December 2 12月2日

Polar Bears 北极熊

Polar bears are big and white. 北极熊身材又高大毛皮又雪白，

They look soft and cute. But they are not. 看起来柔软可爱， 但实际上却不是如此。

They are wild animals and very big! 它们是野生动物，而且体型非常巨大！

They can weigh 600 kg. 它们的体重可重达六百公斤。

They live in the Arctic. 它们生活在北极地区，

They spend most of their time on the ice. 大多数的时间都待在冰上，

But they live on land sometimes, too. 可是它们有时候也会生活在陆地上。

Polar bears can run 40 kph for a short time. 北极熊可以在短时间内奔跑达时速四十公里；

They also swim very well. 它们也非常善于游泳，

They can swim 161 km without resting! 可以连续游上一百六十一公里而不必休息！

The hairs in a polar bear's white coat are not really white. 北极熊厚重白色毛皮上的毛发其实不是白色的，

They are clear and hollow. 而是透明空心的。

The hairs trap heat. 这些毛发会收集并保存热度，

This keeps the polar bear warm. 让北极熊保持温暖。

Polar bears' skin is black. 北极熊的皮肤是黑色的，

That also keeps them warm. 这样也可让它们保持温暖。

Polar bears don't get cold at all. 北极熊从来不会觉得冷，

They sometimes even get hot! 有时候甚至会觉得热呢！

Polar bears live about 25 years in the wild. 北极熊在野地里的寿命约为二十五年；

In zoos, they can live much longer. 而在动物园里，它们的寿命会更长。

Polar bears spend a lot of time hunting seals. 北极熊花许多时间猎捕海豹。

Seals live under the ice. 海豹栖息在冰底下，

They make holes in the ice and use the holes to breathe. 会在冰层挖洞，利用这些洞口呼吸。

The bears sit by these holes. They wait for seals to come and breathe. 北极熊会坐在这些洞口旁边等待海豹过来呼吸空气，

Then the bears try to catch them. 然后再试图抓住它们。

If the hunt is successful, the polar bear can eat 45 kg of seal fat at one time! 猎捕行动如果成功，北极熊一次可以吃下四十五公斤的海豹脂肪！