Snakes are cold-blooded animals. In winter they hibernatein holes which are narrow enough only to hold the snakes' bodies. The snakes can sleep through a whole winter without eating and moving. They can not feel any pain. The hibernation period lasts about five months. When spring comes, the snakes come out and begin their normal life.
的蛇是冷血动物。冬天，它们冬眠在洞里，洞很窄，只能容纳蛇的身体。蛇可以睡一整个冬天而不吃东西也不动。他们感觉不到任何疼痛。冬眠期大约持续五个月。当春天来临时，蛇会出来开始正常生活。
Snakes can take many things as food, such as mice, sparrows, frogs,birds' eggs, pests and so on. People sometimes can see a snake eat a sparrow. First it moves close to the sparrow, then it puts out its tongue and brings the sparrow into its mouth and swallows it, which makes a lump in the snake's body. After some time the lump disappears.
的蛇可以吃很多东西，如老鼠、麻雀、青蛙、鸟、蛋、害虫等。人们有时能看到蛇吃麻雀。它先靠近麻雀，然后伸出舌头，把麻雀叼进嘴里，把麻雀吞了下去，这就在蛇身上扎了一块。一段时间后肿块消失了。
As snakes are dreadful-looking, people are afraid of them. Many people drive them away whenever they see snakes. But in Chinese fairy tales, snakes are by no means bad. They seem to have human feelings. They can change into pretty girls. People like and respect them. The most well-known is the story about the White Snake and the Blue Snake.
的人害怕蛇，因为蛇看起来很可怕。很多人一看到蛇就把它们赶走。但在中国的童话故事里，蛇一点也不坏。他们似乎有人情味。她们可以变成漂亮的女孩。人们喜欢并尊重他们。最有名的是关于白蛇和青蛇的故事。
In fact, snakes are not as dreadful as they look. They can help us to kill mice and pests. They can provide us with delicious meat. Their blood is a good drink. Poisonous snakes are especially useful. We can make valuable drugs with them.
事实上，蛇并没有看起来那么可怕。它们能帮助我们杀死老鼠和害虫。他们可以给我们提供美味的肉。他们的血是很好的饮料。毒蛇特别有用。我们可以用它们制造有价值的毒品。