【英语时差8,16】为何负鼠倒挂于树（上）

Have you ever seen a cartoon of a sleeping opossum hanging upside down by its tail? Well, you may be surprised to learn that ‘possums don’t actually sleep that way. Just A Myth Although often depicted¹ in cartoons as hanging from their tails, the muscles in the ‘possums’ tail are not strong enough to support an adult’s weight for more than a moment. Young ‘possums are sometimes spotted² dangling³ temporarily by their tails, which may be where the myth got started, but even juveniles⁴ don’t hang upside down while sleeping. Still, the ‘possum’s prehensile⁵ tail is quite handy. It can curl tightly around branches, grasp and carry objects, and help stabilize⁶ the ‘possum as it clambers around in trees and bushes. Related To Kangaroos Another common misconception is that ‘possums are related to rats. While they do look like rats with their pointy snouts and scaly⁷, hairless tails, the resemblance is only superficial. ‘Possums are actually more closely related to kangaroos than to rats.

1 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

4 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

5 prehensile   

adj.（足等）适于抓握的

参考例句：

• Poets are those strangely prehensile men.诗人是那些具有深刻洞察力的人们。
• A monkey has a prehensile tail.猴子有能盘卷住东西的尾巴。

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 scaly   

adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的

参考例句：

• Reptiles possess a scaly,dry skin.爬行类具有覆盖着鳞片的干燥皮肤。
• The iron pipe is scaly with rust.铁管子因为生锈一片片剥落了。