·美文阅读·
A
Hippos live both in the water and on land. Most photos of these large African
animals show them in rivers and lakes. That's because they spend the daytime in the
water, keeping cool in the hot sun. Hippos sleep in the water, and baby hippos are born
there.
But when the sun goes down, hippos come out of the water for food. They eat grass.
During the night, they can walk as far as 10 kilometres to get enough grass. An adult
hippo can eat over 50 kilograms of it in one night!
Hippos are dangerous animals, both on land and in the water. They fight with lions
on land, and with the crocodiles that share their rivers and lakes. Male hippos often
fight each other to see which one will dominate an area of river. Female hippos will fight
to protect their young.
Hippos can attack people. They may look like big, slow animals, but they can run
fast-about 30 kilometres an hour. That's faster than a person can run. Hippos will also
attack boats that come too close to them.
Looking at the photos of hippos, it's easy to think they are funny, friendly animals.
But in fact, they are deadly!
词汇
male /meɪl/ adj. 雄性的 dominate /ˈdɒmɪneɪt/ v. 控制
female /ˈfiːmeɪl/ adj. 雌性的 attack /əˈtæk/ v. 攻击
deadly /ˈdedli/ adj. 致命的,致死的
句型
Male hippos often fight each other to see which one will dominate an area of river.
雄性河马经常互相打斗来决定谁是一方水域的霸主。
理解
1. Why do hippos stay in the water during the daytime?

2. Why do we say hippos are dangerous animals?

1. Because they keep cool in the hot sun during the daytime.
2. Because they are dangerous both on land and in water. They fight with lions and crocodiles, male hippos fight each other to dominate an area of river, female hippos fight to protect their young. They can attack people and boats, and they can run fast.

1. 可从文章第一段找到对应答案，河马白天待在水里是为了在炎热的阳光下保持凉爽。
2. 需结合文章第三、四段内容总结：河马在陆地和水中都具有危险性，它们会与狮子、鳄鱼打斗，雄性河马为争夺水域控制权互相打斗，雌性河马为保护幼崽打斗；此外，它们还会攻击人类和靠近的船只，且奔跑速度较快，因此是危险动物。