42 Sloths of the Rain Forest

Sloths of the Rain Forest by Christine Keighery Table of Contents Chapter 1 Very Slow Sloths page 2 Chapter 2 Food and Family page 6 Chapter 3 Sloths' Surroundings page 8 Chapter 4 Other Animals of the Rain Forest page 12 Glossary/ Index page 15 Comprehension Check page 16

《热带雨林的树懒》作者:Christine Keighery目录表第一章非常慢的树懒第2页第二章食物和家庭第6页第三章树懒的环境第8页第四章热带雨林的其他动物第12页词汇表/索引第15页理解检查第16页

Chapter 1 Very Slow Sloths How would you like to hang upside down and sleep all day? That's what sloths do. They are often lazy and move very slowly. Sloths eat, sleep, and even have babies upside down. They use their huge claws to hang from high branches in trees. They can sleep up to 20 hours a day while hanging. Sloths rest upside down. KEY Tropical Rain Forests Equator Gulf of Mexico Central America Caribbean Sea ATLANTIC OCEAN South America This map shows rain forests in Central and South America. Sloths live in these areas. Sloths live in the rain forests of Central and South America. Rain forests are very warm, wet forests. It rains there almost every day. Rain forests are homes to millions of plants and animals. Sloths are nocturnal. They sleep during the day and are active at night. But even when they are moving, sloths are still the slowest mammals on Earth.

第一章非常慢的树懒你想不想整天倒挂着睡觉? 这就是树懒的工作。他们通常很懒，行动非常缓慢。 树懒吃饭、睡觉甚至生孩子都是倒立着的。 它们用巨大的爪子悬挂在高高的树枝上。 他们可以在吊吊的时候每天睡20个小时。 树懒倒立着休息。主要热带雨林赤道墨西哥湾中美洲加勒比海大西洋南美洲这张地图显示了中美洲和南美洲的热带雨林。 树懒生活在这些地区。 树懒生活在中美洲和南美洲的雨林中。 雨林是非常温暖潮湿的森林。 那里几乎每天都下雨。 雨林是数百万动植物的家园。 树懒是夜行动物。它们白天睡觉，晚上活动。 但即使它们在移动，树懒仍然是地球上最慢的哺乳动物。

A sloth is a funny-looking animal. It has a tiny head, big eyes, long arms, and shaggy gray or brown fur. It has a dark mask around its eyes and a mouth that always seems to have a smile. Sloths can grow to be the size of a small dog. They usually live 10 to 20 years in their natural habitat. They have been known to live up to 40 years in zoos. A 13-month-old two-toed sloth hangs in Costa Rica. Sloth Body Basics Spending so much time upside down affects a sloth's body. The sloth's liver and stomach are in different positions compared to other animals. Its hair grows in a special way, too. The hairs are parted down the middle from belly to back. This makes rain run off a sloth's body. A three-toed sloth climbs a tree. There are two types of sloths. All sloths have three toes on each back foot. But they may have two or three toes on their front feet. The three-toed sloth has a small tail. Its front legs are longer than its back legs. The two-toed sloth does not have a tail. Its front and back legs are the same size. And it is smaller than the three-toed sloth.

树懒是一种长相滑稽的动物。 它有一个小脑袋，大眼睛，长胳膊，毛茸茸的灰色或棕色皮毛。 它的眼睛周围有一个黑色的面具，嘴巴似乎总是在微笑。 树懒可以长到小狗那么大。 它们通常在自然栖息地生活10到20年。 据悉，它们在动物园里可以活到40年。 一只13个月大的两趾树懒悬挂在哥斯达黎加。 树懒身体基本常识花这么长时间倒立会影响树懒的身体。 与其他动物相比，树懒的肝脏和胃的位置不同。 它的毛发也以一种特殊的方式生长。 毛发从腹部到背部从中间分开。 这使得雨水从树懒的身上流下来。 一只三趾树懒正在爬树。 树懒有两种。 所有树懒的每只后脚上都有三个脚趾。 但它们的前脚上可能有两到三个脚趾。 三趾树懒有一条小尾巴。 它的前腿比后腿长。 二趾树懒没有尾巴。 它的前腿和后腿一样大。 它比三趾树懒还小。

