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A bird that eats feathers, a mammal that never drinks, a fish that grows a fishing line and worm on its head to catch other fish. Creatures in a nightmare? No, they are very much with us as co-inhabitants of this earth.
吃羽毛的鸟，从不喝水的哺乳动物，头上长着钓鱼线和假饵来捕鱼的鱼。这些是噩梦中的怪物吗？不，它们和我们一样，都是地球上的居民。
Nature has fashioned most animals to fit the many faces of the land—moose to marshes, squirrels to trees, camels to deserts, frogs to lily pads. Give nature an environment or situation and she will evolve a creature, adapting a toe here, an eye there, until the being fits the niche. As a result of this hammering and fitting, however, some really unbelievable creatures circle the sun with us.
大自然塑造了大多数动物，使它们能够适应各种各样的地形地貌——驼鹿适应沼泽，松鼠适应树木，骆驼适应沙漠，青蛙适应长满睡莲的池塘。只要给大自然一种环境或条件，它就能进化出一种生物，在这里调整一下脚趾，在那里改变一下眼睛，直到这种生物完全适应这个生态位。然而，经过这番锤炼和改造，一些令人难以置信的生物与我们一同绕着太阳旋转。
One summer in Maine I saw a sleek mother horned grebe herding her three bobbing young to supper among the green pickerelweed. Suddenly I noticed through my binoculars that she was feeding her babies quantities of feathers from a deserted duck's nest. As she stuffed the dry feathers into the gaping mouths, she made two or three pokes to get each one down. Finally she worked a dozen or so down her own throat; then, sailing low on the water, she vanished contentedly among the plants.
有一年夏天，在缅因州，我看到一只毛发光滑的雌性角䴙（pì tī）正领着它的三只小宝宝到碧绿的荇菜丛中觅食。突然，我透过望远镜注意到，它正在从一个废弃的鸭巢里叼出大量的羽毛喂给它的孩子们。它把干羽毛塞进幼鸟张大的嘴巴里，每塞一根都要啄两三下才能让它们咽下去。最后，它自己也吞下了十几根羽毛；然后，它贴着水面游走了，心满意足地消失在植物丛中。
I later learned that 60 percent of the grebe's diet is feathers. When I asked why, a biologist from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service answered, "Because nature finds a use for everything. Feathers seem to act as a strainer to prevent fish-bones from entering and damaging the intestines."
后来我了解到，角䴙 60% 的食物都是羽毛。当我问及原因时，美国鱼类及野生动物管理局的一位生物学家回答说：“因为大自然会让一切事物各尽其用。羽毛似乎起到了过滤网的作用，可以防止鱼骨进入并损伤肠道。”
Australia has many strange beasts, one of the oddest of which is the koala. Perfectly adapted to one specific tree, the eucalyptus, this living teddy bear does not need anything else, not even a drink! The moisture in the leaves is just right for the koala, making it the only land animal that doesn't need water to supplement its food.
澳大利亚有许多奇特的动物，其中最奇特的要数考拉了。这种活生生的“泰迪熊”完美地适应了桉树这种特定的树木，除此之外，它不需要任何其他东西，甚至不需要喝水！桉树叶中的水分恰好能满足考拉的需求，这使得它成为唯一一种不需要额外补充水分的陆地动物。
The creature with the fishing line on its head was created for the dark canyons of the sea. Here food is so scarce that the deep-sea fish, which preys on smaller fish, grew a line, and an appendage on the end that wiggles like a worm. This catches the attention of the occasional passerby. A fish approaches the bait, and the toothy angler swirls up and swallows him.
头上长着钓鱼线的生物是为了适应海底黑暗的峡谷而进化出来的。在这种地方，食物非常稀缺，以小型鱼类为食的这种深海鱼长出了一条“钓鱼线”，末端还有一个像蠕虫一样扭动的附属物。这会引起偶尔路过的小鱼的注意。当一条小鱼靠近诱饵时，长着锋利牙齿的“垂钓者”就会猛地冲上去把它吞掉。
The gigantic ocean bottom creates other problems. A male angler fish could swim for years without meeting a female of his own species. Nature's solution to this problem is for the female to carry a dwarfed husband tightly fused to her body. Marine biologists believe that this nuptial begins when the eggs first hatch and there are many fry of both sexes. A male then grabs hold of a female with his mouth and hangs on until he has literally become a part of her. His mouth becomes fused to her stomach, and for the rest of his life the male remains attached to his mate, marking the most amazing union on earth.
