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Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures 尼克的怪兽朋友

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课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

There are loads of cute, cuddly animals out there, koala bears and pandas for example, but Animal Planet host Nick Baker isn’t interested in them. He doesn’t care much about the usual animal documentary subjects like lions and crocodiles either. Instead, he prefers his animals to be a little bit freaky. In the first season of his hugely popular show Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures, he introduced us to vampire fish, blood-squirting lizards, and the crocodile from Mars. Now he’s back, and he’s got a few more weird creatures for us to meet.

世界上有许多可爱且令人想拥抱的动物，像是无尾熊或猫熊，但动物星球频道的主持人尼克．贝克对牠们没有兴趣。他也不太在意像是以狮子或鳄鱼这些常被当成纪录片主角的动物。他反而比较喜欢有点奇怪吓人的动物。在他大受欢迎的节目《尼克的怪兽朋友》第一季中，尼克介绍了吸血鬼鱼、喷血蜥蜴以及恒河鳄。现在他回来了，而他有更多要让我们认识的古怪生物。

One of the most unusual, and most interesting, of these animals is a bizarre turtle with a spiky shell, the claws of a bear, and the most powerful bite in the animal kingdom. They’re called Alligator Snapping Turtles, and Nick goes looking for them in the swamps of New Orleans.

其中最不寻常也最有趣的动物之一是只怪诞的乌龟，牠有着长满尖刺的壳、如熊掌般的爪子以及动物王国中最强的咬力。牠们被称为「沼泽怪龟」，而尼克要前往纽奥良的沼泽区寻找牠们。

Finding one might not be easy, though. For one thing, these prehistoric-looking monsters spend most of their time sitting at the bottom of the swamp, snapping at whatever comes along. For another, they’ve been hunted aggressively for years to provide meat for the area’s most popular dish: turtle soup.

但是，要找到一只沼泽怪龟可不是件简单的事。首先，这些有着史前动物般样貌的怪兽大部分的时间都栖息在沼泽底部，张嘴咬下任何靠近的东西。此外，牠们数年来一直被大量的猎杀，为的是将牠们的肉提供做为当地最受欢迎的佳肴：乌龟汤。

Several New Orleans natives help Nick on his search to find an Alligator Snapping Turtle, and they’ve got some amazing stories to share. One man tells the legend of a 160kg, 350-year-old turtle, and others explain what they’re doing to help save the species from extinction. These local residents are almost as interesting as the turtle itself, and they really help bring the show to life.

数个纽奥良当地人也前来帮助尼克寻找沼泽怪龟，而他们也有些令人啧啧称奇的故事要分享。其中一个男人讲述了一个关于一只160公斤重、350岁怪龟的传说，其他人则解释牠们为了拯救此种动物使之免于灭绝所采取的行动。这些本地居名几乎与怪龟本身一样有趣，而他们的确使得节目更加活泼生动。

Vocabulary

单词发音

creature [ˋkritʃɚ] n. 生物；动物

documentary [͵dɑkjəˋmɛntərɪ] n. 记录像片

squirt [skwɝt] v. 喷射; 喷

bizarre [bɪˋzɑr] adj. 奇异的；异乎寻常的

snap [snæp] v. 猛咬

swamp [swɑmp] n. 沼泽；沼泽地

aggressively [əˋgrɛsɪvlɪ] adv. 侵略地；攻击地

native [ˋnetɪv] n. 本地人

resident [ˋrɛzədənt] n. 居民，定居者

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单词发音

cuddly [ˋkʌdlɪ] adj. 令人想拥抱的

freaky [ˋfrikɪ] adj.【口】古怪吓人的

spiky [ˋspaɪkɪ] adj. 带（尖）刺的﹐有刺的

alligator [ˋælə͵getɚ] n.（产于美国及中国的）短吻鳄

prehistoric [͵prihɪsˋtɔrɪk] adj. 史前的

legend [ˋlɛdʒənd] n. 传说；传奇故事

bring something to life 给某人/某事物有趣或更生动  to make something exciting and interesting

课文朗读

课文讲解

Nick Baker is fascinated by weird creatures, and he’ll travel around the world, jumping into swamps, climbing mountains, and journeying deep into rainforests to meet them. But there are some animals that stop him in his tracks. In fact, there’s one creature that’s so weird it even gives him nightmares. Meet the Aye-Aye, one of the most unusual creatures on the face of the planet, and possibly one of the scariest, too.

