Karel CapekのThe Gardner's Yearを読んでいます。
But because the gardner is outwardly constructed as imperfectly as other people, all he can do is to show of what he is capable: to balance on tiptoe on one foot, to float in the air like a Russian dancer, to straddle four yards wide, to step as lightly as a butterfly or a wagtail, to squeeze into a square inch of ground, to maintain equilibrium against all the laws of gravity, to reach everywhere and avoid everything, and still try to keep some sort of respectaility so that people will not laugh at him.
The Gardner's Yearには植物名だけではなく、動物や昆虫なども沢山出てきます。上の引用文に出てきた "wagtail" は字面から私は犬を連想しますが、犬ではないでしょう。どんな動物か辞書を見ます。
説明文だけではなく "wagtail" の写真も掲載している次の辞書と事典から引用します。
・Collins Dictionary: A wagtail is a type of small bird which moves its tail quickly up and down as it walks. URL: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/wagtail
・Wikipedia: The wagtails are a genus, Motacilla, of passerine birds in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus Dendronanthus which is closely related to Motacilla and sometimes included herein. The common name and genus names are derived from their characteristic tail pumping behaviour. Together with the pipits and longclaws they form the family Motacillidae.
The willie wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) of Australia is an unrelated bird similar in coloration and shape to the Japanese wagtail. It belongs to the fantails. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagtail
セキレイですね。確かにセキレイを見たことがある人には英名の "wagtail" は納得です。
But because the gardner is outwardly constructed as imperfectly as other people, all he can do is to show of what he is capable: to balance on tiptoe on one foot, to float in the air like a Russian dancer, to straddle four yards wide, to step as lightly as a butterfly or a wagtail, to squeeze into a square inch of ground, to maintain equilibrium against all the laws of gravity, to reach everywhere and avoid everything, and still try to keep some sort of respectaility so that people will not laugh at him.
The Gardner's Yearには植物名だけではなく、動物や昆虫なども沢山出てきます。上の引用文に出てきた "wagtail" は字面から私は犬を連想しますが、犬ではないでしょう。どんな動物か辞書を見ます。
説明文だけではなく "wagtail" の写真も掲載している次の辞書と事典から引用します。
・Collins Dictionary: A wagtail is a type of small bird which moves its tail quickly up and down as it walks. URL: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/wagtail
・Wikipedia: The wagtails are a genus, Motacilla, of passerine birds in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus Dendronanthus which is closely related to Motacilla and sometimes included herein. The common name and genus names are derived from their characteristic tail pumping behaviour. Together with the pipits and longclaws they form the family Motacillidae.
The willie wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) of Australia is an unrelated bird similar in coloration and shape to the Japanese wagtail. It belongs to the fantails. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagtail
セキレイですね。確かにセキレイを見たことがある人には英名の "wagtail" は納得です。
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