巨大的海底还带来了其他问题。一条雄性琵琶鱼可能游动多年都遇不到一条雌性同类。针对这个问题，大自然的解决方案是让雌性琵琶鱼携带一个发育不全的雄性附着在自己身上。海洋生物学家认为，这种结合始于鱼卵刚孵化、两性鱼苗数量都很多的时候。那时，雄性琵琶鱼会用嘴咬住一条雌性，紧紧抓住不放，直到它完全成为雌性身体的一部分。它的嘴与雌性的胃部融合在一起，从此以后，雄性就一直依附于它的配偶，这堪称地球上最令人惊奇的结合。
Sound has shaped the bodies of many beasts. Noise tapped away at the bullfrog until his ears became bigger than his eyes. How he hears so well that at the slightest sound of danger he quickly plops to safety under a sunken leaf. The rabbit has long ears to hear the quiet "whoosh" of the owl's wings, while the grasshopper's ears are on the base of his abdomen, the lowest point of his body, where he can detect the tread of a crow's foot or the stealthy approach of a shrew.
声音塑造了许多动物的身体。噪音不断地作用于牛蛙，直到它的耳朵变得比眼睛还大。它的听力非常灵敏，以至于一听到危险的声音，就会迅速跳到水下藏在一片沉没的叶子下面。兔子有长长的耳朵，可以听到猫头鹰翅膀发出的轻微的“呼呼”声，而蚱蜢的耳朵长在腹部的底部，这是它身体的最低点，在那里它可以察觉到乌鸦的脚步声或鼩鼱（qú jīng）的悄悄靠近。
Sometimes food will determine an animal's appearance. Earthworms have shaped the woodcock, a snipe-like bird of the forest floor. This creature has a long narrow bill that looks like a pencil and fits neatly into the burrows of the worms. But the bill has its disadvantages; with it buried deep in a worm hole the woodcock is vulnerable to attack from above. To counteract this danger the woodcock has eyes near the top of his head. This singular device permits him to scan the trees for danger even when his beak is buried. A successful arrangement for longevity—but it certainly creates an odd-looking creature.
有时，食物会决定动物的外貌。蚯蚓塑造了丘鹬（yù）——一种生活在森林地面的、类似鹬的鸟类。这种鸟的喙又长又窄，看起来像一支铅笔，可以巧妙地伸进蚯蚓的洞穴里。但这种喙也有它的缺点：当它深深地埋在蚯蚓洞里时，丘鹬很容易受到来自上方的攻击。为了应对这种危险，丘鹬的眼睛长在头顶附近。这种独特的构造使它即使在喙埋在地下时也能观察树林中的危险。这是一种有利于长寿的成功构造——尽管它确实造就了一种外表奇特的生物。
The need to catch elusive prey had evolved some staggering biological tricks. The sea anemone, a flower-like animal of the tidemark, is usually riveted to one spot, yet it feeds on darting fish. A diabolically clever trap was necessary to catch them, so the anemone developed tentacles with bombs in the end of each. When a fish forages into these tentacles the ends shoot a thin thread into the fish's body. The thread in turn explodes a paralyzing poison. The stunned fish is hauled in by the tentacles and shoved into the anemone's gullet.
捕捉难以捉摸的猎物的需求，进化出了一些令人惊叹的生物诡计。海葵是一种生长在潮汐线附近的、像花一样的动物，通常固定在一个地方，但它却以快速游动的鱼类为食。为了捕捉它们，海葵需要一个极其巧妙的陷阱，于是它进化出了触手，每个触手的末端都有“炸弹”。当一条鱼游进这些触手时，触手末端会向鱼体内射出一根细丝。细丝进而释放出一种麻痹性的毒素。被麻痹的鱼被触手拖进海葵的食道。
Nature seems to have gone all out in creating preposterous gadgets for self-defense. The jacana, a bird of the American tropics, for instance, is endowed with spurs which unfold like a switchblade at the bend of the bird's wings and with which he can slash his enemies to shreds.
