The Bird of Paradise

The Bird of Paradise is the most gorgeous of living creatures. From the crest¹ of his head to the last feather in his magnificent tail he is a blaze of brilliant colour. And very proud he is of his good looks—so much so that a number of these beautiful birds will assemble together merely in order to show themselves off to one another. In New Guinea, where the Bird of Paradise lives, the natives call these gatherings² dancing parties; but the poor hen bird, who is not at all good-looking, is not invited.

1 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。