小農場裡，雞常常四處活動去覓食。許多年前，美洲、澳洲和世界其他地方的農民也讓他們的雞到處跑。現在很不一樣了。在大型養雞場裡，雞根本不能四處活動！

Chickens on big farms have to stay in one place so it is easy for the farmers to give them food and take the eggs they lay. The chickens on big farms in places like America and Australia are made to stay in one place, eating and eating, getting fatter and fatter, and laying lots of eggs.

大農場裡的雞得待在一個地方，這樣農民們就方便給它們餵食並拿走它們下的蛋。比如在美洲和澳洲，大農場裡的雞被迫待在一個地方，吃了又吃，越來越胖，下很多蛋。

Chickens are a kind of bird. They have wings, but they cannot really fly – their wings are not strong enough. It could be that many, many years ago, chickens could fly, but these days they can only move around on or near to the ground. They spend most of their time on the ground, but chickens in the wild like to go up into trees at night. They like to sleep in trees.

雞是一種鳥。它們有翅膀，但是它們其實不能飛——它們的翅膀不夠強壯。也許在很多很多年前，雞是可以飛翔的，但是現在它們只能在近地面四處活動。它們大多數時間都待在地上，但是野外的雞喜歡在夜裡上樹。它們喜歡睡在樹上。

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Lee and his mother are talking about Lee’s chickens.

李和他媽媽正在談論李的雞。

Mom

Tell me, Lee, how many chickens do you have now?

Lee

I have nineteen - twelve adults and seven young ones.

Mom

Oh, that’s a lot.

Lee

I’d like to have a lot more – forty, fifty or even sixty chickens!

Mom

That would be too many, Lee. It would be very difficult to look after that many chickens.

Lee

Do you know Mom, two years ago I only had five chickens, but because the females could lay eggs, I got six more. So, one year ago, I had eleven chickens.

Mom

And now you have even more.

Lee

Yes. And this year the females are laying even more eggs. That means I’ll have more young chickens when they come out of their eggs.

Mom

What do you give them to eat?

Lee

I don’t give them any special food. Usually, I just give them rice. Some of them walk around hunting for insects, too.

Mom

Well, it’s nice that your chickens can move around. These days, chickens on lots of big farms can’t move around at all.

Lee

I know. That’s not very nice for the chickens, is it? Why do they have to stay in one place like that?

Mom

Because it makes it easy for the farmers to protect them, give them food and take the eggs they lay. Those chickens grow very fat and lay lots of eggs.

Lee

I think it was better for chickens many years ago when they lived in the forests. When they lived in the wild, they could move around as they liked.

Mom

Yes, Lee, but that was many years ago. Things are very different now.

媽媽

告訴我，李，你現在有多少隻雞了？

李

我有十九隻——十二隻成年雞和七隻小雞。

媽媽

噢，那很多。

李

我想要有更多——四十隻、五十隻或甚至六十隻雞！

媽媽

那就太多了，李。照料那麼多的雞很難。

李

你知道嗎，媽媽，兩年前我只有五隻雞，但是因為母雞可以下蛋，我又多了六隻。所以一年前，我有十一隻雞。

媽媽

現在你甚至有更多了。

李

是的。今年母雞還正在下更多的蛋。那意味著當它們從雞蛋裡出來的時候我會有更多小雞。

媽媽

你給它們吃什麼？

李

我沒有給它們任何特殊的食物，通常，我只給它們大米。它們有些也會四處活動去捕捉蟲子。

媽媽

好吧，你的雞可以四處活動，這真棒。現在很多大農場裡的雞根本不能四處活動。

李

我知道。那對雞來說不是很好，對吧？為什麼它們得像那樣待在一個地方？

媽媽

因為那樣農民容易保護它們，給它們餵食並拿走它們下的蛋。那些雞長得很肥，下很多蛋。

李

我認為對雞來說，很多年前它們生活在森林裡更好。當它們生活在野外時，它們可以任意走來走去。

媽媽

是的，李，但那是很多年以前。現在事情非常不一樣了。

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Questions

1. Why do farmers keep chickens?

2. Where are some of the biggest chicken farms?

3. Can chickens fly?

4. Which chickens are more beautiful?

5. Why don’t some farmers let their chickens move around?

6. How many adult chickens does Lee have?

7. How many chickens did he have last year?

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