英国学生科学读本 Lesson 36 浑身是宝的绵羊(2)

In the front of its lower jaw there are eight sharp teeth for nipping. There are no teeth in its upper jaw opposite these, but there is a hard pad instead. At the back of its mouth the sheep has six teeth with flat tops on each side of each jaw. These are called grinders.

绵羊的下腭前面，有八颗锋利的牙齿，用来咬植物。上面的上腭部分没有牙齿，只有一个坚硬的齿垫。绵羊嘴的后面，上腭和下腭的两边，各有六颗牙齿，牙齿的顶端是平的，叫磨牙或者臼齿。

The sheep does not use its two kinds of teeth at the same time. First it nips off the grass, and swallows it as quickly as possible. Now, the sheep has no fewer than four stomachs. The grass goes straight down into the first stomach. When this is full, the sheep lies down and begins to "chew the cud.

这两种牙齿，绵羊不是同时用的。首先，绵羊把青草咬下来，尽可能快地吞下去。其实，绵羊的胃，整整有四个!青草直接进到第一个胃里去，盛满了，绵羊就躺下来开始“反刍”。

The grass goes from the first stomach into a second stomach, where it is rolled up into balls, called "cuds. "Then these cuds come up one by one to the mouth, where they are slowly chewed by the flat grinding teeth.

青草从第一个胃进入第二个胃，在这个胃里卷成团儿，这种团儿的英语叫cuds。然后，青草团子一个接一个送回嘴里，绵羊用臼齿，慢慢地嚼这些团子。

Then the grass is swallowed again, and passes through a third bag into the fourth or true stomach. The cow, the deer, and the goat "chew the cud" in just the same way as the sheep does.

然后，绵羊再把青草咽下去，通过第三个胃，进入第四个胃——真正的胃。牛、鹿、山羊的反刍，也跟绵羊的反刍一样。

The male sheep is called a ram, and the female sheep a ewe. Young sheep are called lambs. The flesh of the sheep, called mutton, is very good for eating. Its fat is called suet, and is used for making candles and soap.

公绵羊的英语叫ram，母绵羊的英语叫ewe，小羊羔叫lamb 。绵羊的肉，英语叫mutton，非常好吃。绵羊的油，英语叫suet ，可以用来制作蜡烛和肥皂。

 

英语美文