WHERE ARE THE BIRDS?

 HAVE you heard, children, that the bluebirds are nearly gone from our country? Other families of singing birds are going fast, and by and by it may be that we shall have only the sparrows¹ and other birds that have no beautiful colors or sweet songs.

 

All this is true, and many good people are feeling very sad about it. Where are the birds? Alas²! They have been killed—thousands, yes, millions of them—for the feathers that you see in the shops and that ladies and little girls wear on their hats!

 

1 sparrows   

n.麻雀( sparrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He flung a stone at the sparrows,he missed,scaring all the sparrows away. 他投石子打麻雀，没有击中，把麻雀都吓飞了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows. 我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。