2-6 南非的野生动物

Wildlife in South Africa

　　

As you first enter the bush, you'll no doubt be greeted by mischievous¹ apes like the vervet monkey, the chacma baboon², often with a baby on its back. An almost guaranteed sighting in the first few minutes is the awkward looking warthog, scampering¹ along with its tail in the air. You'll have every opportunity to see giraffe, the world's tallest animals which reach as high as 5.2m (17 feet), and a multitude² of antelope⁴ roaming the bush. These include the stately kudu with its spiralling horns, the gemsbok whose long straight horns jut⁵³ backward like giant thorns, sable⁶, eland, roan and smaller species like impala, duiker and oribi. With close to 30 different species of antelope, distinguished⁷ by their colour, size, horns and the markings etched on their hide, you'll find it useful to have a comprehensive book on game close at hand.

　　

Herds⁸ of zebra, including the unique mountain zebra, are also prevalent. Despite their peaceful and sometimes playful energy, zebra have the strength to kick hard with their back legs against attacking lion and other predators⁹ which relish¹⁰⁴ their meat.

　　

Then, there are wild cats like the sleek¹¹⁵ yet wicked looking caracal, genet and of course the cheetah¹² differentiated¹³ from the leopard¹⁴ by their tear markings along their cheeks and their ability to run as fast as 112km per hour (70 miles per hour).

　　

If Mother Nature⁶ is on your side, you may also come across wild dog, another endangered species, spotted¹⁵ hyena¹⁶ and black jackal. And wallowing in the water holes and dams, you'll spot the ears and eyes of hippopotami which weigh between 200 and 300kg (441 and 661lbs). Alongside these seemingly lazy mammals, crocodiles sun themselves on the sandbanks.

 

注释：

1.scamper³ [5skAmpE] vi. 疾走；惊奔

2.multitude [5mQltitju:d] n. 许多

3.jut [dVQt] vi. 突出；伸出

4.relish [5reliF] vt. 品味；饱尝

5.sleek [sli:k] adj. （皮肤、毛发等）油光光的；油亮的

6.Mother Nature （孕育万物的）大自然

 

南非的野生动物

 

　　一进入丛林，你肯定会受到淘气的猿猴的“欢迎”，如黑长尾猴、南非大狒狒（背上常驮着个小狒狒）。进入丛林的头几分钟里，你十有八九会看到长相笨拙的疣猪，翘着尾巴惊慌奔走。你准会见到世界最高的动物长颈鹿，它高达5.2米（17英尺）；还会看到成群的羚羊在林中漫步。这些羚羊包括威严的长着螺旋形角的非洲大羚——捻，其又长又直的角向后伸着就像巨刺的好望角大羚羊，还有貂羚、大角斑羚、沙毛羚和体形较小的如黑斑羚、小羚羊和侏羚。羚羊有近30个不同品种，其毛色、个头、角和皮上的斑纹各异，你会发现手头有本野生动物全书会很有用。

　　成群的斑马，包括独特的山地斑马，也都随处可见。尽管它们性情平和，有时还爱玩耍，但对那些袭击它们、想吃它们肉的狮子和其他捕食者，斑马也有用后腿奋起猛踢的力气。

另外，还有野生猫科动物，如皮毛光滑然而长相凶恶的大山猫、麝（香）猫，当然还有猎豹，其与豹的区别就在于它们脸颊上的泪痕状斑纹以及它们高达每小时112公里（70英里）的高速奔跑能力。

　　如果大自然垂青你，你可能还会看见野犬（另一濒危物种）、斑点鬣狗和黑背豺。你还会看到在池塘和水库中打滚的河马露出的耳朵和眼睛，它们重200到300公斤（441到661磅）。在这些看似懒洋洋的哺乳动物旁边，还有鳄鱼躺在沙滩上晒太阳。

1 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

2 baboon   

n.狒狒

参考例句：

• A baboon is a large monkey that lives in Africa.狒狒是一种生活在非洲的大猴子。
• As long as the baboon holds on to what it wants,it's trapped.只要狒狒紧抓住想要的东西不放手，它就会被牢牢困住。

3 scamper   

v.奔跑，快跑

参考例句：

• She loves to scamper through the woods of the forest.她喜欢在森林里的树林中穿梭嬉戏。
• The flash sent the foxes scampering away.闪光惊得狐狸四处逃窜。

4 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

5 jut   

v.突出；n.突出，突出物

参考例句：

• His mouth started to jut out,and his jaw got longer.他的嘴向前突出，下巴也变长了。
• His teeth tend to jut out a little.他的牙齿长得有点儿凸出。

6 sable   

n.黑貂；adj.黑色的

参考例句：

• Artists' brushes are sometimes made of sable.画家的画笔有的是用貂毛制的。
• Down the sable flood they glided.他们在黑黝黝的洪水中随波逐流。

7 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

8 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

9 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

11 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

12 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

13 differentiated   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• The development of mouse kidney tubules requires two kinds of differentiated cells. 小鼠肾小管的发育需要有两种分化的细胞。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

14 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

15 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

16 hyena   

n.土狼，鬣狗

参考例句：

• African hyena noted for its distinctive howl.非洲鬣狗，以其特别的嚎叫而闻名。
• The hyena's public image is not aided by its ridiculous appearance.鬣狗滑稽的外表无助于改善它在公众心中的形象。