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This is the Virginia opossum, a tree dweller found throughout many of the southern states. It's the only North American marsupial. The young are born premature and matured in the mother's pouch. And its only close relatives today are found in Central and South America. The opossum is a rare survivor from a South America invasion.
这就是北美负鼠，在美国南部各州的树上到处可见其身影。这是北美唯一的一种有袋类动物。在未成熟之前，年幼的负鼠都会生活在妈妈的口袋里。在美国的中部以及南部可以发现这种动物在当今时代的近亲。负鼠是南美动物入侵中为数不多的幸存者。
In the ice age, there were many other species that had travelled north to Florida, including a giant. This spectacular claw is 40cm long. And it belonged to a creature whose fossil remains have been found throughout Florida. It's the claw from a giant ground sloth and it really was a giant—6 metres long and weighing up to 40 tons. It rivalled the mammoth in size.
在冰河时代，有很多其他的物种从北部来到了佛罗里达，其中包括一只“大家伙”。这只惊人巨爪有40公分长。爪子主人保留下来的化石在佛罗里达到处可见——巨型地懒，这种地懒巨大无比，身长6米，体重40多吨。体型和猛犸象相似。
Although the giant ground sloth is now extinct, like the opossum, it has family ties in South America. The family resemblance is easy to see. These menacing claws are used as grappling hooks, not weapons. They belong to the tree sloth, a peaceful vegetarian that spends its time eating leaves. It seems a far cry from our vision and an ice age beast.
尽管巨型地懒已经灭绝，但是像负鼠一样，南美也能找到它的“家庭成员”。他们之间的“家族特征”显而易见。这些具有威慑力的爪子被用来当做钩子，而不是武器。他们就是树懒 ，树懒是喜爱和平的素食主义者，它大部分时间都呆在树上吃着树叶。这和我们想象中的冰河时代巨兽有着很大的不同。
英文文本来自普特英语，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可不得转载.
