Cat That Roar- 猫科大家庭

名称：Cat That Roar- 猫科大家庭
内容简介：
Close your eyes and think of a cat. What do you see? Is it a striped kitten playing with a piece of string? Or maybe a pretty tabby cat purring on your lap? These cats may seem very different from the great lions and tigers that live in the wild. But in cat, they are very much alike. They are all part of the cat family. This book is about those big cats—big cats that roar and some big cats that don’t!

Chapter One 第一章
Big Cats From Nose to Tail　大型猫科动物概况
It is nighttime. A bit cat moves slowly and silently in the forest. It has not eaten in three days. It is very hungry. Suddenly, the cat’s ears point straight up as it stares into the darkness. It sees a deer many yards away. Without a sound, the big cat creeps toward the deer. As it draws closer, the cat begins to move more quickly. Then, in a single leap, the deer is knocked to the ground. The big cat has made the kill. It will eat well tonight.
All cats are built to hunt. The nose of a cat is like the fingerprint of a person — no two are alike. When hunting, a big cat uses its nose to sniff out a meal. It also sniffs for danger and for the scent of other cats. Have you ever stared into a house cat’s eyes in a darkened room? You may have noticed that they seem to glow. This “glow” is caused by a thin layer over the eyes that reflects light like a mirror. The center of a cat’s eyes open wide to let in as much light as possible. As most big cats huntat night, their special eyes are a great help.
Big cats can hear the smallest noise. This is because they move their ears forward and backward to catch sounds. The faraway snap of a tiny twig can wake a sleeping cat and send it racing! A cat’s whiskers help to guide it through darkness while hunting. As the cat moves forward, these fine hairs fan out and “feel” the air. They help the cat to find objects as it moves. The tongue of a big cat is covered with tiny bumps shaped like hooks. These bumps are called “papillae” [puh – pill – ee] they make a cat’s tongue very rough. One lick from a lion can even remove skin! Big cats use their tongues to scrape the bones of their prey clean.
All cats have sharp claws that help them to catch and kill animals. While resting, most cats keep their claws pulled in and protected. But a cat can quickly extend its claws when attacking or defending itself. Powerful muscles and padded paws help a cat to move without a sound. Its muscles allow it to freeze in place instantly. They also help a cat to reach great speeds during a chase.
Even the cat’s tail is useful when stalking a kill. The tail helps the big cat to balance. Like the steering wheel of a car, a cat’s tail helps it to change direction while racing after prey.
第二章　　　　　　　狮子和老虎---天哪！
With its thick mane and noble air, it’s no wonder the lion is called the “king of Beasts.”
Only the male lion has a mane. It begins to grow this shaggy hair at about eighteen months. An adult male can weigh up to 400 pounds. That’s bigger than thirty house cats put together!
Though most cats prefer to love alone, lions like to hunt and play together. They live in groups called prides in the African grasslands. A single pride can include ten to forty lions.
When resting, lions often lie together in a big heap. They can spend up to twenty hours a day sleeping! But the lion is not lazy. When night falls, this big cat goes to work. The male lion’s job is to defend the pride and guard its territory. This mighty lion’s roar carries over a distance equal to 85 football fields! It warns other animals to stay away.
For the female lions, nightfall means its time to hunt for food. They search together for animals such as wildebeests and zebras. Racing through the darkness, the lionesses soon overtake an unlucky antelope. They use their strong neck and shoulder muscles to drag the kill back to the pride. An adult lion can eat more than 50 pounds of meat in one feeding. That’s like eating 200 hamburgers for dinner!
Though the lion is known as the “King of Beasts”, the tiger is the largest of the big cats. It weighs about 500 pounds. From nose to tail tip, the tiger can be as long as a car. living mainly in the forests and jungles of India, the Bengal tiger is a dangerous and strong hunter. Its orange coat and black stripes help it to blend into shadows and light. No two tigers have the same pattern of stripes. Unlike lions, tigers usually live and hunt alone. When baby tigers are born, they live with their mothers for two year. After that, it’s time to find their own hunting ground.
A tiger’s scratch marks on a tree are like a name on a mailbox. They tell other animals that this is where that tiger lives and hunts. In earliest morning and late evening, tigers are on the move in search of deer, wild boar, and buffalo. Sometimes the tiger waits for an animal near a pond or river and drowns its prey. Though most cats don’t like water, the tiger is an excellent swimmer.
In 1951, a prince came upon a very rare white tiger in a forest in India. He brought the orphan cub- a male with brown stripes and blue eyes – to his palace. The prince named the cub Mohan. Today, white tigers cannot be found in their natural home. But you can visit them in zoos. They are the distant relatives of Mohan, the first white tiger ever captured in the wild.
The great Siberian tiger is the largest of all cats. It can weigh more than two adult lions put together! There are only about 200 Siberian tigers left on the frozen Russian plains. Another 800 live in zoos and protected areas.
Chapter Three 第三章
Lots of Spots: Leopards and Jaguars　斑斑点点——花豹和美洲豹

