Crazy Facts About Octopuses 有关章鱼的疯狂事实

Everyone knows that octopuses have eight arms. But do you know that some octopuses are poisonous or that some can use tools？ Here are some awesome facts about this amazing creature.

大家都知道章鱼有八条触手。但你知道有些章鱼有毒，有些章鱼会使用工具吗？以下是关于这种神奇生物的一些惊人事实。

★They eat their arms.

它们吃自己的触手。

Compared with octopuses living in containers full of interesting decorations like shells， octopuses living in tougher environments become pretty stressed out. Some even turn to a disturbing behavior known as autophagy. That is what is described as “eating its own arms”.

与生活在充满有趣装饰（如贝壳）的容器中的章鱼相比，生活在恶劣环境中的章鱼压力很大。一些章鱼甚至产生一种令人不安的行为，即自噬。这就是所谓的“吃自己的触手”。

★Theyre poisonous.

它们有毒。

Some octopuses are thought to have some poison that comes from bacteria living inside the animals. Most dont have enough poison to harm people. But a bite from a small blue ringed octopus can paralyze a human adult in minutes.

有人認为一些章鱼体内有体内细菌产生的毒素。大多数章鱼都没有足够的毒素来伤害人。但被一条小蓝环章鱼咬一口，一个成年人在几分钟内就会失去知觉。

★They use tools.

它们使用工具。

Like chimpanzees， dolphins and crows， octopuses are among the special set of intelligent animals that have been observed using tools. Scientists have watched octopuses picking up empty coconut shells and using them like mobile homes. “I never expected to find an octopus that collects several coconut shells and jogs across the seafloor carrying them，” said a scientist.

同黑猩猩、海豚和乌鸦一样，章鱼也是一种特殊的聪明动物，它们被观察到使用工具。科学家们曾观察到章鱼捡起空椰子壳，并把它们当作移动的家。一位科学家说：“我从没想过会发现一只章鱼收集椰子壳，然后带着它们在海底慢跑。”

★Theyre masters of camouflage.

它们是伪装大师。

An octopus can change the color of its entire body in just a second. And the creature doesnt simply take on the general pattern of its surroundings. Instead， it often mimics specific undersea objects， like plants or rocks， to disappear into the underwater scenery.

章鱼可以在一秒钟内改变整个身体的颜色。这种生物并不是简单地遵循周围环境的一般模式。相反，为了隐藏在水下环境中，它经常模仿特定的海底物体，如植物或岩石。

★Theyre playful.

它们爱玩。

Evidence suggests octopuses are very curious and need stimulation. They might even engage in what humans would call “play”. For example， a scientist once saw that an octopus pushed a plastic bottle over and over again at a stream of water flowing into its tank—almost like it was bouncing a ball underwater.

有证据表明，章鱼非常好奇，需要刺激。它们甚至可能参与人类所谓的“游戏”。例如，一位科学家曾经看到一只章鱼对着流入水箱的水流一遍遍地推着一个塑料瓶——就好像它在水下拍球。

Word Bank

paralyze /'p?r?la?z/ v. 使瘫痪；使麻痹

The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

coconut /'k??k?n?t/ n. 椰子；椰子肉；椰蓉

mimic /'m?m?k/ v. 模仿

Shes always mimicking the teachers.