英語暢談世界文化lesson6 袋鼠 Kangaroos

K: Karen      C: Charlotte

K: What's your favourite animal? I like koalas the most.
C: Funny you should say that, I like kangaroos. How very antipodean of us!
K: I think kangaroos are funny looking animals.
C: Kangaroos are part of a special category of animals, called marsupials.
K: Kangaroos usually have small deer-like heads with wide set eyes and binocular vision, prominent upright ears which rotate to hear in all directions.
C: Yes, and a moderately long muzzle with a split upper lip, short forelimbs with mobile grasping forepaws that can hold food, open its pouch and box just like a boxer!
K: They are very skilled at using their little arms! And when they have a little baby in the pouch it looks adorable.
C: A joey.
K: A what?
C: A joey, that's what a baby kangaroo's called. Another interesting thing about them is their long hind limbs, with the characteristic long narrow feet which gives them the name of "macropod" or "big-foot".
K: So, because they have short forelimbs and long hindlimbs, they can jump easily, quickly and for long distances.
C: Right. Taking off on their hind feet, landing on their fore limbs and tail, pushing off again with their hind limbs. The elongated and very strong fourth toe of the hind foot serves as a lever to propel the animal along and bears the animal's weight when it stands.
K; I see. Long legs increase the stride when hopping. Forelimbs and tails prop them up when they crawl slowly to feed. Powerful hind limbs and a large heavy tail serve for balance and support.
C: But tree kangaroos have shorter prehensile tails and climb rather than hop. Many kangaroo species are grazers and browsers adapted to living in dry desert habitats.
K: Just like me! I'm always eating and gazing at what's going on around me. The desert is so dry, what can they eat?
C: They usually eat any grass they can find, even very hard grass.
K: They must have food, strong teeth too.
C: Some, such as several tree kangaroos, my particular favourite, are threatened with survival, but others, like the grey and red kangaroos, have flourished and are now considered to be pests.

funny you should say that 說起來還真有意思  

be very skilled at  很善于
take off        起跳                  

be threatened with survival 生存受到威脅，瀕臨滅絕