The leopard may be the hardest big cat to spot in the wild. If you’re searching for one, you might try looking up – leopards spend much of their time in trees. Even on the ground, though, their spotted coats help them to become almost invisible. Of all the big cats, the leopard is probably the smartest hunter. At night, it moves silently through the deserts, forests, and jungles of Asia and Africa. When stalking its prey, a leopard crawls with its belly low to the ground.
A leopard weighs about as much as an average person. Yet it can drag a kill more than twice its size for many miles. It will then pull its meal up a tree to keep other animals from sharing in its feast. Hunting and living alone, the leopard survives in many places because it eats almost anything.
Did you know that the black panther is really a leopard? For many years, people thought that panthers and leopards were two different types or “species”of cats. Today we know that they are the same and even have the same spots. Because the panther’s coast is so dark, the spots can only be seen in the brightest sunlight.
After tigers and lions, jaguars are the third largest cat in the world. Nearly twice the size of a leopard, the jaguar has very strong teeth and jaw muscles. This animal’s bite is thought ot be the most powerful of all big cats. Most cats kill with bites to the neck. But a jaguar’s bite is so strong, it can actually crush the hard skull of its prey. Jaguars have beautiful, spotted coats. There are also black jaguars whose spots are harder to see. Found in Central and South America, jaguars hunt and live alone. On hot days, they like to cool off in rivers and ponds.

Chapter Four　第四章　
Speeders and Screamers: Cheetahs and Cougars
“飞毛腿”和“大嗓门”：猎豹和美洲狮

What is the world’s fastest animal on land? If you guessed the cheetah, you’re right. The cheetah’s long, lean body can go fatser than a car! cheetahs are different form most big cats because they hunt during the day. They usually travel alone on the grasslands of southern Africa. Baby cheetahs have a ridge of gray fur on their necks and back. They look to their mother to learn how to hunt. After one year, the young cheetahs are able to make their own kills.
Throughout history, princes and rulers have kept cheetahs as pets and hunting companions. In ancient Egypt, pharaohs trained these swift cats to chase after prey. There is a story that one Asian emperor kept 9,000 cheetahs during his reign!
Cheetahs cannot pull in or “retract” their claws and they cannot roar. Because they are not as strong as other big cat, cheetahs must use their speed to live. Today, there are less than 10,000 cheetahs living in the wild.
The cougar is the big cat with the most names. Some people call this animal a puma or a mountain lion. Others have named it a red tiger, a panther, and a catamount. The cougar has so many names because it is found in many different areas. Like the cheetah, cougars cannot roar. But they can make noises such as whistles and chirps. This cat’s　high – pitched sound has even earned it another name – mountain sceamer. Cougars are the only big cats found in North America. They are often compared to African lions because both are the only big cats without spots or stripes.

Chapter Five 第五章
A Dangerous Future　危险的未来

Though big cats are strong and powerful, their future is not bright. Lions, tigers, leopard, jaguars, cheetahs, and cougars are all known as “endangered species.” But many people are working to save the big cats. There are laws to stop hunters from killing these animals. Other people are trying to save the wild places on Earth so these cats can live inn their natural homes.
Close your eyes and think of a cat. What do you see now? is it a lion roaring in the bright sun? or a tiger prowling through darkest night? Whatever you see, remember that these big cats are part of the same family as the cats you see every day. They are all beautiful. They are all graceful. And some are very, very big! Roar!
---end.
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