英语六级阅读理解精炼

29. The Thanksgiving Turkey
Of all the Thanksgiving symbols the turkey has become the most well known. The wild turkey is native1 to northern Mexico and the eastern United States.
The turkey has brown features with buff-colored feathers on the tips of the wing and on the tail. The male turkey is called a Tom2 and, as with most birds, is bigger and has brighter and more colorful plumage. The female is called a Hen and is generally smaller and drab in color. The Tom turkey has a long wattle (a fleshy, wrinkled, brightly colored fold of skin hanging from the neck or throat) at the base of its bill and additional wattles on the neck, as well as a prominent tuft of bristles3 resembling a beard projecting downward from its chest.
The turkey was originally domesticated in Mexico, and was brought into Europe early in the 16th century. Since that time, turkeys have been extensively raised because of the excellent quality of their meat and eggs. Some of the common breeds of turkey in the United States are the Bronze, Narragansett, White Holland, and Bourbon Red.
Though there is no real evidence that turkey was served at the Pilgrim's4 first thanksgiving, in a book written by the Pilgrim's Governor Bradford, he does make mention of wild turkeys. In a letter sent to England, another Pilgrim describes how the governor sent "four men out fowling" returning with turkeys, ducks and geese.
Benjamin Franklin5 once said, "I wish the Bald Eagle6 had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a Bird of bad moral character; like those among Men who live by Sharping7 and Robbing, he is generally poor and very often lousy. The Turkey is a much more respectable Bird and withal a true original Native of North America. "

阅读自测
Ⅰ. Fill in each blank according to what you've read:
Of all the symbols the turkey has become the most well known . The male turkey is called a , and the female turkey is called
a . The turkey was originally domesticated in . Turkeys have been extensively raised because of the excellent quality of their since the century. Benjamin Franklin once said that he wished turkeys but not had been chosen as the representative of the United States.
Ⅱ. Question :
Why did Benjamin Franklin think that the Turkey but not the Bald Eagle should be chosen as the representative of the United States?

参考答案及讲解

参考答案
Ⅰ. Thanksgiving / Tom / Hen / Mexico / meat and eggs / 16 th / the Bald Eagle Ⅱ. Because he thought the Bald Eagle was a bird of bad moral character, while the Turkey was much more respectable and it was the true original Native of North America.

参考译文
火鸡漫谈
在感恩节所有的象征中, 火鸡已经成为人们最熟悉的东西。野火鸡主要生长在墨西哥 北部和美国东部。
火鸡通体呈褐色, 只是在翅尖和尾部点缀些许浅黄色的羽毛。人们称雄性火鸡为 T om。和大多数鸟儿一样, 公火鸡个头更大, 羽毛的颜色也更加鲜艳明亮。人们把雌性火 鸡称作H en。母火鸡的个头较小, 羽毛是单调的土褐色。公火鸡嘴的底部有一条长长的肉 垂( 这是一种从脖子或喉咙垂下的肉质的皮肤褶皱, 色彩艳丽) , 脖子上也会长些肉垂。而 且, 公火鸡还长有一丛从胸部垂下来的像是一撮胡子一样的竖毛。
火鸡最早在墨西哥被驯化, 并在16 世纪早期被输送到欧洲。从那时起, 人们就因其高 品质的肉和蛋而开始大量饲养火鸡。美国最常见的火鸡品种主要有青铜色、纳拉甘塞特、 荷兰白和波旁红等。
尽管并没有确凿的证据证明美国清教徒在过第一个感恩节时曾把火鸡摆上宴席, 但是 他们的总督布雷德福在他写的一本书中确实提到了野火鸡。另一个清教徒在他寄往英格 兰的信中描述了总督是怎样派"四人出去捕鸟”, 结果却带了些火鸡、鸭子和鹅回来。
本杰明· 富兰克林曾经这样说:"要是当年我们没有选择秃头雕作为我国的象征就好 了。秃头雕的品行不好, 就像那些靠欺骗和掠夺为生的人中败类一样, 它一般都很卑下, 而 且行为通常也很卑劣。火鸡则是一种更加值得尊敬的鸟, 不仅如此, 它是北美真正土生土 长的鸟儿。”

阅读导评
一提到火鸡, 人们就会想到感恩节餐桌上那道香喷喷的大餐, 但是把它和美国历史联系起来的人并不多。假如美国人当年真的把火鸡选作国鸟, 是不是美国甚至整个世界的历 史都会改变呢? 鸟儿, 不论是高尚还是卑鄙, 无非是为了生存而已, 可人的欲望却是无止境 的。要改变国鸟, 再难也容易, 要改变整个国家的政策和国民的性格, 才是最难最难的。

阅读导释
1. 这个词作"本地的, 土生的”解, 如: native land ( 故乡) ; native tongue ( 母语) ; a native Italian ( 一个土生土长的意大利人) ; The maize is native to America. ( 玉米是美洲的土产。)
2. 这里指"雄性动物”, 特别是猫和火鸡。后文中的Hen 多指雌性家禽和水生动物。考虑 到本文的写作特点, 直接译为公火鸡和母火鸡。
3. 该词原指竖起的鬃毛, 此处指火鸡脖子上竖起的较硬的羽毛。
4. Pilgrim 原意为朝圣者。此处大写, 专指美国早期的清教徒移民。1620 年, 著名的"五月花”号船满载着不堪忍受英国国内宗教迫害的102 个清教徒到达美洲, 并且在新英格兰 建立普利茅斯殖民地。为了纪念那些虔诚的殖民者, 也为感谢上帝赐予丰收和健康, 美 国把每年11 月的第四个星期四定为感恩节。火鸡和南瓜饼都是这一节日的传统食物。
5. 本杰明·富兰克林( 1706—1790) , 18 世纪美国著名的政治家和文学家, 同时还是了不起 的科学家、发明家。他一生最真实的写照是他自己所说过的一句话:"诚实和勤勉, 应该 成为你永久的伴侣。”
6. 秃头雕。从1782 年起, 秃头雕就是美国的国鸟。秃头雕捕猎的本领较差, 只会跟随其他 海鸟一起去捉鱼, 往往只能抓那些死鱼和半死不活的鱼。有时候, 它们还会从鱼鹰的嘴 中把鱼抢去。
7. 这个词并不是标准用法, 出自sharp adj. 狡猾的, 欺骗的。此处相当于动词, 指"( 运用狡 猾的手段进行) 欺骗”, 特别用于商业贸易中。