萌物考拉

Although most people know that koalas live in Australia and eat eucalyptus leaves， there is so much more to know.

盡管大部分人都知道考拉生活在澳大利亞、吃桉樹(shù)葉，但關(guān)于考拉還有更多讓我們?nèi)チ私獾闹R(shí)。

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

盡管我們通常稱考拉為“樹(shù)袋熊”，其實(shí)考拉是有袋類哺乳動(dòng)物，跟熊完全沒(méi)關(guān)系，只是看起來(lái)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 sometimes， most of their hydration requirements are met by the moisture they get from eating eucalyptus leaves.

“考拉”一詞據(jù)說(shuō)源于原住民語(yǔ)，意思是“不喝水”。盡管考拉有時(shí)也會(huì)喝水，但它們大部分的飲水需求都靠吃桉樹(shù)葉時(shí)吸收其中的水分來(lái)滿足。

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

它們一天要吃2.5磅桉樹(shù)葉；事實(shí)上，吃這么多的桉樹(shù)葉會(huì)讓它們吸收油脂的香味，最后聞起來(lái)像止咳糖漿的味道。

4. A newborn koala is the size of a jellybean called a joey. It is a while before it reaches full-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(guò)不了多久就會(huì)長(zhǎng)成你現(xiàn)在看到的大萌物般模樣；考拉幼獸生下來(lái)是看不到東西的，沒(méi)有耳朵和毛發(fā)。

5. After birth， a momma koala will carry the jellybean baby in her pouch for about six months; 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(huì)把橡皮糖大小的幼獸放在育兒袋里半年，幼獸會(huì)攀附在媽媽的背上或肚子上，直到1歲左右。

6. Koalas usually live in trees， and they sleep for up to 18 hours during the day.

考拉們一般住在樹(shù)上，一天要睡多達(dá)18個(gè)小時(shí)。

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

考拉看起來(lái)軟軟的、萌萌的，但摸起來(lái)可不是這么回事。為了抵抗炎熱和寒冬，并幫助防水，它們的皮毛非常堅(jiān)硬。實(shí)際上，它們的皮毛算是有袋類動(dòng)物中最厚的了。

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

居住環(huán)境的破壞、交通事故或是被狗狗襲擊，這些原因每年會(huì)造成大約4000只考拉死亡。因此，目前在野外僅存不到10萬(wàn)只考拉。好在人們正努力保護(hù)它們。

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

在理想的野外條件下，成年雄性考拉能活到10歲，雌性考拉能多活幾年。

10. There were once millions of koalas， but the popularity of their sturdy fur resulted in massive hunting of them in the 1920s and 1930s， leading to a major decline in their numbers.

曾經(jīng)有數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的考拉，然而考拉堅(jiān)實(shí)的皮毛使它們成為20世紀(jì)二三十年代遭到瘋狂捕殺的原因，造成其數(shù)目急劇下降。

Vocabulary

marsupial n. 有袋類哺乳動(dòng)物

aboriginal adj. 原住的

hydration n. 水合作用

moisture n. 水分

fragrance n. 芳香；香味

jellybean n. 一種豆形糖果

ridiculously adj. 可笑地；荒謬地

status n. 狀態(tài)

pouch n. 育兒袋

cling v. 緊貼

cuddly adj. 令人想擁抱的

repel v. 抵擋

habitat n. 棲息地

destruction n. 破壞；毀滅

attack v. 襲擊

estimate v. 估計(jì)

sturdy adj. 堅(jiān)硬的

massive adj. 大量的

decline n. 下降