Chapter 62 From platypus to otter

one Dear Xiaowen: A century and a half ago, scientists just heard that there was an egg-laying mammal. They didn't believe it, and they said nonsense (a hoax). They didn't expect that there was such an animal in the world, that is, the "platypus" (platypus) ).The platypus is only found on the east coast of Australia (Australia), also known as Australia, is a country. Australia was originally connected to Asia, but it was separated 50 million years ago, so it has become a special place by itself. There are always some strange things that only it has in the world and others do not. The platypus is one of them. (Australia has many kinds of strange animals not found on other continents. This is because the bridge of land that once connected Australia with Asia disappeared about 50 million years ago. From then on, most of Australia's animal life developed independently)

Another small animal that is only found in Australia is koala. Dad wrote a letter about it to you, do you remember? Koala means “no drink”, and the aboriginal word well describes the gentle marsupial that draws moisture only from its food, the leaves of certain eucalyptus, (oil eucalyptus, also called eucalyptus, is an evergreen tree that grows fast) or gum trees. With oddly arranged fingers-the first two oppose the other three-a koala clings to a branch in a sanctuary at Waikerie. Phascolarctos cinereous faced extinction by fur hunters until the 1920s, when conservation laws began to protect the continents species.

Koala is also called kangaroo bear. Kangaroos (kangaroo) are only found in Australia.The two hands in front of the kangaroo are good at boxing, and the two feet in the back are good at jumping. The big tail can help maintain balance when jumping. There is a saying in the United States "kangaroo court", US Informal. an unauthorized or unofficial court, usually self constituted, as a mock court by prisoners in a jail or a frontier court:… shot down over North Korea in 1952 and condemned to prison by a Red kangaroo court. (Newsweek), similar to the Chinese saying "privately set up a court".In the past in Kangaroo State, judges traveled around to handle cases, running from here to there, much like kangaroos jumping around, so it is called kangaroo court. (Kangaroo court: A kangaroo court is an illegal mock or sham court, usually one set up by inmates of a prison to levy fines and punishment on other inmates who violate the “code”. Such organizations, usually very informal in nature, exist in most large prisoners and are even encouraged by some wardens as a useful device for maintaining order. The name probably originated at the time when Australia, land of the kangaroo, was the penal colony for the British Empire. The term has occasionally-and inaccurately- been applied to the kind of roadside justice of the peace court which exists only to collect fines from motorists caught in speed traps.)

Of course, this kangaroo court is from a place with kangaroo.There are kangaroos in Australia, and Australia used to be a natural prison for Britain, so the idea of ​​kangaroo court came from Australia. The United Kingdom originally sent political prisoners to the United States. After the United States became independent, the United Kingdom wanted to find a place to send prisoners, so it chose Australia. Since 1787, the United Kingdom has sent 168,000 prisoners to Australia in 80 years , the road was very hard at that time, and it took four months to walk.At the beginning of 1788, the prisoners built a settlement in what is now Sydney. Sydney is Sydney, and Sydney was the name of the British Home Secretary at that time. It was probably called that for flattery.

Sydney has a population of only 2 million, and the largest ship in the world can sail into the port. It is one of the best ports in the world and the oldest city in Australia. Danish architect Utzon designed the Sydney Opera House, behind which is the Harbor Bridge, which weighs 50,000 tons. Australia is an independent country from the United Kingdom, so it is heavily influenced by the United Kingdom, and even the flag of the United Kingdom has the British flag in it.Walking on the road, also keep left, Britain is on the left (the first person who declared Australia to be Britain was Captain James Cook, the explorer who discovered Hawaii. At the age of 51, he was killed by natives in Hawaii Killed.) (Captain James Cook landed at Botany Bay, south of Sydney, in 1770. He claimed Australias entire east coast for Great Britain.)

The capital Canberra (Canberra) has more than 15 million trees, and its Parliament House (Parliament House) is especially beautiful. The name of Melbourne (Melbourne) is the name of a British prime minister, and it is also flattering.It is famous for its botanical gardens and art galleries, and has three universities.Originally the capital, it was moved to Canberra in 1927. There are two famous islands in southern Australia: One is Tasmania (Tasmania), which was also the place where the British kept prisoners for fifty years.There is a kind of Tasmanian wolf on the island. The female also has a pouch like a kangaroo, but it is carried on the back instead of the belly. The Tasmanian wolfs genus name, Thylacinus, means “pouched dog”. The female has a pouch which opens backwards and contains four teats. The pouch is large enough to hold four pups, although the usual number of young in a litter is two. period of gestation is not known, but it is probably a little less than one month. The young are born hairless and blind in an incomplete, almost embryonic state of development. They are carried in the pouch for three months-the duration of their semi embryonic life. The cubs are then deposited in a nest of dry leaves and grass until they are old enough to hunt for themselves.

