小译说
你见过蓝色皮肤的人吗？你相信猫会写论文吗？你知道世界上最大的家庭共有多少人吗？这个世界有多奇妙，看看下面这些趣闻你便知道了！！
Prairie dogs say hello by kissing.
草原犬鼠通过接吻来打招呼
In greetings, prairie dogs touch their teeth together to determine whether the other animal is in theirsocial group. Interestingly, adult dogs in a zoo appear more affectionate and kiss more when morepeople are watching.
草原犬鼠在打招呼时通过牙齿的接触来判断对方是否和自己属于同一社会群体。有趣的是，动物园中的成年犬鼠在有人观看它们时会表现得更加亲密，亲吻时间更长。
The first authentic purple carrots
世界上最早的正宗紫胡萝卜
The first cultivated carrots originated either in Afghanistan or Turkey and were not orange but purpleand sometimes yellow. The orange carrots we know today were bred in the Netherlands in the 17thcentury to show support for the Orange-Nassau dynasty.
胡萝卜种植最早起源于阿富汗或土耳其，当时的胡萝卜不是橙色，而是紫色的，有时候还可能是黄色的。我们今天所见到的橙色胡萝卜种植于17世纪的荷兰，用来支持当时的奥兰治-拿骚王朝。
A blue-skinned family from Kentucky
来自肯塔基州的蓝皮肤家庭
For many generations, a family of people with blue skin lived in Kentucky. They had a rare metaboliccondition called methemoglobinemia. Due to inbreeding in the isolated community, severalgenerations of people of both sexes had blue skin. When young people started leaving Kentucky, thedisease died out.
在肯塔基州生活着一个连续几代有着蓝色皮肤的家族。他们得了一种罕见的代谢病，叫做高铁血红蛋白症。由于这个孤立群体中的近亲交配，这个家族中好几代人，不管男女，都有着蓝色的皮肤。这种病随着年轻人离开肯塔基州而消失。
Snow chimneys on Mount Erebus
埃里伯斯火山上的雪烟囱
Mount Erebus is the most active volcano in Antarctica and the southernmost active volcano on Earth.Escaping volcanic gases carved out ice caves and formed enormous 60-foot chimneys of ice, or“fumaroles,” with deadly volcanic gases pouring out from their tips.
埃里伯斯火山是南极洲最活跃的活火山，也是位于地球最南端的一座活火山。逸出的火山气体创造出了很多冰穴，形成了60英尺高的巨大冰烟囱，或者叫做“喷气孔”，致命的火山气体便从这些烟囱的顶部喷出。
This public library is divided between 2 countries.
横跨两个国家的公共图书馆
Haskell Free Library and Opera House is unique as it is situated in the US and Canada at the sametime. Most of the opera audience sits in the United States while the stage is, in fact, located inCanada. The international border running through the Library and the Opera House is marked by ablack line on the floor.
哈斯凯尔图书馆歌剧院独具特色，因为它同时坐落于美国和加拿大两个国家。歌剧院的大部分座位在美国，但舞台实际上却在加拿大。横穿图书馆和歌剧院地板上的这条黑线就是两国的分界线。
This giraffe is cleaning its nose with its tongue.
用舌头清洁鼻子的长颈鹿
The tongue of a giraffe is approximately 50 cm (20″) long, and it easily reaches the giraffe's nose andears. The animal has muscular control over it to grasp and pull leaves into its mouth. To make thingseven more interesting, the tongue is colored bluish-black to protect it from sunburn.
一头长颈鹿的舌头大约有50cm（20英寸）长，因此长颈鹿通过舌头可以轻而易举地够到自己的鼻子和耳朵。长颈鹿通过控制舌头的肌肉来获取树叶并将树叶送入嘴中。更有趣的是，长颈鹿的舌头是蓝黑色的，这是为了防止舌头晒伤。
“Black sun” formed by starlings
椋鸟形成的“黑太阳”
In early November just before dusk, an unusual sight can sometimes be observed in the sky abovethe UK: thousands of birds swooping and diving in unison. This process is called murmuration, and itsmain purposes are safety, keeping warm, and exchanging information.
