每一周,時報的字謎專欄“詞玩”(Wordplay)都會呈現(xiàn)前一周字謎難度最高的線索的答案。
This week’s word: nene.
本周的詞是:nene(夏威夷雁)。
If it looks like a goose and honks like a goose, it should just be a goose, right? The nene, however, is special. Not only is it Hawaii’s state bird, the nene is the world’s rarest goose.
如果一個動物看起來像是鵝,叫聲也像鵝一樣,那它應(yīng)該就是鵝了,對嗎?然而,夏威夷雁卻很特殊。它不僅是夏威夷的州鳥,還是世界上最為稀有的一種鵝。
Its webbed feet have adapted to living on hardened lava, but it is a weak flier. Nenes were once hunted nearly to extinction, but conservation efforts have bolstered their population.
夏威夷雁長著蹼的爪子已經(jīng)適應(yīng)了在硬質(zhì)的火山巖上生活,但它在飛行方面的能力卻很弱。它曾一度被捕獵至幾近滅絕,但通過保護措施,它的數(shù)量已經(jīng)有所增長。
Another reason to know your nenes is that, although they may be rare in the wild, they come up quite a bit in crossword puzzles. Nene has been an entry in The Times’s crossword 295 times since 1944.
另一個了解“nene”的理由是,盡管夏威夷雁在野外很稀有,但“nene”這個詞在填字謎中卻很常見。自1944年以來,這個詞在時報填字謎游戲中已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了295次。
It appeared in the puzzle on March 12, with the clue “Hawaiian goose.” The word might also appear in the easier puzzles at the beginning of the week, with the clue “Hawaiian state bird” or “Hawaiian honker.”
這個詞也出現(xiàn)在了3月22日的填字謎中,字謎給出的線索是“夏威夷鵝”。這個詞可能會出現(xiàn)在周初更為簡單的填字謎中,其中給出的線索是“夏威夷州鳥”或“發(fā)出夏威夷雁鳴的東西”(填字謎游戲每周從易到難——譯注)。
Later in the week, as the crosswords become more difficult, it might be referred to as “Aloha State bird,” “Endangered state bird,” “Lava geese,” “Bird so-called from its call” or “Gray-brown goose.”
在禮拜的后幾天,隨著填字謎的難度變大,這個詞可能會被以“阿羅哈州鳥”、“瀕危州鳥”、“火山巖鵝”、“以叫聲命名的鳥”或“黃頸黑鵝”來代指。
You can find out about the nene and other birds that appear regularly in our Crossword Aviary.
你可以在我們的“填字謎鳥舍”(Crossword Aviary)中找到更多關(guān)于夏威夷雁及其他經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在填字謎中鳥類的信息。