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鹰代表的是勇气与力量，是诸多权力人物偏爱的动物，新生的美国选择它为自己的象征。从两百多年的历史来看，国会的选择没错。来看看这个超级大国的国徽──
In 1782， US Congress selected the bald eagle as the emblem of the newly formed United States， because it symbolized courage and might， and because it was indigenous only 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 n. 秃头鹰 emblem n. 象征，徽章，寓意
might n. 力量，威力，权力 indigenous a. 本土的，土生土长的
claw n. 爪子 clutch v. 抓住，攫住
toupee n. （法）假发 Sumerian n. 闪族人
pedigree n. 血统
follow suit v. 跟着做， 跟着出同花色的牌
Emperor Charlemagne 查理曼大帝 （742-814， 世称 Charles the Great 或Charles I， 768-814为法兰克王， 800-814为西罗马帝国皇帝）
