英語時間｜Animals you only see in New Zealand【614期】
發佈時間：00:00 2022-03-10
Apart from the giant parrot, there are many very interesting animals that can only be found in Australia（澳洲）and New Zealand（紐西蘭）.
The giant parrot
Scientists think the parrot was about half the size of adult humans,ie, one metre tall. Because of its size, the bird probably did not fly around like today’s parrots. Also, the bird probably had a large and strong beak that could break open anything, which meant it could have eaten many things. It later disappeared, probably because something in its habitat changed quickly and the bird could not adapt.
A New Zealand icon
The place where the parrot was found actually has a lot of other fossils, including that of a giant bat. But New Zealand is full of exciting live animals, too. For example, the kiwi bird（鷸鴕）can only be found in New Zealand. People there like this bird so much that they not only chose the bird to be the symbol of the country, they also called themselves ‘kiwis’.
Australia's animals
Just a hop, skip and a jump away is Australia, which also has many animals that can only be found there. For example, the cute and fluffy kangaroo and koala are both native to Australia. These two animals are both marsupials, which means the mother has a pouch that the baby animal stays in until it is big and strong enough to go out into the world.
Vocabulary
beak (n) 喙
habitat (n) 棲息地
adapt (v) 適應
fossil (n) 化石
a hop, skip and a jump (phr) 短距離
native (adj) 原產於
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