研究发现树袋熊是如何喝水的

郭伟

树袋熊是世界上最具魅力的动物之一，但我们还不是很了解树袋熊。科学家们一直想知道树袋熊是如何喝水的，近日，悉尼大学的研究人员给出了答案。

[难词探意]

1. moisture /?m??st??（r）/ n. 潮气; 水汽; 水分

2. nocturnal /n?k?t??nl/ adj. 夜间活动的

3. eucalyptus /?ju?k??l?pt?s/ n. 桉树

4. ethology /??θ?l?d??/ n. 动物行为学

Scientists have long wondered how Australias koalas get enough water to live. A new study provides an answer.

In the wild， koalas get water from the plant leaves they eat. But they also get it from water running down the side of tree trunks during rainfall.

The lead author of the new report on koalas is Valentina Mella of the University of Sydney. It was earlier thought， she explains， that the animals got most of their water from moisture in the leaves they ate. Mella and other researchers based their findings on 46 observations of koalas in the wild from 2006 to 2019.

Mella notes that koalas are largely nocturnal animals. This means they are active at night.

They live in trees and rely on them for food， shelter and， as the researchers just discovered， also for drinking.

Koalas spend most of their lives high up in eucalyptus trees. They eat a large amount of eucalyptus leaves. An adult koala normally eats 500 to 800 grams of leaves a day.

Because of their diet， koalas sleep a lot—about 20 hours a day. Their diet of tree leaves requires much energy to digest.

Mella notes that koalas actually spend 98% of their lives in trees. She adds that the only time they come down to the ground is to find another tree with better food supplies or a mate.

In fact， the word “koala” is said to have come from an Aboriginal word meaning “no drinking”. Koalas did not go down onto the ground very often. So， it was thought that they had no need to drink water.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Ethology. They said the study may be useful in efforts to protect koalas for future generations.

Mella says that the observations in the wild are very important. She adds that they can help to establish what is normal and what is not.

[Reading][Check]

1. According to earlier idea， where did koalas get water？

A. From the plant branches.

B. From the small rivers.

C. From roots of eucalyptus trees.

D. From moisture in the leaves.

2. How much time do koalas spend their lives off the trees every day？

A. About 23 hours.

B. About 12 hours.

C. About 3 hours.

D. Less than one hour.

3. What do the researchers think of their findings？

A. Limited.

B. Shocked.

C. Beneficial.

D. Unexpected.

[Language][Study]

Difficult sentence

She adds that the only time they come down to the ground is to find another tree with better food supplies or a mate.

【翻譯】 ___________________________________

【点石成金】本句为一个主从复合句，that引导宾语从句，to find another tree...a mate为不定式短语作表语。