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Although most people know that koalas live in Australia and eat eucalyptus leaves, there is so much more to know.
尽管大部分人都知道考拉生活在澳大利亚、吃桉树叶，但关于考拉还有更多让我们去了解的知识。
1. Although they are commonly called koala “bears”, koalas are marsupials and have nothing at all to do with bears, except that they are cute like a teddy bear.
尽管我们通常称考拉为“树袋熊”，其实考拉是有袋类哺乳动物，跟熊完全没关系，只是看起来萌萌的像泰迪熊罢了。
2. The word “koala” is thought to have come from the aboriginal word meaning “no drink”. Although koalas do drink water sometimes, most of their hydration requirements are met by the moisture they get from eating eucalyptus leaves.
“考拉”一词据说源于原住民语，意思是“不喝水”。尽管考拉有时也会喝水，但它们大部分的饮水需求都靠吃桉树叶时吸收其中的水分来满足。
3. They eat about two and a half pounds of eucalyptus leaves a day; so many, in fact, that they take on the fragrance of the oil and end up smelling like cough drops.
它们一天要吃2.5磅桉树叶；事实上，吃这么多的桉树叶会让它们吸收油脂的香味，最后闻起来像止咳糖浆的味道。
4. A newborn koala is the size of a jellybean called a joey. It is a while before it reaches full-blown ridiculously cute status; joeys are born blind, earless and without fur.
新生考拉就跟橡皮糖那么大，人们叫它们幼兽。过不了多久就会长成你现在看到的大萌物般模样；考拉幼兽生下来是看不到东西的，没有耳朵和毛发。
5. After birth, a momma koala will carry the jellybean baby in her pouch for about six months; the newborn clings to its mother’s back or belly until it is around a year old.
出生之后，考拉妈妈会把橡皮糖大小的幼兽放在育儿袋里半年，幼兽会攀附在妈妈的背上或肚子上，直到1岁左右。
6. Koalas usually live in trees, and they sleep for up to 18 hours during the day.
考拉们一般住在树上，一天要睡多达18个小时。
7. Koalas may look soft and cuddly, but to the touch, not so much. They have a thick wooly fur that protects them from both heat and cold and also helps to repel water. In fact, their fur is the thickest of all marsupials.
考拉看起来软软的、萌萌的，但摸起来可不是这么回事。为了抵抗炎热和寒冬，并帮助防水，它们的皮毛非常坚硬。实际上，它们的皮毛算是有袋类动物中最厚的了。
8. Habitat destruction, traffic deaths and attacks by dogs kill an estimated 4,000 koalas yearly; at this point, there are fewer than 100,000 koalas in the wild. Fortunately, there are many efforts being made to protect them.
居住环境的破坏、交通事故或是被狗狗袭击，这些原因每年会造成大约4000只考拉死亡。因此，目前在野外仅存不到10万只考拉。好在人们正努力保护它们。
9. In ideal conditions in the wild, male koalas live to about the age of 10; females may live a few years longer.
在理想的野外条件下，成年雄性考拉能活到10岁，雌性考拉能多活几年。
10. There were once millions of koalas, but the popularity of their sturdy fur resulted in massive hunting of them in the 1920s and 1930s, leading to a major decline in their numbers.
曾经有数以百万计的考拉，然而考拉坚实的皮毛使它们成为20世纪二三十年代遭到疯狂捕杀的原因，造成其数目急剧下降。
Vocabulary
marsupial n. 有袋类哺乳动物
aboriginal adj. 原住的
hydration n. 水合作用
moisture n. 水分
fragrance n. 芳香；香味
jellybean n. 一种豆形糖果
ridiculously adj. 可笑地；荒谬地
status n. 状态
pouch n. 育儿袋
cling v. 紧贴
cuddly adj. 令人想拥抱的
repel v. 抵挡
habitat n. 栖息地
destruction n. 破坏；毁灭
attack v. 袭击
estimate v. 估计
sturdy adj. 坚硬的
massive adj. 大量的
decline n. 下降
尽管大部分人都知道考拉生活在澳大利亚、吃桉树叶，但关于考拉还有更多让我们去了解的知识。
1. Although they are commonly called koala “bears”, koalas are marsupials and have nothing at all to do with bears, except that they are cute like a teddy bear.
