大家都知道美國的國徽是一只 bald eagle，但要注意，可不是“禿鷹”哦，它其實是一只“白頭鷹”。這只象征獨立、自由精神的白頭鷹胸前是一面盾牌狀的國旗，右爪抓著代表希望和平的橄欖枝，左爪抓著決心自衛(wèi)的利箭，這個圖案構(gòu)成了美國的國徽。

In 1782, US Congress selected the bald eagleas the emblem of the newly formed United States, because it symbolized courage and might, and because it was indigenousonly to the United States and to Canada.

The national seal depicts the bald eagle with its wings spread, with one claw clutching an olive branch, and the other claw grasping arrows. The eagle, however, strikes different poses on other national depictions.

The bald eagle owes its name to the early American colonists, and is bald in name only. As the white-headed American eagle differed from the European gray eagle, the colonists used their word for white, which translated into bald, in describing it. Unfortunately for the eagle, the literal translation, bald-headed, stuck like a toupee.

Since ancient times, men have identified themselves with the eagle, because it creates an impression of majesty and of power while in flight. As early as 5,000 years ago, ancient Sumerians chose the eagle, in spread eagle form, as their emblem symbolizing their power. Ancient Romans followed suit, as did Emperor Charlemagne, and finally Napoleon. No doubt, Congress considered the eagle's historical pedigree as being the animal representing a nation's power, when selecting it to be the national emblem of the United States.

bald eagle: 禿頭鷹
indigenous: 本土的
toupee: 假發(fā)
follow suit: 跟著做
pedigree: 血統(tǒng)

（來源：coolquiz.com 英語點津 Annabel 編輯）

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