Crazy Facts About Octopuses 有關章魚的瘋狂事實

Everyone knows that octopuses have eight arms. But do you know that some octopuses are poisonous or that some can use tools？ Here are some awesome facts about this amazing creature.

大家都知道章魚有八條觸手。但你知道有些章魚有毒，有些章魚會使用工具嗎？以下是關于這種神奇生物的一些驚人事實。

★They eat their arms.

它們吃自己的觸手。

Compared with octopuses living in containers full of interesting decorations like shells， octopuses living in tougher environments become pretty stressed out. Some even turn to a disturbing behavior known as autophagy. That is what is described as “eating its own arms”.

與生活在充滿有趣裝飾（如貝殼）的容器中的章魚相比，生活在惡劣環境中的章魚壓力很大。一些章魚甚至產生一種令人不安的行為，即自噬。這就是所謂的“吃自己的觸手”。

★Theyre poisonous.

它們有毒。

Some octopuses are thought to have some poison that comes from bacteria living inside the animals. Most dont have enough poison to harm people. But a bite from a small blue ringed octopus can paralyze a human adult in minutes.

有人認為一些章魚體內有體內細菌產生的毒素。大多數章魚都沒有足夠的毒素來傷害人。但被一條小藍環章魚咬一口，一個成年人在幾分鐘內就會失去知覺。

★They use tools.

它們使用工具。

Like chimpanzees， dolphins and crows， octopuses are among the special set of intelligent animals that have been observed using tools. Scientists have watched octopuses picking up empty coconut shells and using them like mobile homes. “I never expected to find an octopus that collects several coconut shells and jogs across the seafloor carrying them，” said a scientist.

同黑猩猩、海豚和烏鴉一樣，章魚也是一種特殊的聰明動物，它們被觀察到使用工具。科學家們曾觀察到章魚撿起空椰子殼，并把它們當作移動的家。一位科學家說：“我從沒想過會發現一只章魚收集椰子殼，然后帶著它們在海底慢跑。”

★Theyre masters of camouflage.

它們是偽裝大師。

An octopus can change the color of its entire body in just a second. And the creature doesnt simply take on the general pattern of its surroundings. Instead， it often mimics specific undersea objects， like plants or rocks， to disappear into the underwater scenery.

章魚可以在一秒鐘內改變整個身體的顏色。這種生物并不是簡單地遵循周圍環境的一般模式。相反，為了隱藏在水下環境中，它經常模仿特定的海底物體，如植物或巖石。

★Theyre playful.

它們愛玩。

Evidence suggests octopuses are very curious and need stimulation. They might even engage in what humans would call “play”. For example， a scientist once saw that an octopus pushed a plastic bottle over and over again at a stream of water flowing into its tank—almost like it was bouncing a ball underwater.

有證據表明，章魚非常好奇，需要刺激。它們甚至可能參與人類所謂的“游戲”。例如，一位科學家曾經看到一只章魚對著流入水箱的水流一遍遍地推著一個塑料瓶——就好像它在水下拍球。

Word Bank

paralyze /'p?r?la?z/ v. 使癱瘓；使麻痹

The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

coconut /'k??k?n?t/ n. 椰子；椰子肉；椰蓉

mimic /'m?m?k/ v. 模仿

Shes always mimicking the teachers.