誰在奏響生命的樂章？

Splash! A big-eyed， bulging1) bullfrog plops2) into a pond. This frog's eardrums are as big as her eyes， but there is secret life in the woods even she cannot hear. It is hidden life that no one can hear. Who is there?

In the trees， in ponds and puddles3)， and under leaves and soil， eggs are preparing to hatch. Hard eggs， squishy4) eggs， leathery eggs， big and small eggs are hiding in nooks5) and crannies6).

Each egg has in it everything needed to make a new baby animal. It has the part that will become the hatchling7)， a layer or two of something to protect it， and food. Secretly， silently...the eggs develop.

A big bunch of bullfrog eggs float in the pond. They are tiny black dots with a loose jelly coating. A rainbow trout8) swims out of the pond into a cool stream. Here the water moves faster. On the gravel9) at the bottom， she lays hundreds of clear， yellowish eggs. The eggs are soft as butter. They are smaller than the tip of your little finger.

At the edge of the pond， a snapping turtle10) digs a hole in the sandy soil with her back claws. She drops in two dozen white， leathery eggs that look like table-tennis balls. Carefully she covers them and lumbers11) away. In a patch of velvety12) moss， a black snake， called a racer13)， leaves her eggs. They are snowy but rough， as if covered with salt. On a leaf nearby， a clump of tiny white balls have been glued on with red cement. These eggs belong to the pale green luna moth14).

Birds lay hard-shelled eggs. Some are plain， some are colorful， and some are speckled15). The eggs lie hidden in hollow trees， clumps of grass， and in many kinds of nests. Some look like pebbles， so you can't see them when they are laid on the ground. The eggs of a hummingbird16) are no bigger than your thumbnail. The eggs of an eagle are as broad as the palm of your hand.

For now， this world remains silent and hidden. Soon， the secret will be out. The food inside these eggs will be used up， and the baby animals will hatch， big and strong enough to live outside of their shells.

So go quietly， gently in the woods—and do not disturb.

“撲通”！一只眼睛大大、身體鼓脹的牛蛙跳進了池塘里。這只牛蛙雖然有著和她眼睛一樣大的耳鼓，但是在森林里仍然有一種連她都無法聽到的神秘生命。這是一種誰都無法聽到的隱藏著的生命。是誰在那里呢？

在樹林中，在池塘和水坑里，在落葉和土壤的覆蔽之下，是正準備孵化的卵。這些卵或堅硬，或黏軟，或柔韌，或大或小，掩藏于隱秘的角落和隙縫之間。

每一粒卵內都有孵化成新生動物所需要的一切成分。卵內有將會成為幼小生命的部分，有一層或兩層用來保護卵核的東西，還有食物。神奇隱秘，悄無聲息……這些卵生長發育著。

一大串牛蛙卵在池塘中漂浮著。這些牛蛙卵是一些微小的黑點，黑點外裹著一層松散的像果凍一樣的膜。一條虹鱒魚游出池塘，來到一條清涼的溪流中。這里的水流更為湍急一些。在溪底的砂礫上，這條虹鱒魚產下數百粒透亮的淡黃色魚卵。魚卵如同黃油一般柔軟，比你小指的指尖還要小。

在池塘的邊緣，一只鱷龜用她的后爪在沙地上挖了一個坑。她在坑里產下了二十四個看上去就像乒乓球似的白色的柔韌的卵。她小心翼翼地將這些卵掩埋好，然后挪動笨拙的身體離開了。在一片天鵝絨般光滑柔軟的苔蘚中，一條學名叫美洲游蛇的黑蛇，離開了她產下的卵。蛇卵雪白雪白的，但不光滑，就像上面撒了一層鹽似的。在附近的一片葉子上，一團小白球被紅色膠泥粘在了一起。這些是淡綠色月形天蠶蛾的卵。

鳥類產的是硬殼蛋。有的素淡無華，有的色彩斑斕，還有的布滿斑點。鳥蛋被藏匿在中空的樹洞里、雜草叢中和各種各樣的鳥巢里。有些鳥蛋看上去就像鵝卵石一樣，所以當這種鳥蛋被產在地面上時，你都無法發現它們。蜂鳥下的蛋和你的拇指指甲蓋大小差不多。而一只鷹下的蛋卻有你的手掌那么大。

現在，這個世界依然寧靜而隱秘。不久之后，秘密就將揭曉。這些卵(蛋)中的食物將會被耗盡，幼小的新生命將會孵化而出，一個個足夠強大壯實，能夠離開卵殼生存。

所以，在樹林中，請你悄悄地、輕輕地行走——不要打擾這些生命。

Animal Sports Stars

動物體育大明星

From bbc.co.uk

奧運會上，人類的體育健兒們一次次挑戰自身的極限，動物界也有這樣的體育明星。它們創造著一個個令人類感到驚奇的紀錄。

超級跑手——印度豹

The cheetah (印度豹) is the fastest mammal on earth. To reach speeds of 104 km/h， it takes 8m long strides， the length of a whole bus in one step.

跳遠冠軍——大麻哈魚

A salmon (大麻哈魚) spends its whole life to swim miles upstream. To get past really steep parts， it has to leap out of the water， sometimes 4m out of the water.

大力推手——屎殼郎

The dung beetle (屎殼郎) spends its entire life rolling dung (糞) balls. It's so strong as to push dung balls 50 times its own weight.

體操健將——長臂猿

A gibbon's (長臂猿) arms are 2.5 times longer than its body. And with special wrist joints as well， it can perform the most amazing aerial (空中) gymnastics.

最佳團體——野狗隊

The wild dog's team loyalty is second to none. Acting in a gang means they can defend themselves from enemies and also attack prey (獵物). When together， they can hunt down animals up to 10 times their weight.