哈喽，奥力巴迪！
古巴鳄鱼，惊人事实大揭秘
适合A2-B1水平的学生
通过讨论、视频和习题提高阅读和听力技能，扩展有关野生动物和保护的词汇量，同时练习阅读理解和浏览技巧，引导学生进行有关环境保护的思考。
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See you later alligator
Or in a while crocodile?
你能在文中找到以下词语吗？
1. Look out for: 注意
2. Come out on top: 占据优势
3. Put side-by-side: 并排放置
4. Slip into: 滑入
5. Stick out: 突出
When you think about it, the similarities between crocodiles and alligators are far more obvious than their differences. To start with they are both reptiles, both live near water and a quick glance can show you that they look pretty much the same. So, when it comes to differences, what should we be looking out for? What separates a crocodile from an alligator?
当你仔细想想，鳄鱼和短吻鳄的相似之处远比它们的差异明显。首先，它们都是爬行动物，都生活在水边，乍一看它们几乎一模一样。那么，当谈到差异时，我们应该注意什么？是什么区分了鳄鱼和短吻鳄？
Firstly, crocodiles are bigger than alligators. While the shape of their bodies might be similar, it is the crocodile that comes out on top when looking at their size. A fully-grown crocodile is likely to be around a metre longer than even the biggest alligator and while many will say size is all that matters, it does come with one significant disadvantage. Due to their size, crocodiles are much slower than alligators and should you ever find yourself being chased by one of these lizards, you better hope that it’s a crocodile.
首先，鳄鱼比短吻鳄大。虽然它们的身体形状可能相似，但在尺寸上鳄鱼更胜一筹。完全成年的鳄鱼可能比最大的短吻鳄还长一米，尽管许多人认为尺寸是关键，但这也带来了一个显著的劣势。由于体型较大，鳄鱼比短吻鳄慢得多，如果你被其中一种爬行动物追赶，最好希望追你的是鳄鱼。
Another big difference comes down to location and how easy it is to see these beautiful animals in the wild. If you are hoping to see an alligator in its natural habitat, then there are only two countries on earth in which you can do so, one being China and the other being the US. The Chinese alligator is particularly endangered and can only be found in one part of the country: in the Yangtze River valley. As for the crocodile, you can see these little guys spring up all over the place, particularly in the tropical areas of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.
另一个重大区别在于位置以及在野外看到这些美丽动物的难易程度。如果你希望在自然栖息地看到短吻鳄，那么全球只有两个国家可以做到，一个是中国，另一个是美国。中国短吻鳄特别濒危，仅在长江流域的一部分地区可以找到。至于鳄鱼，你可以在很多地方看到它们，特别是在亚洲、非洲、澳大利亚和美洲的热带地区。
When we look at these creatures in relation to aggression then the crocodile is the one that you don’t want to start a fight with. To show this further, if you were to put the animals side-by-side, then a wild alligator may actually appear tame when compared with a crocodile. Studies have shown that alligators will only attack humans when they feel extremely hungry or if they feel threatened whereas a crocodile is likely to attack if you wander just a little bit too closely.
当我们谈论这些生物的攻击性时，鳄鱼是不想与你打架的那一种。进一步说明，如果你把这些动物并排放置，与鳄鱼相比，野生短吻鳄实际上可能显得驯服。研究表明，短吻鳄只有在极度饥饿或受到威胁时才会攻击人类，而鳄鱼则可能在你靠得太近时就会发动攻击。
The differing habitats chosen by each creature is surprisingly decided by their ability to deal with salt. Crocodiles have things on their tongues which let them get rid of the salt in their bodies and as a result they are able to happily live in locations that have salt in the water. While alligators have a similar gland, it does not function as well so they tend to stay in freshwater environments.
每种生物选择的不同栖息地令人惊讶地取决于它们处理盐的能力。鳄鱼的舌头上有一些结构可以让它们排出体内的盐，因此它们可以快乐地生活在含盐的水域。而短吻鳄虽然也有类似的腺体，但功能不太好，所以它们倾向于生活在淡水环境中。
One final important difference is in relation to teeth, and this is perhaps the quickest way in which you can tell if you are looking at a crocodile or an alligator. Take a look at the lower jaw of both animals and you will notice that they have a long tooth at both sides of their mouth. However, this picture changes when they decide to shut those snappy traps. If an alligator closes its mouth, it will slip the teeth into sockets in their upper jaw, and you won’t be able to see anything but when a crocodile performs the same move you can still see those beautiful teeth sticking out.
最后一个重要的区别在于牙齿，这可能是你最快识别鳄鱼和短吻鳄的方法。看看这两种动物的下颌，你会注意到它们的嘴两侧都有一颗长长的牙齿。然而，当它们决定闭上嘴时，这个情况就会改变。如果短吻鳄闭上嘴，它的牙齿会滑入上颌的槽中，你什么也看不见，但当鳄鱼做同样的动作时，你仍然能看到那些美丽的牙齿突出。
The differences that exist between these two amazing creatures extend far beyond the ones above, but one piece of advice remains true for both, please approach with caution.
这两种神奇生物之间的差异远不止上面提到的这些，但有一点建议对它们都适用，那就是请小心接近。
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