大自然似乎竭尽全力创造了各种荒诞不经的自卫装置。例如，美洲热带地区的一种叫做“水雉（zhī）”的鸟，它的翅膀弯曲处长有像弹簧刀一样可以展开的距，可以用来将敌人切成碎片。
Lizards are professionals in the art of warding off attack. The two-headed skink, whose tail is shaped like his head, confuses his enemy. A hawk, upon attacking this fellow, anticipates that he will run in the direction of the lifted head and makes allowance for the movement. However, the bird usually strikes nothing, for he is aiming at the tail. The real head took off the other way.
蜥蜴是抵御攻击的专家。双头石龙子的尾巴形状像它的头，可以迷惑敌人。当一只鹰袭击它时，会预判它将朝着抬起的“头”的方向逃跑，并为这种移动做好准备。然而，老鹰通常会扑空，因为它瞄准的是尾巴，而真正的头却从另一个方向逃走了。
In order to travel in a hostile world, the Portuguese man-of-war first mastered the art of floating. To do this it evolved a purple bag and inflated it with gas from a special gland. As a crowning idea it also grew a sail! Launched, the man-of-war can blow away from enemies or approach food by putting its sail up and down. When severely threatened, it forces the gas out of the float and submerges.
为了在充满敌意的世界中穿行，僧帽水母首先掌握了漂浮的艺术。为此，它进化出了一个紫色的气囊，并用特殊腺体分泌的气体将其充满。更绝的是，它还长出了一个“帆”！起航后，僧帽水母可以通过升降“帆”来躲避敌人或靠近食物。当受到严重威胁时，它会将气囊中的气体排出并潜入水中。
There is hardly any environment, however hostile, that some creature has not mastered. Land is, of course, the nemesis of the fish. If they flop out on it they die. If their ponds dry up, they are helpless. Given this situation, it was almost certain that some fish would evolve a way to beat it; and so there is a lungfish. It is an air breather and must come to the surface every 20 minutes or so; otherwise it drowns. When the ponds of Africa dry up in the arid season, the lungfish wrap themselves in mud and wait it out, sometimes for years. When the rains finally return, they resume their water life.
几乎没有任何环境，无论多么恶劣，是没有生物能够征服的。当然，陆地是鱼类的克星。如果它们扑通一声掉到陆地上，它们就会死亡。如果它们的池塘干涸，它们也无能为力。在这种情况下，几乎可以肯定的是，一些鱼类会进化出一种应对方法；于是就有了肺鱼。肺鱼用空气呼吸，必须每隔 20 分钟左右浮出水面，否则就会淹死。当非洲的池塘在旱季干涸时，肺鱼会把自己包裹在泥里等待，有时甚至要等上几年。当雨季最终来临时，它们才会恢复水中的生活。
Just as nature adds things on creatures that need them, so she occasionally takes things away from those that don't. The adult Mayfly, for example, has no mouth or stomach. Last year, by a northern New York lake, I found myself amid hundreds of thousands of these insects. I told the conservation officer whom I was with that I was glad they didn't bite. He replied that they have no mouths to bite with. “An adult Mayfly lives but one day,” he explained, "and that day is devoted entirely to pleasure. They do nothing but dance and mate all their short life, and so they do not need a mouth."
正如大自然会给需要的生物添加一些东西一样，它偶尔也会从那些不需要的生物身上拿走一些东西。例如，成年的蜉蝣没有嘴巴和胃。去年，在纽约北部的一个湖边，我发现自己置身于成千上万只蜉蝣之中。我告诉与我同行的保护官员，我很庆幸它们不咬人。他回答说，它们没有嘴巴可以用来咬人。“成年蜉蝣只能活一天，”他解释说，“而这一天完全是为了享乐。它们短暂的一生中除了跳舞和交配什么都不做，所以它们不需要嘴巴。”
With all this elaborate evolution, it is not surprising that some of nature's inventions got out of hand. Into this category falls the speedometer of reindeer. A tendon snaps back and forth over a bone in the reindeer's foot, noisily tapping out the speed of his gait. Useless. And so is the nose on the stomach of the scorpion and the feather-like tongue of the toucan, a bird of Africa.
