鳥類世界的愛因斯坦
——非洲灰鸚鵡

吉林梅河口市第五中學 單哲春

非洲灰鸚鵡非常善于學舌，它們以聰明而聞名，從而獲得“鳥類世界的愛因斯坦”的美名。

The African grey parrot's ability to talk and mimic sounds makes it a charming companion. African grey owners often report that their greys oftentimes talk in context and can understand their people's emotions. The African grey parrot is not just a top talker—this bird is also known for its extreme intelligence, which gives it the name “The Einsteins of the bird world”.

The bird is medium-sized, dusty-looking and almost pigeon-like. It has a bright red tail, intelligent orange eyes,and a stunning scalloped (扇形的) pattern to its feathers. Its diet in the wild consists mostly of nuts, seeds, fruits, and leafy matter.

At home, African greys need plenty of toys that challenge their intelligence, such as food searching and puzzle toys. Nutri-Berries by Lafeber Company are a perfect choice, which,with a balance of grains, seeds and other nutrients in the shape of a berry, encourages African greys to hold, bite off, and even do other things, just as they do in the wild.

African greys seem especially affected by stress and disturbing noise in their environment and can be put more at ease by placing one corner of the cage against a wall compared to in the middle of a room.

African grey parrots are more likely to suffer from lack of vitamin A/beta-carotene, and therefore benefit from eating vegetables high in beta-carotene, such as cooked sweet potato and fresh kale. Lack of vitamin D is another concern, especially for greys on a poor diet. Offering a balanced, pill-shaped diet, such as Nutri-Berries, helps prevent vitamin and mineral shortage.

Reading Check

1. Why are African grey parrots called “The Einsteins of the bird world”?

A. Due to their talking ability.

B. Because of their brain size.

C. Owing to their rich emotions.

D. On account of their intelligence.

2. What can “Nutri-Berries” probably be?

A. A type of round fruit.

B. Puzzle toys for birds.

C. A brand of bird food.

D. Wild intelligence games.

3. What is the characteristic of African grey parrots?

A. They are smart and love to have fun.

B. They are dusty-looking with blue eyes.

C. They seldom get ill despite the lack of vitamin.

D. They prefer to stay in the middle of a room.

4. Where can we most probably find the text?

A. In a travel guide.

B. In science fiction.

C. On a shopping website.

D. In a wildlife magazine.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

Nutri-Berries by Lafeber Company are a perfect choice, which, with a balance of grains, seeds and other nutrients in the shape of a berry, encourages African greys to hold, bite off, and even do other things, just as they do in the wild.

【翻譯】_____________________________________________________________________________

【點石成金】這是一個主從復合句。 just as they do in the wild是as引導的方式狀語從句；which,with a balance of grains, seeds and other nutrients in the shape of a berry, encourages African greys to hold, bite off, and even do other things是which引導的非限制性定語從句。