1.What little birds are these that build their nests in our great cities，and do not mind the smoke and the noise and the bustle①？What little birds are these that hop about our crowded streets，and pick up seeds under the noses of the horses？Theseare our little friends the bold，saucy sparrows.
2.The sparrow is a small bird，grey and brown in colour，and with a short strong beak.It lives with us all the year round.It feeds both on insects and on seeds.
3.The sparrow builds its nest of straw，hay，and leaves in an old wall，or under the eaves②or in the water-spouts of houses.Its nest is rather rough，butit is very well lined with feathers.
①Bustle，confusion；stir.
②Eaves，the edge of a roof overhanging the walls.
4.The mother sparrow lays five eggs in the nest，and sits on them to keep them warm.The eggs are white，with brown spots.When the young birds come out of the eggs，both the father and the mother sparrow bring them soft little grubs①to eat.
5.In this way the sparrows do
a great deal of good.If the grubs
were not killed，they would eat up our garden plants，and the crops that grow in our fields.
6.In autumn②and winter③the sparrows feed on wheat andother kinds of grain.For that reason the farmers do not like sparrows，and shoot them whenever they can.But these greedy little birds do more good than harm after all.
7.Two sparrows were once watched while they were feeding their young ones，and it was found that they carried about forty grubs to the young birds every hour.
8.When we think how many sparrows there are in this country，we see that they must kill a very，very great number of grubs every day.If the farmers were to shoot all the sparrows，they would soon be very sorry for it，for all their crops would be eaten up by the grubs.
9.It is a cruel and wicked thing to throw a stone at a sparrow，or at any other bird.The stone might break its leg or its wing，and then the poor bird would die with great pain.
①Grubs，worms produced from the eggs of beetles，moths，etc.
②Autumn，the third season of the year；reaping-time or harvesttime （August，September，October）.
③Winter，the fourth season of the year；the cold season （November，December，January）.
SUMMARY
The sparrow is a small bird，grey and brown in colour，and with a short strong beak.It lives in this country all the year round，and is not afraid to make its nest and to pick up its food in large cities.It feeds on insects and seeds.It builds its nest in spring，and the mother sparrow lays five eggs.The young sparrows are fed on grubs，and they eat so many that they are of great use to the farmer.
【中文阅读】
1．有一些小鸟儿在英国的大城市里做窝，它们不怕烟雾，不怕噪音，不怕人们的忙乱，这是什么鸟儿呢？有一些小鸟儿在我们拥挤的街道上跳来跳去，在马的鼻子底下啄谷粒吃，这是什么鸟儿呢？它们就是我们小小的朋友，又大胆又调皮的麻雀！①2．麻雀是一种体型很小的鸟儿，颜色是灰色和棕色的，长着短而坚硬的喙。麻雀一年到头都跟我们生活在一起②。麻雀既吃昆虫，也吃植物的种子。
3．麻雀用稻草、干草和树叶做巢，巢搭在老旧的墙上，或者屋檐下，或者房子的雨水管里面。麻雀窝很粗糙，但里面用羽毛铺得很软。
4．麻雀妈妈在巢里一次产下五个蛋，坐在蛋上给蛋保暖。蛋是白色的，带着褐色的斑点。小麻雀从蛋里钻出来，麻雀爸爸和麻雀妈妈就会抓来软软的小虫子，给它们吃。③5．这样，麻雀就做了不少好事！如果麻雀不吃小虫子，虫子就会把我们菜园里长的蔬菜、农田里生长的庄稼都吃光了。
6．秋天和冬天，麻雀吃的是小麦和其他种类的谷粒。因为这个原因，农民不喜欢麻雀，只要一有机会就开枪打麻雀。但这些贪婪的小鸟儿，毕竟还是功大于过的。
7．有人曾经观察过两只麻雀给小麻雀喂食，他们发现，每小时这两只麻雀就给小鸟儿喂了40条小虫子。④8．我们想想英国有多少只麻雀，就能明白，它们肯定每天都要杀死很多很多的虫子。要是农民把麻雀都打光了，很快就该难过了，因为他们的庄稼就会被虫子吃光了！⑤9．朝麻雀或者其他鸟儿扔石头，是一件残忍的坏事。石头可能会打坏它们的腿或者翅膀，可怜的鸟儿就会非常痛苦地死去的。⑥译注①麻雀属于“鸟纲”“雀形目”“文鸟科”。当时英国大城市的空气质量很差，所以专门提到了“烟雾”。20世纪50年代之后，通过多种治理措施，空气质量逐渐变好了。
②像这样的鸟儿，叫做“留鸟”（resident birds），而在温暖和寒冷的地方之间来回飞的鸟儿，就叫“候鸟”（migratory birds），比如大雁。
③麻雀产卵一般是5枚，也有4枚或者6枚的，需要大约14天左右孵化。小虫子的英语是grub（s），指的是昆虫的幼虫。
④现在人们已经开始尝试人工繁殖麻雀，降低它们在自然界中的死亡率，为了防治虫害。
⑤中国以前因为对麻雀的作用不了解，曾经把它列为“四害”之一：老鼠、苍蝇、蚊子、麻雀。后来才把麻雀改成了臭虫。现在，人们的捕杀和食用，依然是麻雀生存的很大威胁。中国南方一些城市的麻雀甚至已经完全消失了。2000年，麻雀被国家林业局收入了《国家保护的有益的或者有重要经济、科学研究价值的陆生野生动物名录》，捕杀麻雀属于违法行为。
⑥请读者也一定要善待鸟儿--人类的朋友！
A LUMP 0F CLAY