Kangaroos: Why Do They Jump?

Excuse me, are those kangaroos over there?

不好意思，那邊的是袋鼠嗎？

Yes, they are! Do you want to see them closer?

對，沒錯！你想靠近一點看嗎？

Yes, please! I love kangaroos!

好啊，麻煩你了！我超喜歡袋鼠！

Great! Follow me, it's this way.

太好了！跟我來，這邊走。

Wow! Look at that one jump!

哇！你看那隻在跳！

Ha, they're amazing jumpers, right?

哈，牠們跳得超厲害吧？

How far can they jump?

牠們可以跳多遠？

A big red kangaroo can jump about eight metres.

一隻大紅袋鼠可以跳大約8公尺遠。

Eight metres? In one jump? No way!

8公尺？跳一次就這麼遠？不會吧！

But why do they jump? Why don't they walk?

可是牠們為什麼要跳？為什麼不用走的？

Well, their back legs are very long and strong.

嗯，牠們的後腿又長又有力。

Jumping is fast, and it uses less energy.

用跳的很快，而且比較省力。

They can go faster than fifty kilometres an hour!

牠們的速度可以超過每小時50公里！

Ha! That's faster than my bike!

哈！比我騎腳踏車還快！

And what about that big tail?

那條大尾巴呢？

The tail is really strong. It helps them balance.

尾巴非常有力，可以幫牠們保持平衡。

When they walk slowly, they use it like a fifth leg!

牠們慢慢走的時候，會把尾巴當成第五條腿！

A fifth leg? That's so cool!

第五條腿？太酷了吧！

Oh, look! Something's moving in her pouch!

喔，你看！牠的育兒袋裡有東西在動！

That's her baby. A baby kangaroo is called a joey.

那是牠的寶寶。袋鼠寶寶叫做 joey。

Oh, cute! How big is a joey?

哇，好可愛！joey 有多大？

When it's born, it's as small as a jelly bean.

剛出生的時候，牠只有一顆雷根糖那麼小。

Really? That's tiny!

真的嗎？好小喔！

Do kangaroos only live in Australia?

袋鼠只住在澳洲嗎？

Almost all wild kangaroos live in Australia.

野生袋鼠幾乎都住在澳洲。

Hmm, and what do they eat? Meat?

嗯，那牠們吃什麼？吃肉嗎？

Ha, no! They only eat grass and plants.

哈，不是啦！牠們只吃草和植物。

One day, I'll go to Australia and see them!

總有一天，我要去澳洲看牠們！

Hey, would you like to help me feed them?

對了，你想幫我餵牠們嗎？

Really? Oh, I'd love to!

真的嗎？喔，我很樂意！

Okay, hold your hand flat, like this. Slowly.

好，把手掌攤平，像這樣。慢慢來。

Ha! It's eating from my hand!

哈！牠在吃我手上的飼料！

This is the best day ever!

今天是最棒的一天！