精彩導讀

編號為492的火烈鳥，在到達動物園兩年后，成功逃脫，而且這一逃就是13年。5月23號，有人在拉瓦卡灣見到了這只鳥兒。

It's unbelievably rare tocatch a glimpse ofan African flamingo(火烈鳥)on the Texas coast,but if you do,it's definitely flamingo No.492.It has beenon the runfrom the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita,Kansas,since escaping 13 years ago.Sightings of flamingo No.492 have been rare,but the escaping flamingo was spotted last month in Lavaca Bay.

Flamingo No.492,along with 39 other flamingos,was sent to the Sedgwick County Zoo from Tanzania.Typically,zoos prevent flamingos from flying by cutting a part of their wings when they are newborns.But the flamingos from Tanzania arrived at the zoo as adults,so keepers there decided to clip (剪短)the birds'feathers instead,as a more humane solution to keep the animals grounded.

Clipped feathers grow back,however,and if they're notkept short,the bird will regain its ability to fly.So,in June 2005,after staying at the zoo fortwo years,flamingos No.492 and No.347 tookadvantage oftheir unclipped wings andflew out ofthe zoo.The pair settled in a canal until a large thunderstorm forced them to separate.No.347 went north to Michigan and hasn't been seen since.

But No.492 moved south to Texas,where the bird found a great place tosettle down.“As long as they have these shallow,salty types of wetlands,they can be pretty adaptive,”said Felicity Arengo,a flamingo expert.No.492 found not only a great habitat（棲息地）,but also a companion—a Caribbean flamingo that was likely displaced during a tropical（熱帶的）storm.

Ben Shepard spotted No.492 on May 23 while on a bird survey in Lavaca Bay.He didn't see No.492's Caribbean companion,but experts said this doesn't mean the companion is gone.

“It's possible they're separated and willshow upback together again,”Felicity Arengo said. “No.492 could live another 10 to 20 years,as flamingos can live well into their 40s.”

Reading check

Read the text carefully and find the right answers.

1.Where was No.492 spotted last month?

A.In Lavaca Bay,south of Texas.

B.In Lavaca Bay,south of Kansas.

C.In Lavaca Bay,north of Michigan.

D.In Lavaca Bay,north of Tanzania.

2.Why is a part of wing cut from flamingo newborns?

A.To stop them from flying forever.

B.To help them to practise flying later.

C.To keep them grounded temporarily.

D.To make iteasy for keepers to catch them.

3.What can we know about flamingo No.492?

A.It was separated from No.347 by a tropical storm.

B.It once hid in a canal with its Caribbean companion.

C.It lived happily with a Caribbean flamingo in a wetland.

D.It was spotted by a bird watcher on May 23 in Lavaca Bay.

4.About how many years old was flaming No.492 when sent to the Sedgwick County Zoo?

A.2. B.5. C.13. D.20.

Language study

Vocabulary

catch a glimpse of瞥見；窺見

on the run奔跑；逃亡

take advantage of利用；占……的便宜

fly out of從……飛走

settle down安頓；安定

show up出現(xiàn)；出席

Difficult sentence

as soon as引導的時間狀語從句

“As long as they have these shallow,salty types of wetlands,they can be pretty adaptive,”said Felicity Arengo,a flamingo expert.

翻譯:

【點石成金】as long as引導的時間狀語從句，表示“一……就……”。類似的表達方式還有as soon as，no sooner...than...，hardly/scarcely...when...，immediately/directly/instantly...， 和the moment/instant/minute等。