鸵鸟(英文)

*动物世界*

Why The Ostrich Can’t Fly?

鸵鸟为何不会飞

The largest bird that cannot fly also happens to be the largest living bird in the world. This is the huge North African ostrich. When the male, or cock, is fully-grown, he reaches a height nearly eight feet and many weigh close to three hundred pounds. His wings are very small and the wing feathers are very soft, therefore he does not fly.

Y ou have probably heard the old saying about the

“foolish ostrich burying his head in the sand”. Well, the os-

trich is not nearly as foolish as he is said to be. In the daytime,

when the hen is sitting on the eggs, she does not want to be

seen; but, instead of sticking her long neck up into the air, she

bends her neck and head down and presses flat along the sand.

That way, she can best protect the eggs and herself.

Because the ostrich cannot fly up into the air to escape from danger on the ground, he has to remain alert at all times. Luckily, he has very sharp eyesight and hearing. As he lives in the desert and open plains, he can stop danger in time to race away. The ostrich can run so fast that it almost seems as if he was flying.

Sometimes, when a person has a small appetite, we say that he “eats like a bird”. That bird is definitely not the ostrich! An ostrich will eat anyth ing under the sun. When an ostrich died in a zoo, scientists cut it open to see what it had eaten. Here are some of the things found in the bird’s stomach: three pieces of wood, part of a film roll, a nail, a screw, a French coin, three handkerchiefs, four pennies, part of a chain and eighteen pieces of wire.

Questions:

1. The ostrich buries her head in the sand because ______

A. she is foolish enough to do anything.

B. she is shy enough.

C. she has to keep herself from being attacked.

D. she likes doing so.

2. An ostrich has a _____ neck, ____ wings and ______ feathers.

A. small, soft, long

B. soft, long, small

C. long, small, soft

D. long, large, soft

3. "An ostrich will eat anything under the sun" means ______

A. An ostrich will eat everything when the sun shines.

B. An ostrich won't eat anything if the sun hasn't risen.

C. An ostrich likes to eat under the sun.

D. Anything on the earth is what the ostrich eats.

（山东省潍坊第七中学刘永科）