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This is the Virginia opossum, a tree dweller found throughout many of the southern states. It's the only North American marsupial. The young are born premature and matured in the mother's pouch. And its only close relatives today are found in Central and South America. The opossum is a rare survivor from a South America invasion.
這就是北美負鼠，在美國南部各州的樹上到處可見其身影。這是北美唯一的一種有袋類動物。在未成熟之前，年幼的負鼠都會生活在媽媽的口袋里。在美國的中部以及南部可以發現這種動物在當今時代的近親。負鼠是南美動物入侵中為數不多的幸存者。
In the ice age, there were many other species that had travelled north to Florida, including a giant. This spectacular claw is 40cm long. And it belonged to a creature whose fossil remains have been found throughout Florida. It's the claw from a giant ground sloth and it really was a giant—6 metres long and weighing up to 40 tons. It rivalled the mammoth in size.
在冰河時代，有很多其他的物種從北部來到了佛羅里達，其中包括一只“大家伙”。這只驚人巨爪有40公分長。爪子主人保留下來的化石在佛羅里達到處可見——巨型地懶，這種地懶巨大無比，身長6米，體重40多噸。體型和猛犸象相似。
Although the giant ground sloth is now extinct, like the opossum, it has family ties in South America. The family resemblance is easy to see. These menacing claws are used as grappling hooks, not weapons. They belong to the tree sloth, a peaceful vegetarian that spends its time eating leaves. It seems a far cry from our vision and an ice age beast.
盡管巨型地懶已經滅絕，但是像負鼠一樣，南美也能找到它的“家庭成員”。他們之間的“家族特征”顯而易見。這些具有威懾力的爪子被用來當做鉤子，而不是武器。他們就是樹懶 ，樹懶是喜愛和平的素食主義者，它大部分時間都呆在樹上吃著樹葉。這和我們想象中的冰河時代巨獸有著很大的不同。
英文文本來自普特英語，譯文屬可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可不得轉載.