经过所有这些复杂的进化，大自然的一些发明失控也就不足为奇了。驯鹿的“速度计”就属于这一类。驯鹿脚上的一根肌腱在一块骨头上前后滑动，发出很大的声音，显示出它的步态速度。这毫无用处。蝎子肚子上的“鼻子”和非洲大嘴鸟羽毛状的舌头也是如此。
But probably the most dumbfounding of nature's extraordinary creations is the horned toad of our Southwest. A herpetologist once invited me to observe one of these lizards right after it had molted. In a sand-filled glass cage I saw a large male. Beside him lay his old skin. The herpetologist began to annoy the beast with mock attacks, and the old man of the desert with his vulnerable new suit became frightened. Suddenly his eyeballs reddened. A final fast lunge from my friend at the beast and I froze in astonishment —a fine spray of blood shot from the lizard's eye, like fire from a dragon! The beast had struck back with a weapon so shocking that it terrifies even the fiercest enemy.
但大自然最令人瞠目结舌的非凡创造可能要数美国西南部的角蟾了。一位爬虫学家曾邀请我在一只角蟾蜕皮后立即观察它。在一个装满沙子的玻璃笼子里，我看到了一只体型较大的雄性角蟾。它旁边躺着它蜕下的旧皮。这位爬虫学家开始用假装攻击来激怒这只“野兽”，而这位穿着脆弱的新衣服的沙漠老人变得害怕起来。突然，它的眼球变红了。当我的朋友最后一次快速扑向它时，我惊呆了——一股细细的血雾从这只蜥蜴的眼睛里喷射出来，就像龙喷出的火焰一样！这只“野兽”用一种如此令人震惊的武器进行反击，即使是最凶猛的敌人也会感到恐惧。
Later I walked home, pondering the bizarre methods for survival with which evolution has endowed earth's creatures, sometimes comical, sometimes pathetic. I knew the biologists were right: If any adaptation is possible, nature has tried it.
后来，我走回家，思考着进化赋予地球生物的那些奇异的生存方式，有时滑稽可笑，有时可悲可叹。我知道生物学家们是对的：如果任何适应都是可能的，那么大自然一定已经尝试过了。
Summary
The article explores the incredible diversity and adaptability of life on Earth, showcasing how nature has shaped animals to fit various environments and situations. It highlights some of the most unusual and unbelievable creatures that have evolved unique features and behaviors to survive, from a bird that eats feathers to a mammal that never drinks. These adaptations, while sometimes bizarre, demonstrate nature's ingenuity in finding solutions to the challenges of survival.
这篇文章探讨了地球上生命令人难以置信的多样性和适应性，展示了自然如何塑造动物以适应各种环境和情况。它重点介绍了一些最不寻常和令人难以置信的生物，这些生物已经进化出独特的特征和行为来生存，从吃羽毛的鸟到从不喝水的哺乳动物。这些适应虽然有时很奇怪，但证明了自然在寻找生存挑战的解决方案方面的独创性。
Analysis
A bird that eats feathers, a mammal that never drinks, a fish that grows a fishing line and worm on its head to catch other fish. Creatures in a nightmare? No, they are very much with us as co-inhabitants of this earth.
- 解析： 这句话作为全文的开头，运用了排比和设问的修辞手法，列举了三种拥有奇特习性的动物：吃羽毛的鸟、从不喝水的哺乳动物和头上长出钓鱼线和虫子来捕鱼的鱼。紧接着用一个设问句“噩梦中的生物？”引出下文，否定了这是虚构的生物，而是与我们共同居住在地球上的真实存在的动物。“co-inhabitants of this earth”强调了它们与人类共同存在于地球上。这句话通过列举奇特的动物习性，激发了读者的好奇心，并引出了文章的主题：自然界中生物的奇特适应性。
Give nature an environment or situation and she will evolve a creature, adapting a toe here, an eye there, until the being fits the niche.
- 解析： 这句话使用了拟人的修辞手法，将“nature”（自然）人格化，赋予其创造和适应的能力。“Give nature an environment or situation” 设定了一个前提条件，即只要有特定的环境或情况，“she will evolve a creature” 指出自然就会进化出相应的生物。“adapting a toe here, an eye there” 使用了具体的例子来说明自然是如何通过微小的改变来塑造生物的，“until the being fits the niche” 则点明了这种进化的最终目的，即让生物适应其生态位。“niche” 在这里指的是生态位，指一个物种在生态系统中的位置及其与其他物种的关系。这句话形象地说明了自然选择的作用，即通过不断地微调和适应，使生物能够更好地适应环境。
As a result of this hammering and fitting, however, some really unbelievable creatures circle the sun with us.