尼克．贝克被古怪动物深深地吸引，他会游历世界、跳入沼泽、翻山越岭并旅行至雨林深处来认识牠们。但有些动物却会让他止住脚步。事实上，有一种生物奇怪到让他做恶梦。见见「狐猴」，地球上最不寻常也可能是最恐怖的生物。

The Aye-Aye is unique to the African island of Madagascar. It’s a type of primate, which means it’s directly related to monkeys and apes, but you’d never know it by looking at once. They’re about the size of a cat, have the tail of a squirrel, the ears of a bat, the nose of a rabbit, the sharp front teeth of a rat, and hands that are like nothing else on earth. Their two middle fingers are very, very long; one of them is quite fat, and the other is thin and bony. The fat one is used to drum on branches to detect insects living inside the wood. If they find any, they use their thin, skeletal finger to dig them out and eat them with.

狐猴是非洲马达加斯加岛所独有的。牠是灵长类动物的一种，意思是他们与猴子、猿类有直接的血缘关系，不过当你看着一只狐猴时，绝对不会知道的。牠们体型似猫，有着松鼠般的尾巴、蝙蝠的耳朵、兔子的鼻子、老鼠的尖锐门牙，以及长得不像世界上任何一样东西的手。牠们中间的两根手指非常非常地长。一只有点粗，另一只则瘦得如皮包骨。粗的那只是用来敲打树枝，侦测住在树木中的昆虫。如果牠们寻获猎物，则会用细到剩骨头的长指将牠挖出来吃。

With all these unusual body parts, it’s no wonder Nick describes the Aye-Aye as the weirdest of the weird. But all the animals featured on Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures are unique and special in their own way. By introducing them so enthusiastically, Nick shows us that all animals, whether cute or hideous, deserve our care.

有着这些稀奇古怪的身体部位，难怪尼克会将狐猴形容为怪中之怪。但《尼克的怪兽朋友》特别介绍的所有动物都有自己罕见且独特的地方。尼克以兴奋的心情介绍牠们，藉此告诉我们：所有的动物，不论可爱或丑陋，都值得我们关心。

−by Andrew Crosthwaite

Vocabulary

单词发音

fascinate [ˋfæsn͵et] v. 迷住；强烈地吸引

journey [ˋdʒɝnɪ] v. 旅行

in one's tracks【口】就地; 当场; 突然

stop someone in his tracks ..... 使某人止住脚步 if something stops someone in their tracks, or if they stop in their tracks, they suddenly stop what they are doing because they are so surprised

primate [ˋpraɪmɪt] n. 灵长类动物

directly [dəˋrɛktlɪ] adv. 直接地

feature [fitʃɚ] v. 以……为特色；是……的特色

introduce [͵ɪntrəˋdjus] v. 介绍

enthusiastically [ɪn͵θjuzɪˋæstɪk!ɪ] adv. 热心地；满腔热情地

hideous [ˋhɪdɪəs] adj. 极丑的﹐极难看的

More Information

单词发音

nightmare [ˋnaɪt͵mɛr] n. 梦魇；恶梦

aye-aye [ˋaɪ͵aɪ] n. 栗鼠猿，狐猿

Madagascar [͵mædəˋgæskɚ] n. 马达加斯加

be related to  与……是亲戚

at once 立刻, 马上, 立即 immediately; instantly

squirrel [ˋskwɝəl] n. 松鼠

bony [ˋbonɪ] adj. 瘦削的；骨瘦如柴的

drum [drʌm] v. 咚咚地敲

skeletal [ˋskɛlətəl] adj. 骨瘦如柴的

Reading Questions

1. What kinds of animals does Nick Baker like?

A. Ones that are popular in the media.

B. Ones that are kind and friendly to humans.

C. Ones which have recently been discovered.

D. Ones which are a little bit strange in some way.

2. Which of the following is true about the Alligator Snapping Turtles?

A. They’ll attack whatever comes near them.

B. They usually float on the top of the water.

C. Their bite is less powerful than most animals.

D. They survive by hiding and eating soup.

3. What makes Aye-Aye such unique creatures?

A. They are from the island of Madagascar.

B. They are directly related to monkeys.

C. They don’t look like any other animals.

D. They eat insects on occasions.

4. How can we best describe this article?

A. It’s a commercial for a funny cartoon.

B. It’s a promotion for a TV program.

C. It describes the events of a new film.

D. It describes the advantages of owning animals.

Weird Creatures with Nick Baker - Series 3

Vampire Fish

Blood Squirting Lizard

Alligator Snapping Turtle Bites Researcher

World's Weirdest: The Demon Primate (Aye-Aye)

Answer