金木怎么画:珠眼的背後 Behind beady eyes

Behind beady eyes According to Aztec legend, which prophesizes that the world will end when the crows spread open their wings and cover the skies with their black feathers, the crow is the bringer of doom. The Native Americans, however, worship the raven as the creator of earth. These paradoxical views have now come together to shape a fascinating urban legend of the clever crow.
  Often seen perching on a low-hanging tree branch or street light, the common crow always seems to be bending its head to watch you, with a knowing twinkle in its eye. Everyone has stories to tell — from how the cheeky bird stole his grandma's pearl necklace to how she saw it manipulate traffic to crush open walnuts. These tales not only reveal the often exasperating intelligence of the crow, but also highlights its daily interaction with humans. A mischievous bird indeed, but why is it treated as a sign of bad luck?
  The association of the raven with death and war is a reflection of its tendency to eat carrion, particularly on blood-shed battlefields. In our modern cities though, they clear up garbage, eat insect pests and generally share a mutually beneficial relationship with society. Scientist Joshua Klein has even suggested that crows could be trained to pick up trash and recycle
them in specially-designed vending machines for peanut rewards.
  Furthermore, as depicted by Asian fables, crows are surprisingly filial, mating for life and cooperatively raising their young. Juvenile crows often stay with their parents for years and even help feed subsequent nestlings. Ravens, known for their ability to imitate human voice like parrots, also make intelligent pets.
  Nevertheless, there is one account to keep in mind. Be aware of crows when you are withdrawing money from an automated teller machine: In Sicily, a trained crow snatched bills worth US$238 during the withdrawal and gave the stash to his thieving owner.
據阿茲特克傳說中的預言，世界末日時，烏鴉會張開翅膀並用黑色羽翼遮蔽天空，因此牠們會帶來毀滅；不過，美洲原住民卻崇拜創造大地的渡鴉。這些矛盾的觀點現在被結合起來，形成有關聰明烏鴉的有趣「現代傳說」。 烏鴉通常站在低垂的樹枝或街燈上，似乎總是彎著頭看你，眼中閃爍著「洞悉一切」的光芒。大家都有故事要講，從這種厚臉皮的鳥兒如何偷走祖母的珍珠項鍊，到她看到烏鴉如何「操縱」交通以打開核桃。這些故事不但透露烏鴉往往被誇大的智慧，也突顯牠們和人類的日常互動。烏鴉的確是一種「調皮搗蛋」的鳥，但又為什麼會變成厄運的象徵呢？
渡鴉和死亡與戰爭的關連，反映牠們吃死屍的偏好，尤其在血流成河的戰場上。不過在現代的都市裡，牠們會清理垃圾、吃害蟲，一般來說和社會有著互利互惠的關係。科學家約書亞克萊恩甚至提出，烏鴉能被訓練撿拾垃圾，並可用特別設計的販賣機回收垃圾，以換取花生當獎勵。
還有，就像亞洲寓言裡所描述，烏鴉對伴侶出乎意料地忠貞不二，終其一生只有一個伴侶，而且合作哺育幼鳥。年輕烏鴉常待在父母身邊多年，並幫忙餵食弟妹。渡鴉因為和鸚鵡一樣具有模仿人類聲音的能力，所以也是很聰明的寵物。
無論如何，大家得記住一件事。那就是從提款機領錢時要小心烏鴉：在西西里島，一隻受過訓練的烏鴉在提款時搶走兩百卅八美元現鈔，並將這筆錢交給竊賊飼主。
November 15 ~ 21, 2009
Photos: Bloomberg.
珠眼的背後
Words & Phrases
1. crow [kro] (n.) 烏鴉
European lore depicts the crow as the divine messenger of the gods.
歐洲傳說將烏鴉塑造為眾神的信差。
2. creator [krI`etR] (n.) 創造者；創作者
Lawrence Robert, the co-creator of the Internet, is now focused on improving network
communication, specifically bandwidth management.
網路創造者之一的勞倫斯羅伯特現在把工作重點擺在改善網路通訊，尤其
是頻寬管理。
3. urban [`Lb6n] (adj.) 都市的；城市的
Another famous urban troublemaker is the raccoon.
浣熊是另一種惡名昭彰的都市麻煩製造者。
4. legend [`l3B6nd] (n.) 傳說；傳奇
The legend of the headless horseman is a classic Halloween tale.
無頭騎士傳說是個經典萬聖節故事。
5. tale [tel] (n.) 故事；傳說
Tennis legend Andre Agassi writes "I hate tennis" in his autobiographical book that records the
tale of his life.
網壇傳奇選手阿格西在紀錄他人生的自傳中寫道：「我痛恨網球」。
6. to snatch [sn87] (v.) 抓住；奪走
A British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, is feared to be snatched by Somali pirates after
their yacht was found empty and floating in the sea.
英國夫婦保羅與瑞秋錢德勒恐怕已遭索馬利亞海盜挾持，因為他們的空遊
艇被發現漂浮於海面上。