- 解析： 这句话承接上文，进一步说明自然选择的结果。“hammering and fitting” 是一个比喻，将自然选择的过程比作铁匠的锤炼和装配，形象地描绘了自然对生物的塑造过程。这种塑造过程虽然精妙，但也导致了一些“unbelievable creatures” 的出现。“circle the sun with us” 则是对“co-inhabitants of this earth” 的呼应，强调了这些看似不可思议的生物与我们共同存在于地球上，围绕太阳运转。这句话通过比喻和呼应，强调了自然选择的神奇和多样性。
The gigantic ocean bottom creates other problems. A male angler fish could swim for years without meeting a female of his own species. Nature's solution to this problem is for the female to carry a dwarfed husband tightly fused to her body.
- 解析： 这句话描述了深海琵琶鱼独特的繁殖方式。“The gigantic ocean bottom creates other problems” 指出深海环境的广阔给生物带来了生存挑战，尤其是繁殖方面的挑战。“A male angler fish could swim for years without meeting a female of his own species” 具体说明了这种挑战，即雄性琵琶鱼很难在广阔的深海中遇到雌性。“Nature's solution to this problem” 引出了自然对这一问题的解决方案，“is for the female to carry a dwarfed husband tightly fused to her body” 则具体描述了这种解决方案，即雌性琵琶鱼携带一个与其身体紧密融合的矮小雄性。这种极端的繁殖方式是为了适应深海环境的稀疏和广阔，确保繁殖的成功。这句话通过描述深海琵琶鱼的特殊繁殖方式，展示了自然界生物适应环境的多样性和极端性。
Noise tapped away at the bullfrog until his ears became bigger than his eyes. How he hears so well that at the slightest sound of danger he quickly plops to safety under a sunken leaf.
- 解析： 这句话描述了牛蛙对声音的高度敏感。“Noise tapped away at the bullfrog” 使用了拟人的修辞手法，将噪音描述成不断敲打牛蛙的工匠，形象地说明了环境对生物进化的影响。“until his ears became bigger than his eyes” 则描述了进化的结果，即牛蛙的耳朵变得比眼睛还大，这是为了更好地接收声音信号。“How he hears so well that at the slightest sound of danger he quickly plops to safety under a sunken leaf” 进一步说明了牛蛙听觉的灵敏，以及它如何利用这种灵敏的听觉来躲避危险。“plops to safety” 形象地描绘了牛蛙迅速跳入水中躲避危险的动作。这句话通过描述牛蛙的听觉进化，展示了生物如何通过进化来适应环境中的威胁。
With all this elaborate evolution, it is not surprising that some of nature's inventions got out of hand. Into this category falls the speedometer of reindeer. A tendon snaps back and forth over a bone in the reindeer's foot, noisily tapping out the speed of his gait. Useless. And so is the nose on the stomach of the scorpion and the feather-like tongue of the toucan, a bird of Africa.
- 解析： 这句话描述了一些看似无用的进化特征。“With all this elaborate evolution” 概括了前文描述的各种精妙的进化，“it is not surprising that some of nature's inventions got out of hand” 指出在复杂的进化过程中，一些进化特征可能变得过度或无用。“got out of hand” 是一个习语，意思是“失控”或“过头”。“Into this category falls the speedometer of reindeer” 引出了一个具体的例子，即驯鹿的“速度计”。“A tendon snaps back and forth over a bone in the reindeer's foot, noisily tapping out the speed of his gait” 详细描述了驯鹿脚上的肌腱如何像速度计一样发出声音，但这被认为是“Useless”（无用的）。“And so is the nose on the stomach of the scorpion and the feather-like tongue of the toucan” 又列举了另外两个看似无用的进化特征：蝎子腹部的鼻子和巨嘴鸟的羽毛状舌头。这句话通过列举一些看似无用的进化特征，说明了进化并非总是完美的，有时也会产生一些冗余或无用的特征。