While many animals rely on their tails to survive, others get along perfectly well without them. Tailless species have evolved to use other body parts to carry out tasks usually done by tails. Some animals don’t have tails because having one would be a disadvantage. Hyraxes, African mammals that look like large guinea pigs, lack tails so that they can escape from predators with greater ease. Also, a tail could expose their location when they are hiding among rocks.
雖然許多動物依賴尾巴生存，但有些動物沒有尾巴也能很好地生活。無尾物種進化成利用身體其他部位來完成通常由尾巴完成的任務。有些動物沒有尾巴是因為尾巴會帶來劣勢。蹄兔是一種外形像大型天竺鼠的非洲哺乳類動物，牠們沒有尾巴以便更輕易地躲避掠食者。此外，當牠們藏身於岩石間時，尾巴可能會暴露牠們的位置。
生活必備字詞：
get along without... 無需……也可以
with ease 輕鬆地
expose vt. 暴露
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本文節錄自《常春藤生活英語》雜誌，完整內容請見五月號。
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