Do Scarecrows Actually Work?

稻草人真的有用吗?

scarecrow [ˈskerkroʊ]

n. 稻草人

[例句] Grass's novels are peopled with outlandish characters: grotesques, clowns, scarecrows, dwarfs.   

格拉斯的小说里充斥着稀奇古怪的人物：丑陋的怪人、小丑、稻草人和侏儒。

Every Halloween, scarecrows become standard lawn decor. Trick-or-treaters might find them frightening, but what about the birds that these effigies are supposed to repel?

每年万圣节，稻草人都是草坪上的标配装饰物。不给糖就捣蛋的小孩可能会被稻草人吓到，但其实稻草人的作用本来是驱赶鸟类，它们真的能把鸟吓走吗？

repel [rɪˈpel]

v. 击退，驱逐；排斥

[例句] As these electrons are negatively charged they will attempt to repel each other.

因为这些电子都是带负电荷的，它们会互相排斥。

Apparently, some avians dislike them more than others. A series of tests conducted in 1980 found that small ponds near where a scarecrow was planted saw a 95 percent drop in visits by local ducks. On the other hand, certain species don’t seem to notice them.