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5. Hot Animals around the World: Chameleons
世界熱門動物：變色龍
Every few months this program will feature an animal which has caught the eye of the world's public to become a favorite or "hot" animal.
每隔幾個月本節(jié)目將專題報道一種受世人矚目而成為最受喜愛或“熱門”的動物。
In the first of this unusual series, we will look at the chameleon, one of nature's strangest creatures.
在這個特別系列中，首先我們將介紹大自然中最奇特的生物之一——變色龍。
Perhaps no other group of animals has caught mankind's imagination like reptiles.
大概沒有其它種類的動物像爬蟲類那樣引發(fā)人類的想象力。
Among the several subclasses (or "orders" in biology) of reptiles are snakes and lizards, turtles and tortoises, crocodiles and alligators, and the tuatara, a marine lizard in New Zealand.
在幾個亞綱(或生物學的“目”)的爬蟲類中，有蛇和蜥蜴、烏龜和陸龜、鱷魚和短吻鱷以及蟲蜥蜴——一種現(xiàn)存于新西蘭的海蜥蜴。
The dinosaurs, too, belonged to the class of reptiles.
恐龍也同樣屬于爬蟲類÷
Was it a snake, lizard, or crocodile that caught the fancy of some Chinese in times gone by to create the dragon?
到底是蛇、蜥蜴還是鱷魚使遠古時代的中國人有所聯(lián)想而創(chuàng)造出龍的呢？
A perennial theme, reptiles have been featured over the past ten years in box-office hits and bombs alike as dinosaurs (Jurassic Park and The Lost World), crocodiles, and snakes (Anaconda).
大家對爬蟲類這個主題的興趣一直沒有斷過，過去10年來以爬蟲類為主角拍成的賣座電影和票房極差的電影包括有恐龍的(《侏羅紀公園》和《失落的世界》)、鱷魚和蛇類的(《大蟒蛇之神出鬼沒》)。
Though not nearly as large as these mighty reptiles, the lowly chameleon nonetheless has amazed countless generations with its special talents and skills.
雖然和這些巨大的爬蟲類在體型上相去甚遠，低姿態(tài)的變色龍仍然以牠特殊的才能和技巧讓無數(shù)個世代的人感到驚異。
What is a chameleon?
變色龍是什么樣的動物呢?
Its unusual name fits this unusual animal perfectly, for it translates from the ancient Greek as "lion on the ground."
它特殊的名字還真符合這只特殊的動物，因為它從古希臘文翻譯過來是“地上的獅子”之意。
This is unexpected, since chameleons spend most of their time in trees, and as for looking like a lion, a chameleon looks like a...well, a chameleon!
這真叫人意想不到，因為變色龍大部分的時間都在樹上，至于說看起來像獅子這點，變色龍看起來就像一只……呃，變色龍！
No other animal in Nature's zoo looks quite as bizarre as they do.
在大自然的動物園里，沒有其它動物長得像它們一樣古怪。
Where do they live?
那它們住在哪里呢?
True chameleons are found only in the tropical forests and jungles of the Old World, and nearly half of its species live on the African island of Madagascar.
真正的變色龍只有在舊世界的熱帶森林和叢林中才找得到，而幾乎有半數(shù)的種類住在非洲的馬達加斯加島上。
What's so special about the chameleon? Plenty!
變色龍有何特別之處呢?那可多了！
From its tongue to its tail the chameleon offers a storehouse of specialities.
從舌頭到尾巴，變色龍有一大堆特點。
The tongue of this modern-day dinosaur look-alike can be extended more than twice the length of its body.
這種像是現(xiàn)代恐龍的動物，它的舌頭可以伸到比它身體的兩倍還要長。
This type of tongue, also present in frogs and toads, is called an extensile tongue.
這種青蛙和蟾蜍也有的舌頭叫做伸縮舌頭.
The eyes of the chameleon are even more remarkable.
變色龍的眼睛則更了不起了。
Its eyes are turreted and can be moved independently so that it can view two different objects simultaneously!
它的眼睛是旋轉(zhuǎn)式的，能夠個別轉(zhuǎn)動，如此一來它可以同時注視兩個不同的物體！
This comes in especially handy as it is tree-dwelling.
這對它這種住在樹上的動物特別有用。
The chameleon can keep one eye on its prey and the other on its footing.
變色龍可以一眼盯著牠的獵物，另一眼看著牠立足的地方。
Its head is often helmet-shaped, and some species have horn-like structures growing out of this scaly helmet.
它的頭形狀通常像盔甲，有些種類的變色龍還會從多鱗的甲冑長出角狀的結(jié)構(gòu)來呢。
The feet and tail of the chameleon are also special. Both are prehensile;
變色龍的腳和尾巴也很特別，二者皆適于抓握；
that is, they are both perfectly adapted to their sylvan environment.
也就是說，二者皆極為適合森林的環(huán)境。
The toes of the chameleon's feet are bunched into inside and outside groups of two or three to enable this reptile to grasp tree branches tightly.
變色龍的腳趾卷曲成里外兩組各兩只或三只，使這種爬蟲類能夠緊抓住樹枝；
The chameleon can thus climb extraordinarily well while using its tail to grab objects for further balance.
變色龍利用尾巴抓住物體增加平衡因而格外善于攀爬。
The above inventory of natural selection specializations would be remarkable enough,
上列在物競天擇下發(fā)展而成的種種特長實在是了不起，
but what really separates the chameleon from its fellow reptiles is the fact that its scales contain the ability to change color.
但真正使變色龍不同于其它爬蟲類的是它的鱗片擁有變色的能力。
Though many people think the chameleon can change its color at will and that it can blend into any color, these are misconceptions.
雖然很多人以為變色龍可以隨意變換顏色，且能夠融入任何顏色，但是這些都是錯誤的觀念。
In fact, chameleons can blend into many natural colors and even patterns, but they cannot do this at will.
事實上，變色龍可以融入許多自然的顏色，甚至形狀，但它們卻不能隨心所欲。
Instead, this happens naturally according to temperature, emotional state of the animal, and the triggering of certain hormones within its body.
相反地，那是根據(jù)溫度、變色龍的情緒以及它體內(nèi)某些荷爾蒙機制而自然發(fā)生的。
It is hard to imagine an animal more interesting than the chameleon, with its weird appearance and special abilities.
擁有怪異外表和特別能力的變色龍，很難想得出有比它更有趣的動物。
We should always remember, however, that these animals require their native habitat to flourish in, not zoos or individuals' terrariums.
然而，我們要時時記住，這些動物需要原居住地來繁衍，而不是動物園或個人的小型飼養(yǎng)園。
If you want your grandchildren to see this gift of nature, do not collect it as a pet.
如果你想讓子孫看到這大自然的恩賜，那就不要搜集它來當寵物。
These natural treasures evolved over millions of years without mankind's help;
這些自然奇珍在沒有人類的幫助下演化了數(shù)百萬年；
they will continue to survive better if left alone.
如果不受打擾的話，它們將更能繼續(xù)生存下去。
