Giant Rodents Capybaras Enjoy Japanese Hot Spring Treatment
巨型啮齿动物水豚享受日本温泉

本则影音新闻出处：新唐人电视台英语新闻
//english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_life/2010-12-23/295588092074.html
【新闻关键字】
1. rodent: n. [ˋrodnt] 啮齿目动物
2. capybara: n. [kæpəˋbɑrə]水豚
3. hot spring: ph. [hɑtˋ sprɪŋ] 温泉
4. kick into gear: ph. [kɪk ˋɪntu gɪr] 准备就绪
5. set in: ph. [sɛt ˋɪn ] 开始
6. melt down: ph. [mɛlt ˋdaʊn] 熔化
7. open-air: a. [ˋopənˋɛr] 露天的
8. rather than: ph. [ˋræðɚ ðæn] 而不是…
9. winter solstice: ph. [ˋwɪntɚ [sɑlstɪs] 冬至
10. exotic: a. [ɛgˋzɑtɪk] 异国的
11. surround: v. [səˋraʊnd]围绕
12. guinea pig: v. [ˋgɪnɪ] [pɪg] 天竺鼠

As the holiday season kicks into high gear and cold weather sets in, animals at a Japanese zoo were given a special treat… the delight of melting down in a Japanese hot spring.
由于进入假期旺季及天气开始寒冷，日本动物园的动物，有特别的待遇…开心的泡在日本温泉中。

On Wednesday, a family of capybaras enjoyed the full star-treatment at Saitama Children’s Zoo, as they jumped into an open-air hot tub.
周三，在琦玉县儿童动物园，一个水豚家族享受五星级的待遇，当他们跳进了露天温泉池。

[Akie Mita, Zookeeper]:
“It’s not that cold today, so capybaras are more like playing in the hot tub rather than taking a bath.”
[动物园管理员Akie Mita说]：
“今天没那么冷，所以水豚比较像在热浴池玩耍，而不是在洗澡。”

Following a Japanese tradition of bathing in citrus on the winter solstice, zookeepers added a bucket of Chinese lemons to make the exotic bath smell good.
遵循一项日本传统，冬至要泡柚子澡，动物园管理员添加一桶中国柠檬，让异国澡味道很香。

Living mainly on riverbanks in tropical countries in South America, capybaras are water-loving animals, but not cold water.
水豚是喜爱水的动物，但不是冷水，主要居住在南美洲热带国家内的河岸旁。

[Akie Mita, Zookeeper]:
“Capybaras wouldn’t go into water during winter unless it’s warm, so their skin gets very dry, which is bad for their health. However, since we’ve given them hot baths, they got soaked in the water often, and their skin conditions got better, too.”
[动物园管理员Akie Mita说]：
“除非是温水，否则水豚不会下水。因此它们的皮肤变得非常干燥，有害健康。然而，自从我们给它们热水澡，它们常常浸泡在水中，皮肤情况也变好了。“

Zoo visitors surrounded the enclosure watching the cute animals relaxing and even dozing off.
动物园游客围着围栏，看着可爱的动物在休息，甚至打瞌睡。

The water temperature was kept at 104 degree just warm enough for the Capybaras to fully relax.
水温保持在104度（摄氏40度），暖度刚好足够让水豚充分放松。

Cousins of guinea pigs and rats, capybaras are considered the world’s largest rodents
水豚的近亲有天竺鼠程老鼠，被认为是世界上最大的啮齿动物。
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本专栏由前卫英语David Lee主编 www.davidlee.url.tw