Tasmania is twice as big as Taiwan, look how small Taiwan is!There used to be a native with big teeth on the island, but it is now extinct. The other island is Kangaroo Island (Kangaroo Island), on the north side of the island, it faces the city of Adelaide (Adelaide).It is the third largest city in Australia. (Adelaide, South Australia's capital, is a well planned city, rich in parks and gardens. It is near the great Gulf St. Vincent, 90 miles long, 45 miles across.) Off the northeastern coast of Australia, there is a 1,250-mile-long coral reef (The Great Barrier Reef, The Great Barrier Reef).Good-looking is good-looking, but the ship is difficult to go. Captain Kirk's ship has been in distress in this area three times. The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australias most popular tourist attractions. It is the largest coral reef in the world, stretching for about 1250 miles along the coast of Queensland. The reef has thousands of islands and underwater coral formations. The sandy beaches of the islands and the interesting sea life of the reef mark it an ideal spot for skin diving. There is an island in the coral reef called "Green Island". What a coincidence, Taiwan also has a green island!

There are two kinds of sheep: sheep (sheep) and goat (goat). The goat (billy goat) has a beard and there is also goaty odor. Goat milk can be used to make cheese (cheese) and "cow" fat, and wool can be obtained from sheep. Wool comes from sheep (literally) Without a sheep, there can be no wool.—The benefit comes, after all, from a price one has paid. Whatever is the expense, somebody is going to pay for it. Making clothes, others You can also eat mutton, use sheepskin, make soap, make tennis rackets... sheep are so useful! (Sheep yield wool, meat, and leather. They also furnish the raw materials for many byproducts, such as glue, tallow, suet, soap, fertilizer, cosmetics, and the catgut used in stringing tennis rackets.)

Australia's sheep ranks first in the world.accounted for one-sixth of the world. (Long famous as a land of sheep, Australia is the worlds leading producer and exporter of wool and mutton and is a major producer and exporter of beef and wheat. Australia is also a highly industrialized country. Large deposits of coal and iron have become the basis for an iron and steel industry, white an expanding economy provides a large domestic market for a wide range of goods and services.) Australia has an average of 14 sheep per person (New Zealand next to Australia has 20 sheep per person), while Chinese people share less than one sheep per ten people. This is so unfair! (In Australia, there are about 14 sheep for every person. In New Zealand, there are about 20 sheep for every person. Some states in the western United States also have more sheep than people.)

If there is too much unfairness, those who don't have it will cry, which is called "the injustice calls". (Those who are discriminated again will complain.) Australia is 222 times larger than Taiwan, but its population is smaller than Taiwan! The average population of Asia is one or two people per square mile; the average population of Australia is four people per square mile. Australia is "uniquely blessed" to be particularly favored by nature (said of a land rich in natural resources or a gifted person), but it has never been fair.Australia has a "White Australia Policy" that restricts people of color from going there.But there are very few Caucasian people, so there must be many problems in the future, which cannot be stopped by barbed-wire fences.Australians themselves said: "Weve got a big, empty country here, and we have to fill it up. You Know, 'populate or perish'"

Australia's policy is wrong and selfish (wrong and selfish). This is called "dog in a manger" (dog in a manger describes a person who keeps others from using something that he himself cannot use. It comes from Aesops fable of a dog that crawled into a manger of hay and prevented a horse from eating, even though dogs do not eat hay.), also known as "occupied with a manger of hay and prevented a horse from eating, even though dogs do not eat hay." sleeping dogs lie, means to leave a situation undisturbed."But how can this work? "Every dog ​​has his day, is an expression used when something pleasant happens to a person, especially one who has been having bad luck." (Every dog ​​has his day, is an expression used when something pleasant happens to a person, especially one who has been having bad luck.) down-under (on the other side of the world), other poor dogs will still bite it. dad June 8, 1975 two Dear Xiaowen: Your Chinese written on the envelope has improved a lot this time. The platypus is only found in Australia, but the otter is only absent in Australia. Otters are OTTER, is a fur-bearing animal that spends much of its time in the water. Otters are related to the weasels and are carnivorous (flesh-eating) mammals. They live on all continents except Australia. They are divided into two groups , river otters and sea otters. Humans can swim on their backs (backstroke), but otters are even more majestic. They can eat on their backs. They eat with their backs facing the sky in the water. This is called "to feel no shame before God"! The otter is also a tool user (a tool user), it eats clams (clam), it can knock on rocks, how smart you say it is! The skin of each otter can be sold for 2,500 US dollars, which is 100,000 yuan in Taiwan.The whole world is not allowed to kill it, so its skin is very valuable.When people die, no one wants their stinky skins, but many animals die, but their skins become "thousands of gold fur". A leopard leaves behind its skin when it dies. A man has a reputation to leave to posterity when he dies. dad August 17, 1975