Upper-Intermediate - Exotic Animals (D0244)

我有位朋友曾说，比起钻戒，她更宁愿要恐龙蛋化石。就算孵不出小恐龙，放在家里看看也挺酷的。
wǒ yǒu wèi péngyou céng shuō ，bǐqǐ zuànjiè ，tā gèng nìngyuàn yào kǒnglóng dàn huàshí 。jiù suàn fū bù chū xiǎo kǒnglóng ，fàng zài jiā li kànkan yě tǐng kù de 。
A friend of mine once said that she would prefer having a dinosaur egg fossil over a diamond ring, because the egg would be cool to admire, even if it could never hatch a baby dinosaur.

哈哈，她挺聪明的。恐龙蛋可比钻戒值钱多了。不过世上要是真的还有恐龙存在，估计她就不会那么想要收藏恐龙蛋了吧。
hāhā ，tā tǐng cōngming de 。kǒnglóng dàn kě bǐ zuànjiè zhíqián duō le 。bùguò shìshàng yàoshì zhēnde hái yǒu kǒnglóng cúnzài ，gūjì tā jiù bùhuì nàme xiǎng yào shōucáng kǒnglóng dàn le ba 。
Ha ha, she's pretty smart. A dinosaur egg is worth a whole lot more than a diamond ring. But if there really were dinosaurs still living on earth, she probably would rethink keeping a dinosaur egg.

是呀。我想大多数人对稀有动物都是又爱又怕。
shì yā 。wǒ xiǎng dàduōshù rén duì xīyǒu dòngwù dōu shì yòu ài yòu pà 。
That's true. I think most people who profess affection for rare and exotic species both love and fear them at the same time.

其实也还好呀。像中国的国宝大熊猫，不是挺可爱的嘛。又憨厚又温顺，可爱极了。
qíshí yě hái hǎo yā 。xiàng Zhōngguó de guóbǎo dàxióngmāo ，bùshì tǐng kěài de ma 。yòu hānhòu yòu wēnshùn ，kěài jí le 。
Actually, it's not always that bad. Take pandas for example, our "national treasure". Aren't they adorable? They're both cuddly and docile, as well as extremely cute.

啊，大熊猫呀，是人都知道，不稀奇。你见过金丝猴吗？也一样机灵可爱。不过现在金丝猴的数量已经不多了，非常珍贵。
ā ，dàxióngmāo yā ，shì rén dōu zhīdao ，bù xīqí 。nǐ jiàn guo jīnsīhóu ma ？yě yīyàng jīling kěài 。bùguò xiànzài jīnsīhóu de shùliàng yǐjīng bù duō le ，fēicháng zhēnguì 。
That's a different story, because people are familiar with pandas, they're not that exotic. Have you ever seen a golden-haired monkey? They are also smart and cute, but there are not many of them left. They are extremely rare.

我觉得同样珍贵的还有藏羚羊。它们只生长在高原地带，只有在中国西藏一带才能见到。这可是中国特有的动物，可惜因为过度捕杀现在已经快没有了。
wǒ juéde tóngyàng zhēnguì de hái yǒu zànglíngyáng 。tāmen zhǐ shēngzhǎng zài gāoyuán dìdài ，zhǐyǒu zài Zhōngguó Xīzàng yīdài cái néng jiàndào 。zhè kě shì Zhōngguó tèyǒu de dòngwù ，kěxī yīnwèi guòdù bǔshā xiànzài yǐjīng kuài méiyǒu le 。
The same goes for Tibetan antelopes, also called Tibetan gazelles. They only inhabit plateaus. Tibet is the only place in China where they can be seen. They are a species unique to China, but sadly, they are on the verge of extinction due to poaching.

我倒是想起一种比较常见，光听名字就很浪漫的动物：鸳鸯。他们总是成双成对地在一起，在水上快活地游着。真甜蜜。
wǒ dàoshì xiǎngqǐ yīzhǒng bǐjiào chángjiàn ，guāng tīng míngzi jiù hěn làngmàn de dòngwù ：yuānyang 。tāmen zǒngshì chéngshuāngchéngduì de zài yīqǐ ，zài shuǐ shàng kuàihuó de yóu zhe 。zhēn tiánmì 。
Actually, I'm thinking of an animal that's not so rare, but whose name has a distinctly romantic feel: the mandarin duck. They are always in pairs, swimming contentedly in the water. It's so sweet.

是呀，鸳鸯在中国一直都是甜蜜情侣的代名词，真可谓是'只羡鸳鸯不羡仙'。
shì yā ，yuānyang zài Zhōngguó yīzhí dōu shì tiánmì qínglǚ de dàimíngcí ，zhēn kěwèi shì "zhǐ xiàn yuānyang bù xiàn xiān "。
That's true. Mandarin ducks have always been the symbol of a loving couple in Chinese culture. That's why there's the saying, "a pair of mandarin ducks is more enviable than an immortal".

Vocabulary

收藏	shōucáng	to collect
捕杀	bǔshā	to capture and kill
憨厚	hānhòu	silly
只羡鸳鸯不羡仙	zhǐ xiàn yuānyang bù xiàn xiān	a pair of mandarin ducks is more enviable than an immortal
化石	huàshí	fossil
恐龙	kǒnglóng	dinosaur
温顺	wēnshùn	docile
金丝猴	jīnsīhóu	golden monkey
机灵	jīling	clever
藏羚羊	zànglíngyáng	Tibetan antelope
高原	gāoyuán	plateau
针对性	zhēnduìxìng	focus, focalization
灭绝	mièjué	become extinct
捕捉	bǔzhuō	catch, seize
傻乎乎	shǎhūhu	simpleminded, naive
温顺	wēnshùn	docile, meek, gentle
寄托	jìtuō	place (one’s hope etc.) on
羡慕	xiànmù	envy, admire
仙子	xiānzǐ	female immortal, beautiful woman