Malayan1 Tigers 马来亚虎

胡杨选译

Are you afraid of tigers？ Do you know that tigers need our love？

你害怕老虎吗？你知道老虎需要我们的爱护吗？

There are fewer2 than 300 Malayan tigers left in the world. Malayan tiger is one of the smallest of tigers. It can be found in Malaysia and some parts of Thailand. Malayan tigers live in places near forests and rivers. Here are some interesting things about Malayan tiger family.

世界上现存的马来亚虎不足300只。马来亚虎是体型最小的老虎之一。它可以在马来西亚和泰国的部分地区找到。马来亚虎生活在森林和河流附近。下面是关于马来亚虎家族的趣闻。

1. It is the only tiger that can swim！

它是唯一会游泳的老虎！

Do you like to swim？ This tiger enjoys swimming and playing in rivers and lakes. It can cross3 rivers by swimming while keeping its head above water.

你喜欢游泳吗？这种老虎喜欢在河流和湖泊中游泳和玩耍，它可以在游泳过河时一直保持头部露在水面上。

2. They can eat an elephant.

它们可以吃掉一整头大象。

Malayan tigers like to eat pigs， monkeys， and—yes， elephants.

马来亚虎喜欢吃猪、猴子，是的，还有大象。

3. They are born blind4.

它们刚出生的时候看不见。

They are born with their eyes closed5 so that they are born blind. Their eyes often open between 6-12 days after birth， and they get full sight6 in 2 weeks.

它们出生时眼睛是闭着的，所以它们刚出生的时候看不见。它们的眼睛通常在出生后6至12天内睁开，在2周内就能完全恢复视力。

4. Only 50% of cubs7 live past 2 years old.

只有50%的幼崽能活过两岁。

Only 2-5 cubs are born every birth， and only half of these will survive8 past 2 years old. Young Malayan tigers stay with their mother until the age of 18 months. Malayan tiger can survive 18 to 25 years.

每一胎只有2到5只幼崽出生，其中只有一半能活过2岁。小马来亚虎与它们的母亲生活在一起，直到满18个月。马来亚虎可以活18到25年。

Today， these cubs are sent to zoos in the world to save them.

今天，这些幼崽被送到世界各地的动物园，这样做是为了救它们。

5. They are very good at camouflage9.

它们擅长伪装。

Because of their color， they are very good at blending10 in with the trees and rivers.

由于它们（皮毛）的颜色，它们很善于与树木、河流融为一体。

Tigers are very good at camouflage. When they are ready to kill other animals， other animals do not know the tiger is around.

老虎很善于伪装。当它们准备猎杀其他动物时，其他动物都不知道老虎就在附近。

Some animals are easily eaten. This is the reason they get killed.

有些动物很容易就被吃掉，这就是它们被猎杀的原因。

6. Its greatest threat is...HUMANS！

它最大的威胁是……人类！

The Malayan tiger is at the top of the food chain11， but its survival12 is threatened13 by humans because of just human greed14！

马来亚虎位于食物链的顶端，但它的生存正受到人类的威胁，就因为人类的贪婪！

What you can do to help save our tigers？

你能做些什么来帮助拯救我们的老虎呢？

We need time save these tigers. They need human care. You can save them by reading and spreading15 news about the tigers.

我们需要时间来拯救这些老虎，它们需要人类的爱护。你可以通過阅读和传播有关老虎的新闻来救它们。

（英语原文选自：teenkidsnews.com）

1. Malayan [] adj. 马来人的;马来语的;马来亚的

2. few [    ] adj. 不多，很少 3. cross [     ] v. 穿越

4. blind [        ] adj. 瞎的 5. closed [        ] adj. 封闭的

6. sight [     ] n. 视力 7. cub [    ] n. （熊、狮、狐狸等的）幼兽，崽

8. survive [         ] v. 生存;存活 9. camouflage [              ] v. 伪装

10. blend [       ] n. 融合 11. chain [      ] n. 链条

12. survival [          ] n. 生存;存活 13. threaten [] v. 威胁

14. greed [] n. 贪婪;贪心 15. spread [] v. 传播