小托福大智慧--閱讀系列【動物世界】—

小托福大智慧--閱讀系列【動物世界】——楊敭

發布時間：2013-12-10

作者：

來源于：昂立外語網站

Although most people know that koalas live in Australia and eat eucalyptus leaves, there is somuch more to know. Here's the lowdown on the marsupials from Down Under.

大部分人肯定都知道考拉生活在澳洲，吃桉樹葉，但其他的呢？下面是關于這個萌物的其他信息。

1. Although they are commonly called koala "bears," koalas are marsupials and have nothing atall to do with bears, except that they are cute like a teddy bear.

盡管我們時常稱考拉為“樹袋熊”，其實考拉是有袋類哺乳動物，跟熊完全沒關系，只是看起來萌萌的像泰迪熊罷了。

2. The word "koala" is thought to have come from the Aboriginal word meaning "no drink."Although koalas do drink water on occasion, most of their hydration requirements are fulfilledby the moisture they get from eating eucalyptus leaves.

“考拉”這一詞據說源于原著居民語言，意思是”不喝水“�？祭袝r也會喝水，但他們大部分的飲水需求都靠吃桉樹葉吸收其中的水分來滿足。

3. They eat about two and a half pounds of eucalyptus leaves a day; so many, in fact, thatthey take on the fragrance of the oil ... and end up smelling like cough drops.

他們一天要吃2.5磅桉樹葉；會吸收油脂的香味，最后消化成類似止咳糖漿的味道。

4. A newborn koala is the size of a jellybean. Called a joey, it is a while before it reachesfull-blown ridiculously cute status; joeys are born blind, earless and without fur.

新生考拉就跟橡皮糖那么大，人們叫它們幼獸。過不了多久就會長成你現在看到的大萌物般模樣；考拉幼獸生下來是看不到的，沒有耳朵和皮毛。

5. After birth, a momma koala will carry the jellybean baby in her pouch for about six months;after it emerges, the newborn clings to its mother's back or belly until it is around a year old.

出生之后，考拉媽媽會把橡皮糖大小的幼獸放在育兒袋里半年，等它長大到一歲左右前，幼獸一般都會攀附在媽媽的背上或肚子上。

6. Tucked into trees, koalas sleep for up to 18 hours during the day.

考拉們一般駐扎在樹上，一天要睡多達18個小時。

7. Koalas may look soft and cuddly, but to the touch, not so much. They have a thick wooly furthat protects them from both heat and cold and also helps to repel water. In fact, their fur isthe thickest of all marsupials.

考拉們看起來軟軟的萌萌的，但摸起來可不是這么回事。為了抵抗炎熱和寒冬甚至防水，它們的皮毛非常堅硬。實際上，它們的皮毛算是有袋類動物中最厚的了。

8. In ideal conditions in the wild, male koalas live to about the age of 10; females may live a fewyears longer.

野外條件理想的情況下，成年雄性考拉能活到十歲，雌性活的還要久一點。

9. There were once millions of koalas, but the popularity of their sturdy fur resulted inmassive hunting of them in the 1920s and '30s, leading to a major decline in their numbers.

地球上曾經有成百萬只考拉，然而堅實的皮毛也成為20世紀二三十年代它們遭到瘋狂捕殺的原因，結果造成數目急劇下降。

10. Habitat destruction, traffic deaths and attacks by dogs kill an estimated 4,000 koalasyearly; at this point, there are fewer than 100,000 koalas in the wild. Fortunately, there aremany efforts being made to protect them.