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A kestrel is a small hunting bird in the falcon family — much smaller than the big falcons people see in films. The thing you notice first is how it flies: it can face the wind and hang in one spot in the air, wings working, tail open, while it watches the grass for a mouse. Then it drops.
A kestrel is kestrel是 a small hunting bird in the falcon family隼科裡一種小型的獵鳥 — much smaller than the big falcons people see in films比電影裡看到的大隼小很多. The thing you notice first is你最先注意到的是 how it flies牠飛行的方式: it can face the wind and hang in one spot in the air牠能迎著風停在半空中同一個點上, wings working, tail open翅膀不停拍動、尾巴張開, while it watches the grass for a mouse同時盯著草地找老鼠. Then it drops然後牠就俯衝下去。
Country people have always known this bird for that trick, even when they never learned the name. Kestrels also sit on wires and , looking down. They eat mice, insects, and sometimes small birds, so farmers used to think of them as a friend of the field — though they are wild, not pets, and you do not keep one without a licence.
Country people have always known this bird for that trick鄉下人一直都因為這個絕技而認識這種鳥, even when they never learned the name即使他們從沒學過牠的名字. Kestrels also sit on roadside wires and poles紅隼也會停在路邊的電線和柱子上, looking down往下看. They eat mice, insects, and sometimes small birds牠們吃老鼠、昆蟲,有時也吃小鳥, so farmers used to think of them as a friend of the field所以農夫以前把牠們當作田裡的朋友 — though they are wild, not pets不過牠們是野生動物,不是寵物, and you do not keep one without a licence沒有執照也不能飼養。
The word covers several small falcons of this kind, not only one country; the common European one is often reddish-brown, and the male has a grey head.
The word covers這個字涵蓋 several small falcons of this kind好幾種這一類的小型隼, not only one country不只限一個國家; the common European one is而常見的歐洲那種 often reddish-brown通常是紅褐色, and the male has a grey head公鳥的頭是灰色的。
You say KESS-trul. It is a quiet nature word, not slang and not fancy.
You say你要唸成 KESS-trulKESS-trul. It is它是 a quiet nature word一個低調的自然用詞, not slang and not fancy不是俚語,也不是花俏的字。
組成From Middle English castrel, from Middle French cresserelle / crecerelle. People usually guess it comes from crecelle, a rattle (today’s French crécelle), perhaps from the bird’s cry, but that is a usual guess, not a sure fact. Older Latin ideas are messy, so I will not pretend they are tidy.
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
kestrelnoun/ˈkɛstɹəl/
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Any of various small falcons of the genus Falco that hover while hunting.
- When she was musing she was a kestrel, which hangs in the air by an invisible motion of its wings.
- Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover, Eyeing the grass. The field mouse flits like a shadow into cover As their shadows pass.
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A common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).
資料來源:英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary(CC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。