尽管我们通常称考拉为“树袋熊”，其实考拉是有袋类哺乳动物，跟熊完全没关系，只是看起来萌萌的像泰迪熊罢了。
2. The word “koala” is thought to have come from the aboriginal word meaning “no drink”. Although koalas do drink water sometimes, most of their hydration requirements are met by the moisture they get from eating eucalyptus leaves.
“考拉”一词据说源于原住民语，意思是“不喝水”。尽管考拉有时也会喝水，但它们大部分的饮水需求都靠吃桉树叶时吸收其中的水分来满足。
3. They eat about two and a half pounds of eucalyptus leaves a day; so many, in fact, that they take on the fragrance of the oil and end up smelling like cough drops.
它们一天要吃2.5磅桉树叶；事实上，吃这么多的桉树叶会让它们吸收油脂的香味，最后闻起来像止咳糖浆的味道。
4. A newborn koala is the size of a jellybean called a joey. It is a while before it reaches full-blown ridiculously cute status; joeys are born blind, earless and without fur.
新生考拉就跟橡皮糖那么大，人们叫它们幼兽。过不了多久就会长成你现在看到的大萌物般模样；考拉幼兽生下来是看不到东西的，没有耳朵和毛发。
5. After birth, a momma koala will carry the jellybean baby in her pouch for about six months; the newborn clings to its mother’s back or belly until it is around a year old.
出生之后，考拉妈妈会把橡皮糖大小的幼兽放在育儿袋里半年，幼兽会攀附在妈妈的背上或肚子上，直到1岁左右。
6. Koalas usually live in trees, and they sleep for up to 18 hours during the day.
考拉们一般住在树上，一天要睡多达18个小时。
7. Koalas may look soft and cuddly, but to the touch, not so much. They have a thick wooly fur that protects them from both heat and cold and also helps to repel water. In fact, their fur is the thickest of all marsupials.
考拉看起来软软的、萌萌的，但摸起来可不是这么回事。为了抵抗炎热和寒冬，并帮助防水，它们的皮毛非常坚硬。实际上，它们的皮毛算是有袋类动物中最厚的了。
8. Habitat destruction, traffic deaths and attacks by dogs kill an estimated 4,000 koalas yearly; at this point, there are fewer than 100,000 koalas in the wild. Fortunately, there are many efforts being made to protect them.
居住环境的破坏、交通事故或是被狗狗袭击，这些原因每年会造成大约4000只考拉死亡。因此，目前在野外仅存不到10万只考拉。好在人们正努力保护它们。
9. In ideal conditions in the wild, male koalas live to about the age of 10; females may live a few years longer.
在理想的野外条件下，成年雄性考拉能活到10岁，雌性考拉能多活几年。
10. There were once millions of koalas, but the popularity of their sturdy fur resulted in massive hunting of them in the 1920s and 1930s, leading to a major decline in their numbers.
曾经有数以百万计的考拉，然而考拉坚实的皮毛使它们成为20世纪二三十年代遭到疯狂捕杀的原因，造成其数目急剧下降。
Vocabulary
marsupial n. 有袋类哺乳动物
aboriginal adj. 原住的
hydration n. 水合作用
moisture n. 水分
fragrance n. 芳香；香味
jellybean n. 一种豆形糖果
ridiculously adj. 可笑地；荒谬地
status n. 状态
pouch n. 育儿袋
cling v. 紧贴
cuddly adj. 令人想拥抱的
repel v. 抵挡
habitat n. 栖息地
destruction n. 破坏；毁灭
attack v. 袭击
estimate v. 估计
sturdy adj. 坚硬的
massive adj. 大量的
decline n. 下降