Why the Cricket1 Chirps2为什么 蟋蟀要鸣叫

向红

Before things were the way they are， the cricket could fly. He flew faster than the bee. He flew higher than the falcon3.

很久以前，蟋蟀是會飞的。它飞得比蜜蜂快，飞得比猎鹰高。

The cricket wanted to fly all over the world. He flew to the East. Then he flew to the West. And then he flew to the South. But he had never flown to the North.

蟋蟀想飞遍世界各地。它飞到了东方，然后它飞到了西方，接下来飞到了南方。但是它从来没有飞去过北方。

The ant told him that he should not try. “Its very cold up north，” said the ant. “Its too cold for an ant and too cold for a cricket.”

蚂蚁告诉它不要尝试。蚂蚁说：“北边很冷，对蚂蚁来说太冷，对蟋蟀来说也太冷了。”

The cricket， however， did not listen to the ant， because crickets do whatever he wants. He set off for the North at that night. It did not take him long to get there because he was so fast.

但蟋蟀没听蚂蚁的，因为它一向随心所欲。那天晚上它就出发去了北方。它没花多久就到了北方，因为它飞得很快。

The cricket stopped next to a pine tree as the sun began setting. There was snow everywhere he looked. There was snow on the trees. There was snow on the ground. And there was snow on top of the mountains.

当太阳开始落山时，蟋蟀停歇在一颗松树旁。它四处张望，看见到处都是雪，树上、地上，还有山顶上都是雪。

The moose4 came walking over to him very slowly. He spoke even more slowly. “Ohhhh...hello，” said the moose. “Warm up. Nighttime is coming.” The cricket， however， did not listen to the moose because crickets do whatever he wants.

驼鹿非常缓慢地走向它，说起话来更慢。“哦……你好。”驼鹿说，“穿暖和点儿吧，夜晚就要来了。”但是，蟋蟀没有听驼鹿的，因为它一向随心所欲。

He flew up into a pine tree to settle in for a good sleep. It did not take him long to get there because he was so fast. The owl5 came to the same tree. “You should find something from the cold night，” said the owl. The cricket， however， did not listen to the owl because crickets do whatever he wants.

它飞到一棵松树上安顿好，准备好好睡一觉。它没花多久就到了那里，因为它飞得很快。猫头鹰飞到了同一棵树上。猫头鹰说：“你应该找些东西好度过这寒冷的夜晚。”蟋蟀却不听猫头鹰的，因为它一向随心所欲。

He flew away from the owl and he stayed on another tree. All the fast flying made him sleepier than he had ever been. The cricket slept all through the night until morning.

它从猫头鹰那儿飞走了，待在另一棵树上。今天所有快速的飞行让它比以往任何时候都要困倦。它一觉睡到了天亮。

When he woke up， he was ready to go back home and tell the ant about his trip. He jumped high in the air to start flying， but he couldnt. He fell right back into the snow. He jumped again， even higher this time， but his wings would not work. They had been frozen6 during the cold night.

当它醒来时，它准备回家告诉蚂蚁它这次旅行的事。它跳到空中准备飞行，但却飞不起来了，掉回到了雪地里。它再次跳了起来，这次跳得更高，但是它的翅膀根本不能飞。它们在寒冷的夜晚已经被冻住了。

He tried to warm them up by rubbing7 them together， but it was no use. The cricket had no choice but to jump all the way home. It took him days and days to return. By the time he got back， his wings had almost become unfrozen.

它试图通过摩擦让它们暖和起来，但这没用。别无选择，蟋蟀只能一路跳回家。它花了几天才回来，等回来的时候，它的翅膀几乎已经解凍了。

But it is important to know that wings are very special and very fragile8. That is why the greatest care should always be taken around them. They are not frozen usually， and once they are， they may never be the same again.

但重要的是，要知道翅膀是非常特殊和脆弱的，这就是为什么要始终特别注意保养翅膀的原因。它们通常不会冻住，但是一旦冻住了，它们可能再也不会和以前一样了。

So even though the crickets wings were no longer frozen， they still could not fly anymore. And ever since then， the cricket stays on the ground like his friend the ant， and he jumps from place to place. And now the cricket is the fastest jumper there is.

因此，即使蟋蟀的翅膀不再被冻住，它仍然无法飞行。从那以后，蟋蟀就只能像它的朋友蚂蚁一样待在地面上，到处跳来跳去。现在蟋蟀成了速度最快的跳跃者。

At nighttime， you can hear him chirping from rubbing his wings to keep warm. But he is doing much more than just that： At bedtime， the cricket is telling you how warm or cold it is by his chirping. He chirps faster when it is warm， and he chirps slower when it is cold. This way you will not make the same mistake that he did.

到了晚上，你会听到蟋蟀为了取暖摩擦翅膀，发出啾啾鸣叫的声音。但是它所做的不限于此：在睡觉的时候，蟋蟀会通过它的叫声告诉你，天气有多暖或多冷。温暖的时候它会叫得紧凑一些，寒冷的时候它会叫得迟缓一些。这样，你才不会犯与它相同的错误。

A rule says that if you count the number of times a cricket chirps in 15 seconds and add 40， it will give you the temperature9 in degrees.

有条定律指出，如果你数出蟋蟀在15秒内鸣叫的次数有40次，你就能大致推算出此时的温度。

（英语原文选自：gutenberg.org）

【Notes】

1. cricket n. 蟋蟀

2. chirp v. （虫、鸟）吱喳而鸣

3. falconn. 猎鹰

4. moose n. 驼鹿

5. owln. 猫头鹰

6. frozen  adj. 冻结的;结冰的

7. rub v. 擦;摩擦

8. fragile adj. 脆的

9. temperature  n. 温度;气温