Ships of the Desert

Ships of the Desert

沙漠之舟

If you had to walk on hot sand with a heavy backpack and no water to drink, how long could you walk? Could you walk for ten minutes? Could you walk for one hour? Could you walk for three weeks? There is one animal that can: the camel! There are two kinds of camels, the Dromedary and the Bactrian. Dromedary camels have only one hump and Bactrian camels have two. If you turn the letters D and B on their sides, this will help you remember their names.

如果你必须背着沉重的背包在炎热的沙漠上行走，而且没有水喝，你能坚持多久你走路吗？ 你能走十分钟吗？你能走一个小时吗？ 你能走三星期吗？有一种动物可以：骆驼！ 骆驼有两种，单峰骆驼和双峰骆驼。 单峰骆驼只有一个驼峰，双峰骆驼有两个驼峰。 如果你把字母D和B旋转过来，这将有助于你记住他们的名字。

Dromedary camels live in Arabia, India, and North Africa. There are 13 million Dromedary camels alive today, and all of them are used to carry loads through the desert. Because they are so valuable to humans, there are no more wild Dromedary camels. Bactrian camels live in China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. Scientists are worried because there are not many wild Bactrian camels left in the world.

单峰骆驼生活在阿拉伯、印度和北非。 今天世界上有1300万只单峰骆驼，它们都被用来在沙漠中搬运货物。 因为它们对人类非常珍贵，所以再也没有野生的单峰骆驼了。 双峰驼生活在中国、蒙古和哈萨克斯坦。 科学家们很担心，因为世界上已经没有多少野生双峰驼了。

There are only 950 living in the Gobi Desert. Bactrian camels are slower than Dromedary camels, so people prefer Dromedaries. Do you wish you had a camel? If you do, listen to this. Camels are very difficult pets. They like to bite, spit, and kick people who make them work. Camels eat 12 kilograms of food every day and can drink 114 liters of water in ten minutes! But there are a lot of good things about camels too. Camel milk is very delicious. And camel wool can be made into clothes.

只有950只生活在戈壁沙漠中。 双峰驼比单峰驼慢，所以人们更喜欢单峰驼。 你希望你有一只骆驼吗？ 如果是，听听这个。骆驼是很难养的宠物。 他们喜欢咬、吐和踢那些让他们工作的人。 骆驼每天吃12公斤食物，十分钟内可以喝114升水！ 但骆驼也有很多优点。 骆驼奶很美味。骆驼毛可以制成衣服。

If you need to light a fire, you can use camel dung. These three camel gifts help people survive in the desert. But wait, there is more! Camels are called ships of the desert because they carry very big loads from one side of the desert to the other. Dromedary camels can carry over two hundred kilograms on their backs. Camels walk four kilometers per hour through the hot desert. They can go like this for three weeks without water!

如果你需要生火，你可以用骆驼粪。 这三种骆驼礼物帮助人们在沙漠中生存。 但等等，还有更多！ 骆驼被称为沙漠之舟，因为它们从沙漠的一边到另一边运载着巨大的货物。 单峰骆驼的背上可以承载200多公斤的重量。 骆驼在炎热的沙漠中每小时走四公里。 他们可以这样三个星期不喝水！

That’s amazing! Why don’t camels need water? Here’s a hint: they don’t store it in their humps. Camels do need water, but they save it for long trips. For example, when the weather gets hot, camels don’t sweat much. Instead, they let their bodies get warmer. Even when camels go to the bathroom, they save their water and only lose the waste. A camel can lose up to 40 percent of its body’s water before getting sick. Humans can lose only 20 percent.

太棒了！ 为什么骆驼不需要水？这里有一个提示：他们不会把它储存在自己的驼峰里。 骆驼确实需要水，但它们把水留作长途旅行之用。 例如，当天气变热时，骆驼不会出汗。 相反，他们让自己的身体变暖。即使骆驼上厕所，它们也会节约用水，只排出排泄物。 骆驼在生病前会损失身体里多达40%的水分。 人类只会损失20%。