ALL the birds of the forest were sitting upon the branches of the trees， which had quite enough leaves；and yet the birds were unanimous in their desire for moreleaves—the"leaves"of a journal； a new，good journalwas what they longed for—a critical newspaper such as humans have so many of， so many that half of them wouldbe sufficient．

The songbirds wanted a music critic， each for his own praise—and for criticism（where it was needed） of the others． But they， the birds themselves， could notagree on an impartial¹ critic．

"It must be a bird，though，" said the Owl， who hadbeen elected president by the assembly， for he is the birdof wisdom．"We ought not elect anyone from another branch of animals， except perhaps from the sea． Therefish fly， like birds in the sky， but that， of course，is ouronly relationship．However， there are quite enough ani－mals to select from between fish and birds．"

The Stork² took the floor and rattled³ from his beak，"There are indeed beings between fish and birds． Thechildren of the marsh， the Frogs—I an voting for them．They are extremely musical， and their choir⁴ singing is like church bells in a lonely wood． I get an urge to trav－el，" said the Stork，"a tickling⁵ under my wings，whenthey begin to sing．"

"I am also voting for the Frogs，"said the Heron．"They are neither bird nor fish， but still they live with thefishes and sing like the birds．"

"Now that's the musical part，"said the Owl．"Butthe paper must speak of all the beauties of the forest．Wemust have coworkers．Let each of us consider everything in his family．"

Then the little Lark⁶ sang out cheerfully and prettily，"The Frog should not be the editor of the paper—no，itshould be the Nightingale！"

"Stop your chirping！"said the Owl．"I am hooting

点击收听单词发音  

1 impartial
adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的
参考例句：
He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。 Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

2 stork
n.鹳
参考例句：
A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。 He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。

3 rattled
慌乱的，恼火的
参考例句：
The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。 Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

4 choir
n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱
参考例句：
The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。 The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

5 tickling
反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法
参考例句：
Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢？ Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说，笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。

6 lark
n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏
参考例句：
He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。 She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

7 hooting
（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩
参考例句：
He had the audience hooting with laughter . 他令观众哄堂大笑。 The owl was hooting. 猫头鹰在叫。

8 philosophic
adj.哲学的，贤明的
参考例句：
It was a most philosophic and jesuitical motorman.这是个十分善辩且狡猾的司机。 The Irish are a philosophic as well as a practical race.爱尔兰人是既重实际又善于思想的民族。

9 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。