Monkey Business

Monkey Business, written by Brian Roberts.

《猴子趣事》，布莱恩·罗伯茨 著

Introduction. Of all the creatures in the animal kingdom, humans most closely identify with monkeys. In fact, if someone says you're acting like a monkey, he or she is probably not too far off. People often stand in front of a monkey exhibit at the zoo for much longer than they stand in front of other exhibits. They are fascinated by the antics of monkeys. They laugh at them and are entertained by them, perhaps because monkeys remind people so much of themselves.

引言 在动物王国的所有生物里，人类和猴子的相似度最高 其实呀，如果有人说你疯得像只猴子，这话还真没说错多少 人们逛动物园时，在猴展区前停留的时间，通常比其他展区久得多 大家都对猴子滑稽捣蛋的动作着迷 人们看着猴子哈哈大笑，看得津津有味，或许是因为猴子太像我们人类自己了

Primates. Monkeys belong to a group of mammals known as primates. There are two main groups of primates, anthropoids and prosimians. Anthropoids, which are the most familiar primates, include monkeys, apes, and humans. Prosimians are less well known. The most familiar prosimian is the lemur.

灵长类动物 猴子属于哺乳动物中叫做灵长类的类群 灵长类主要分为两大类：类人猿和原猴 我们最熟悉的类人猿，就包括猴子、猿类和人类 原猴就没那么广为人知了 大家最熟悉的原猴就是狐猴

Primates are different from other mammals because they have fingers that are developed and a thumb that sits across from and bends toward the fingers. This thumb is called an opposable thumb. Opposable thumbs allow primates to hold tightly onto small things, giving them an advantage over other mammals. For example, many primates spend most of their lives in trees. The thumb makes it possible for the primates to grasp branches and climb more easily.

灵长类和其他哺乳动物不同，它们拥有发育完善的手指，还有一根能对着其他手指弯曲的拇指 这种拇指叫做对生拇指 对生拇指能让灵长类紧紧抓牢小东西，这让它们比其他哺乳动物更有优势 比如说，很多灵长类一辈子大部分时间都待在树上 这种拇指让灵长类能更容易抓住树枝、轻松爬树

Monkeys vs. Apes Most people think that apes such as gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees are just big monkeys. But they are not monkeys. They are apes. Apes do not have tails, while most monkeys do. And apes are usually much more intelligent than monkeys. Apes are also larger than monkeys. Because most apes are heavier, they often scramble and climb along branches, while monkeys can swing and jump from branch to branch.

猴子和猿的区别 大多数人都觉得大猩猩、红毛猩猩、黑猩猩这些猿类只是大块头的猴子 可它们其实不是猴子 它们是猿类 猿类没有尾巴，而大多数猴子都长着尾巴 而且猿类通常比猴子聪明得多 猿类的体型也比猴子更大 因为大多数猿体重更重，它们通常是沿着树枝攀爬，而猴子能在树枝间荡来跳去

New World and Old World Monkeys Monkeys are divided into two groups based on where they live. One group is the New World Monkeys, which live in Central and South America. Only monkeys, not apes, or persimmons, live in the New World. The other group is Old World Monkeys, which are found in Asia and Africa. Old world primates include apes and prosimmians as well as monkeys. Old and new world monkeys are different in four distinct ways. One way is their noses. The nostrils of new world monkeys are spread apart, but in old world monkeys they are close together and point down like human nostrils.

新大陆猴和旧大陆猴 猴子按照栖息地分成两大类 一类是新大陆猴，生活在中美洲和南美洲 新大陆只有猴子生活，没有猿类和原猴 另一类是旧大陆猴，生活在亚洲和非洲 旧大陆的灵长类除了猴子，还有猿类和原猴 新大陆猴和旧大陆猴有四个明显的不同点 第一个不同就是鼻子 新大陆猴的鼻孔间距很宽，旧大陆猴的鼻孔挨得很近，还和人类的鼻孔一样朝下