第23課 濱螺
A boy with a basket is walking down the street.
街上有個孩子挎著籃子走過來,
He is shouting out, "Winks, winks, periwinks!"
一邊走一邊吆喝:“濱螺!濱螺!賣濱螺啦!”
Let us buy a few of them, and put them into salt water, if they are alive.
咱們買幾個濱螺吧, 要是還活著, 就把它們放到鹽水里面。
The winkle is often called the "sea-snail, " because it lives in the sea, and looks like a snail.
濱螺也叫“海蝸牛”, 因為它生活在海里, 看上去又很像蝸牛。
It has a hard twisted shell, but it has no bones inside;
濱螺長著一個螺旋形的硬殼, 里面沒有骨頭,
its body is only a mass of soft flesh.
身體是一團軟軟的肉。
When we take it in our hands, we see that it has a hard, horny scale,
把濱螺拿在手上, 會看見它有一片堅硬的角質鱗,
which shuts the opening in its shell like a little door.
像小門一樣, 封住了螺殼的開口。
Now put the winkle in the water.
再把濱螺放回水里,
Soon you see it push out a broad soft part called the "foot, " by which it holds on to the rocks.
過一會兒, 你就會看見它伸出了一片寬寬的軟東西, 這東西叫“足”, 濱螺就是用它抓住石頭的。
But we might also call it the "head, " for in it you see little horns or feelers and two tiny eyes.
不過, 我們也可以叫它“頭”, 在里面, 可以看見濱螺的小觸角和兩只特別小的眼睛。
The winkle has gills inside its body to breathe with, and a little stomach and a little heart.
濱螺體內, 有用來呼吸的鰓, 還有胃和心臟。
But its blood is not red like our blood.
不過, 濱螺的血并不跟人類一樣是紅色的。
The tongue of the winkle is very long and narrow, and is covered with very small teeth.
濱螺的舌頭很窄很長, 上面布滿了細小的牙齒。
The winkle uses its tongue like a saw to cut off bits of the sea-weed on which it feeds.
濱螺吃海藻的時候, 就用這些像鋸一樣的牙齒, 把海藻一點一點切下來。
The winkle lays its little eggs upon the sea-weed that grows on the sea-shore.
濱螺在海岸邊生長的海藻上, 產下小小的卵。
Winkles must be boiled before we eat them.
濱螺要煮過才能吃。
After they are cooked, we can pull each winkle out of its shell with a pin.
煮過以后, 可以用大頭針, 把濱螺的肉從殼里剔出來。