Chapter 2 Food and Family Sloths are herbivores. They nibble on leaves, flower buds, and berries. Sloths do not have sharp front teeth. They just "bite" at plants with their hard lips. Sloths don't drink. They get all of the water they need from drops of water on leaves. This two-toed sloth is eating a leaf using its hard lips. A baby three-toed sloth holds onto its mother's belly. A female sloth has one baby each year. The newborn is about 10 inches (25 centimeters) long and weighs less than one pound (500 grams). Like all mammals, a newborn drinks milk from its mother. It is carried on the mother's belly. At around six months old, the baby sloth can move around by itself. Adult sloths often live alone. But sometimes female sloths will gather in groups. Where's Mom? A baby sloth keeps at least one foot on its mother's belly at all times until it is about six months old. If it is not near its mother, a young sloth will cry for her.

树懒是食草动物。 它们啃食树叶、花蕾和浆果。 树懒没有锋利的门牙。 它们只是用坚硬的嘴唇“咬”植物。 树懒不喝水。它们从树叶上的水滴中获取所需的水分。 这只二趾树懒正在用坚硬的嘴唇吃树叶。 一只三趾树懒宝宝紧紧抓住妈妈的肚子。 雌性树懒每年生一个宝宝。 新生儿长约10英寸(25厘米)，体重不到1磅(500克)。 像所有的哺乳动物一样，新生儿喝母亲的奶。 它在母亲的肚子里。 在大约六个月大的时候，树懒宝宝可以自己移动。 成年树懒通常独自生活。 但有时雌性树懒会成群聚集。 妈妈在哪儿?在大约六个月大之前，树懒宝宝至少有一只脚一直放在妈妈的肚子上。 如果它不在妈妈身边，小树懒就会哭着要妈妈。

Chapter 3 Sloths' Surroundings A sloth only comes down from its treetop home once a week. This is hard work because the sloth has an odd way of walking. It drags its body along the forest floor using its long front arms. Sloths are very good swimmers. They move easily through deep puddles and even rivers. There is a lot of water because it rains so much in the rain forest. A three-toed sloth swims in a river. This mother sloth and her baby are covered with algae. Sloths are too lazy to preen and wash. Many insects live in their fur. Up to 1,000 beetles and mites can live on one sloth. Maybe that's why the sloth itches! The beetles and mites eat a plant that grows on the sloth's fur. This plant is called algae. It grows in damp places and sometimes turns sloths' fur green. This works well for the sloths. The greenish color can help sloths blend into the rain forest and protect them from predators Plus, if a sloth feels really lazy, it may eat the algae growing in its fur.

树懒的环境树懒每周只从树顶的家下来一次。 这是一项艰巨的工作，因为树懒的走路方式很奇怪。 它用长长的前肢在森林地面上拖着身体。 树懒是游泳健将。 它们很容易穿过深水坑甚至河流。 因为雨林里雨水很多，所以有很多水。 一只三趾树懒在河里游泳。 这只树懒妈妈和她的孩子身上覆盖着藻类。 树懒懒得梳洗。 许多昆虫生活在它们的皮毛里。 一只树懒能养活1000只甲虫和螨虫。 也许这就是树懒痒的原因!甲虫和螨虫以树懒皮毛上生长的植物为食。 这种植物叫做藻类。 它生长在潮湿的地方，有时会把树懒的皮毛变成绿色。 这对树懒很有效。 这种绿色可以帮助树懒融入雨林，保护它们不受捕食者的侵害。此外，如果树懒真的很懒，它可能会吃掉生长在皮毛上的藻类。