美語情景對話 第269期:The Kiwi 幾維鳥

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Todd: OK, Leonard, now, when most people think of Kiwi, at least Americans, we think of the fruit.
    托德:里昂納多,大部分人,至少是大部分美國人在說到Kiwi這個詞的時候認為是奇異果。
    Leo: Right, right. Also in Japan as well.
    里奧:沒錯,的確是這樣。當然日本也是這樣。
    Todd: Oh, really! OK. But, uh, people from New Zealand are called Kiwis not because of the fruit I take it.
    托德:哦,真的嗎!但是,新西蘭人所稱的Kiwis并不是我認為的那種水果。
    Leo: That's right. That's right. The nickname for New Zealanders is Kiwi, and actually the Kiwi bird... Kiwi is actually a Maori name, and Maori are the native people of New Zealand.
    里奧:沒錯,沒錯。新西蘭的代名詞就是幾維鳥……幾維是毛利語,毛利是新西蘭的原住民。
    Todd: Oh, wow!
    托德:哦,哇!
    Leo: And so Kiwi, the pronunciation of Kiwi K-I-W-I KEE-WEE, Maori has similar pronunciation to the Japanese language, ah, ee, uu, eh, oh. They pronounce the vowels.
    里奧:所以幾維鳥,發(fā)音是K-I-W-I KEE-WEE,毛利語的發(fā)音和日語的發(fā)音很相似,ah, ee, uu, eh, oh。他們的元音也是這種發(fā)音。
    Todd: OK. I'm..what is Kiwi?
    托德:嗯。那幾維鳥是什么呢?
    Leo: A kiwi is a nocturnal bird, which only walks, it doesn't fly.
    里奧:幾維鳥是一種在夜間活動的鳥,它們只能走路,不會飛。
    Todd: OK. So nocturnal means it only comes out at night.
    托德:好。那在夜間活動的意思就是它們只在夜晚出來活動嗎。
    Leo: Right. Right. And in the deep forest. Actually, you'd never see a Kiwi if you went to New Zealand, unless you went to the zoo.
    里奧:對,對。而且是在森林深處活動。實際上,如果你去新西蘭的話,你是看不到幾維鳥的,除非你去動物園。
    Todd: Oh, really!
    托德:哦,真的嗎?
    Leo: Right!
    里奧:沒錯!
    Todd: OK.
    托德:好。
    Leo: And the brown Kiwi is the most, uh, rarest of them all. They're only I think, there are less than one thousand brown kiwis left.
    里奧:褐幾維鳥是數(shù)量最稀少的種類。我想,褐幾維鳥的現(xiàn)存數(shù)量不足1000只。
    Todd: Wow. So..
    托德:哇。那……
    Leo: It can only be found in New Zealand.
    里奧:只有新西蘭才有。
    Todd: Ok. OK. maybe I missed it but can it fly.
    托德:好。嗯。我想我剛才好像聽漏了,它能飛嗎?
    Leo: No, no it can't.
    里奧:不,不能飛。
    Todd: It can't fly.
    托德:不能飛呀。
    Leo: It can only walk.
    里奧:它只能走。
    Todd: Wow, so it only comes out at night...in the deep forest and it can't fly.
    托德:哇,所以它夜間在森林深處活動,而且不能飛。
    Leo: You'd be surprised. If you go to New Zealand, uh, there are over twenty different types of birds that walk.
    里奧:你一定感到很吃驚。如果你去新西蘭,會看到有20余種不同種類的幾維鳥在散步。
    Todd: Really! That's fascinating. Well, thanks for telling us about the Kiwi.
    托德:真的嗎!那真吸引人,謝謝你跟我們分享幾維鳥的信息。
    Leo: You're welcome.
    里奧:不客氣。