Please describe an animal you like, you should say:
- What kind of animal it is
- Describe it briefly
- Why you like the animal
很多学生通常会描述最常见的宠物，如 cat, dog等，这当然没问题，只不过有些老生常谈，今天Allen给大家介绍一种加拿大最常见的动物：prairie dog 草原犬鼠.
Prairie dog is a member of the squirrel family. 原来和松鼠是一个家族的，难怪和松鼠长的那么像！具体来说属于ground squirrel 地松鼠的一种，可是为什么叫 prairie dog呢？
Prairie dogs are named for their habitat and warning call, which sounds similar to a dog's bark. 原来是根据它的栖息地和发出的警告生命名的。
这里的habitat 指动物的栖息地，生活环境；warning call 指发出警告的声音，prairie dog 发出的警告声音像 a dog's bark, 狗的叫声。
Alberta省是加拿大草原三省（Prairie Provinces）之一，一望无际绵延数百里大草原（Great Prairie），这里不仅仅是 prairie dog 的栖息地（habitat），简直可以说是天堂！
During winter when food is scarce, prairie dogs will remain in their burrows for long periods without food or water. 冬天来临，他们就不吃不喝，开始冬眠。
scarce: 稀少 burrow: hole in the ground 洞 hole指任何地方的洞，burrow专指一些动物，如兔子/狐狸/老鼠等在地下挖地洞。
Prairie dogs are chiefly herbivorous, though they eat some insects. They feed primarily on grasses and small seeds. 他们是食草动物，主要吃些草和植物的籽，有时也吃些昆虫。
herbivorous: 食草的 herb：草本植物，香草 insect：昆虫
They are highly social animals and live in closely-knit family groups. The prairie dog family groups are the most basic units of its society. 他们高度社会化，以家庭为社会基本单位。highly social: 高度社会化，群体动物 closely-knit: 非常稠密的
Most prairie dog family groups are made up of one adult male, two to three adult females and one to two male offspring and one to two female offspring. 大部分“家庭”有1位成年“男性”，2-3位成年“女性”，幼崽“男女”各1-2位。显然他们的社会是一夫多妻制度。
adult:成年 offspring: 后代
They emerge from hibernation in late February-early March. They are very active during the day and spend most of their time feeding, maintaining burrows and on the alert for predators. 二月底三月初从冬眠中复苏。白天很活跃，大部分的时间在进食，维护洞穴和“站岗放哨”。
hibernation: 冬眠 feeding: 吃饭，进食 maintain：维护 on the alert: 提防，警惕
predator： 捕食者
Over the last century, prairie dogs have lost most of their native habitat to agriculture and urban development. 一个世纪以来，草原犬鼠已经失去了大部分栖息地，让位于农业和城市的发展。
agriculture: 农业 urban： 城市的，市区的 suburban: 郊区的，城郊的
Ongoing prairie dog extermination campaigns and disease have also contributed to plummeting prairie dog populations. 清除运动和疾病也是草原犬鼠数目急剧下降的原因。
Ongoing：不断的，进行中的 extermination: 消灭，根除 campaign: 运动
plummet: 急剧下降 population:数目，人口
Prairie dogs are an essential part of the prairies and the local authority should be committed to the protection of prairie dogs and their habitats. 草原犬鼠是大草原重要组成部分，当地部门应该致力于保护他们和他们的栖息地。
essential: 基本的，重要的； authority: 当局 committed to : 致力于，投身于
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