一起听英语 209 研究稀有鸟类

有一个名词是专门用来指代负责研究稀有鸟类的人.......

BIRDS SINGING

Rob: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English with me, Rob, and a very beautiful

sound…

Jen: Ahhh, the sound of birdsong. Hello, I’m Jennifer and that’s what we’re talking

about today – birdsong.

Rob: In Britain, this is the sound of summer – lots of different species – or types – of

birds tweeting.

Jen: Tweeting? You mean they are using Twitter – the social media site?!

Rob: Of course not! Tweeting is a way of describing the sounds birds make. We

sometimes say they chirp or trill too – making short, high-pitched sounds.

Jen: Yes, I knew that really. But a BBC radio station in the UK is playing a different

birdsong every day. They're calling it ’Tweet of the Day’ – which is a clever title.

Rob: It is and we’ll talk more about that soon. But first I need to see if you are a

twitcher – another name for a person who watches birds for a hobby. Do you

know how many species of birds there are on Britain's official bird list?

a) 396

b) 496

c) 596

Jen: Wow, there are lots but I have no idea so I will guess a) 396.

Rob: That is quite a lot, isn't it? We’ll find out if you are right at the end of the

programme. So, let’s talk more about tweeting – of the bird kind. Where I live,

there are many fields and trees and there is nothing more beautiful – and noisythan

the sound of the dawn chorus.

Jen: That’s when all the birds start singing at sunrise – so first thing in the morning.

It’s not so beautiful if you are trying to sleep! But I know what you mean about

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2013

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birdsong – it makes you think about different places. Listen to this birdsong, for

example…

SEAGULL SOUND FX

Rob: Yes, the seagull - a scavenger which eats food scraps or other dead animals.

Jen: Yes, it reminds me of the seaside, although I wouldn’t describe that as a

beautiful sound – more of a screech. Let’s hear another sound from one of our

feathered friends – or in other words, birds…

BLACKBIRD SOUND FX

Rob: That’s the call of a blackbird – something I hear in my back garden. It’s a very

distinctive song – easy to recognise and something you hear a lot of in the

British summer.

Jen: And how about this bird – what does it make you think of?

CUCKOO SOUND FX

Rob: That has to be a cuckoo – its call sounds like its name – ‘cuckoo’. It reminds me

of springtime because that’s when you first hear them. It’s incredible that there

are so many different birdsongs.

Jen: Well, that’s why BBC Radio 4’s Tweet of the Day features 265 different

birdsongs. Sound engineers have been outside and captured – or recorded - the

sounds of birds with strange names like the wood warbler, nightjar, lesser

whitethroat and yellowhammer.

Rob: Great names. But listening to these strange-named birds may be enjoyable but

their tweeting could also be useful.

Jen: That’s right. Sound experts say some birdsongs can help you concentrate when

you're studying.

Rob: Yes, a writer called Julian Treasure says birdsong can relax the body and make

your mind more alert. He thinks the dawn chorus is like nature’s alarm clock –

‘it stimulates us cognitively’ – so gets our brains working and thinking.

Jen: Another study found the natural sounds of birdsong might stop you getting tired

and sleepy after eating a meal. An experiment found playing birdsong to school

children after lunch made them more alert. We should try it here Rob.

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2013

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Rob: We should. There’s even a smartphone app that plays birdsong and claims to

help you work better. But there’s no need for an app, all I need to do is open the

window and listen to the birds outside…

BIRDS SINGING

Rob: …but are they all of the bird species I asked you about earlier? My question was

how many species of birds are there on Britain's official bird list?

a) 396

b) 496

c) 596

Jen: I said a) 396.

Rob: Sorry Jen, you're wrong. Incredibly there are 596 types of species in Britain. 286

of them are rare – so not many of them left. OK Jen, there’s just time to remind

us of some of the vocabulary that we heard today:

Jen: We heard…

species

tweeting

chirp

twitcher

dawn chorus

scavenger

screech

feathered friends

captured

nature’s alarm clock

rare

Rob: Thanks. Time, now, for some more tweeting. Join us again soon for 6 Minute

English from BBC Learning English.

Both: Bye