动物奇闻趣事

湖北省武汉市 梁小明 供稿

A kangaroo cannot jump if its tail is lifted off the ground.It needs its tail for pushing off.

如果袋鼠的尾巴离开地面，袋鼠就跳不起来。它要靠尾巴推动才能离开地面。

According to tests made at theInstitute(研究所)for the Study of Animal Problems in Washington,D.C.,dogs and cats,like people,are either right-handed or left-handed,that is,these animals favor either their right or leftpaws(爪子).

华盛顿特区动物问题研究所的试验表明，狗和猫像人一样，也有右撇子和左撇子——即有些喜欢用右爪，有些喜欢用左爪。

Migrating(迁移的)geese fly in a Vformation(队列)to save energy.A goose’s wingsflutter(扇动)the air and leave an air current behind.In the flying formation,each bird is in position to get a lift from the current left by the bird ahead.It is easier going for all,except the leader.During a migration,geese usually take turns in the leading position.

迁移中的大雁群成“V”字队形飞行是为了节省能量。一只大雁的翅膀扇动空气，在身后留下一股气流。在飞行队列中，每一只大雁都得到前面的雁产生的气流的升力。这样，除了领队以外，所有的雁飞起来都省力些。一次迁移飞行中往往有几只大雁轮流领飞。

Anelectric eel(电鳗)can produce electricity of more than 600volts(伏),3 times more powerful than a household outlet.It not only uses this power to kill its prey but to locate it as well.Though it is born with eyes,it will be blind after it grows up.It finds food by its electricity in the same way as man usesradar(雷达).

电鳗能释放出超过600伏的电，是家用电灯电流的3倍。它不仅用这一电力杀死猎物，还用它寻找猎物。电鳗虽然出生时有眼睛，但是长大后会变成瞎子，它像人使用雷达那样通过放电寻找食物。

Ahummingbird’s(蜂 鸟 的 )average weigh is less than a penny.It has a body temperature of 111 degrees and beats its wings more than 75 times a second.A newborn hummingbird is as big as abumblebees(大黄蜂)and its nest’s size is as big as a walnut.The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.

蜂鸟的平均体重比一枚一便士的硬币还轻。它的体温达111度，翅膀每秒种要扇动75次以上。孵出的蜂鸟只有大黄蜂那么大，其巢只有核桃那么大。蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。

Thepenguin(企鹅)has a organ above its eyes that can transform salt water into fresh.The penguin has only one mate during its life and is such aconscientious(有责任心的)parent that it will,if necessary,starve(饿)to death in order to provide its children with food.

企鹅眼睛上边有个器官能将盐水变成淡水。企鹅一生中只有一个配偶，对子女很尽心，为了给孩子们找食甚至不惜自己饿死。

The female knot-tyingweaverbird(织巢鸟)will refuse to mate with a male who has built ashoddy(劣等的)nest.If the male is refused,it must take the nest apart and completely rebuild it in order to win theaffection(喜爱)of the female.

会打结的雌织巢鸟不肯同造窝马马虎虎的雄鸟交配。如果雄鸟被拒绝，它必须将巢拆掉重新造一个，以赢得雌鸟的爱情。

Though the giraffe’s neck is about 9 feet long,it has the same number ofvertebrae(脊椎 骨 )as a mouse’s—seven.The giraffe’s tongue is 18 inches long.It can open and close itsnostrils(鼻孔)at will.It can run faster than a horse,and makes almost no sound.

尽管长颈鹿的脖子约有9英尺长，但它和老鼠的颈椎骨的数目一样，只有7块。长颈鹿的舌头有18英寸长。它能任意开闭鼻孔，能跑得比马快而几乎不发出任何声音。

A horsefocuses(聚焦)its eye by changing the angle of its head,not by changing the shape of the lens of the eye,as humans do.

马通过转动头的角度使眼镜聚焦，不像人那样通过改变瞳孔的形状聚焦。

It is the female lion who does more than 90 percent of the hunting while the male is afraid to risk his life,or simply prefers to rest.

90%的食物由母狮猎取，雄狮则害怕用生命冒险或者只是喜欢休息。

There are no penguins at the North Pole.In fact,there are no penguins anywhere in theNorthern Hemisphere(北半球)except in zoos.All seventeen varieties of the birds are found below theequator(赤道),primarily inAntarctica(南极洲).

北极没有企鹅。事实上，北半球除了动物园里，任何地方都没有企鹅。所有17种企鹅都在赤道以南，主要在南极洲。

Arctic terns(燕鸥)that are found in North America and the Arctic migrates each year as far south as Antarctica and back,a round trip of over 18,000 miles.This is probably the longest migration flight.

人们发现北美洲和北极地区的北极燕鸥每年一直要迁移到南极洲再飞回来，往返行程超过18,000英里。这也许是最远的迁移飞行。