11月初，临近黄昏之时，英国天空中有时能看到一种奇特的景观：成千上万的鸟一齐俯冲。这个过程叫做“murmuration”，主要是为了保证鸟群安全，保暖以及交流信息。
High heels for Persian soldiers
波斯士兵的高跟鞋
High heels originated in Persia, and soldiers wore them to easily stand in their stirrups while riding ahorse. Persian-style shoes were enthusiastically adopted by aristocrats in Western Europe to gavethem a masculine look.
高跟鞋起源于波斯。士兵们骑马时穿着高跟鞋可以很容易踩在马镫上。这种波斯鞋受到了西欧贵族的热烈追捧，因为穿着这种鞋能使他们更显阳刚之气。
Knighthood ceremony of the penguin Sir Nils Olav
企鹅尼尔斯·奥拉夫的爵士册封仪式
Nils Olav, a penguin residing in Edinburgh Zoo, was promoted to Colonel-in-Chief of the NorwegianKing's Guard in 2005 and knighted in 2008. This penguin follows another penguin named Nils Olav,adopted by the Norwegian King's Guard in 1972 as the guard's mascot.
尼尔斯·奥拉夫是居住在爱丁堡动物园的一只企鹅，它于2005年被封为挪威国王卫队的名誉团长，2008年擢升为爵士。这只企鹅的名字是由另外一只叫做尼尔斯·奥拉夫的企鹅传下来的，那只企鹅在1972年被列为挪威国王卫队的吉祥物。
This cat was the coauthor of a physics paper.
与人合著物理学论文的猫
F.D.C. Willard (an abbreviation from Felis Domesticus Chester) became the coauthor of a well-citedpaper with his owner, Professor Jack H. Hetherington, an American physicist and mathematician, in1975. The cat became so popular that the college's chairman of physics even tried to persuadeWillard to join the department on a full-time basis.
1975年，F.D.C. 威拉德（F.D.C.全称为Felis Domesticus Chester）和它的主人杰克H.赫瑟林顿（一名美国物理学家和数学家）合著了一篇引用率极高的论文。这只猫因此大受欢迎，甚至物理学院院长都曾试图劝说威拉德以全职身份加入到物理系。
The world's largest family
世界上最大的家庭
The head of the world's largest family, Ziona, is also the head of a religious sect called “Chana.” Hehas 39 wives, 94 children, and 33 grandchildren. The whole family (181 members) lives in his 4-story100-room house in India.
锡安纳是世界上最大家庭的领导者，同时也是 “Chana”教派的首领。他有39个妻子，94个孩子，33个孙子女。整个家庭（181位成员）住在印度，他们的房子有4层高，共100个房间。
The Great Blue Hole: the largest of its kind
大蓝洞：世界上最大的海洋蓝洞
The Great Blue Hole is the largest sinkhole in the world, located just 100 kilometers off the coast ofBelize. The sight was made famous by the explorer Jacques Cousteau. He declared it to be one of thetop 10 best diving places in the world in 1971.
位于伯利兹海岸100公里处的大蓝洞是世界上最大的海洋深洞。这一景观因探险家雅克·库斯托的发现而闻名于世。雅克·库斯托在1971年将大蓝洞评为世界十大潜水宝地之一。
A child's skull before the loss of baby teeth
乳牙脱落前的儿童颅骨
Permanent teeth are located directly above and below the “milk teeth” prior to exfoliation. In thenormal flow of events, when a permanent tooth finally erupts, it resorbs the root of the baby tooth,causing it to become loose and fall out.
恒牙在乳牙脱落前就直接长在“乳牙”之上或之下。按照换牙的正常顺序，当恒牙最终萌出时，恒牙会将乳牙牙根部吸收，导致乳牙松动，直至脱落。