The animal in this picture is called an okapi. Okapis come from a rain forest in the African country of the Congo. The okapi's stripes might make you think it is related to the zebra, but in fact it is a relative of the giraffe.
Just like the giraffe, okapis have long, blue tongues. Their tongues are very flexible, long and useful. Okapis' tongues are used to pull leaves off trees and into their mouths. An okapi's tongue is 30cm long. Okapis tongues are so long that they use them to clean their eyes and their ears. How many animals can you think of that can touch their tongues to their ears?
Okapis live in zoos all over the world. However, in their African home, the forest where okapis live is getting smaller and smaller. This is a very dangerous situation for the okapis, but there is good news. An okapi has been seen in a national park in the Congo, where one has not been seen for 47 years! (Kayleen hartman, staff writer)
照片中的動物叫做「歐加皮鹿」，來自非洲國家剛果的雨林，身上的條紋可能會讓人以為牠和斑馬有親緣關係，但牠實際上是長頸鹿的近親。
歐加皮鹿跟長頸鹿一樣有藍色的長舌頭，牠們的長舌頭極具延展性又實用，可用來將樹葉拔落後放進嘴裡。歐加皮鹿的舌頭有三十公分長，長到能用來清潔自己的眼睛和耳朵。你能想到有多少動物的舌頭能碰到自己耳朵？
世界各地的動物園裡都有歐加皮鹿的身影，然而牠們在家鄉非洲居住的森林面積卻愈來愈小，歐加皮鹿的處境很危險，不過，好消息是，四十七年不見歐加皮鹿蹤影的剛果國家公園又再現鹿蹤。 （翻譯：鄭湘儀）
1. related adj.
有血親的 (you3 xie3 qin1 de5)
例：Penelope and Ashley look so much alike that people think they are related.
（潘尼洛普和艾希麗因相貌酷似，被大家認為是親戚。）
2. flexible adj.
柔軟的 (rou2 ruan3 de5)、
有彈性的 (you3 tan2 xiang4 de5)
例：I'm not flexible enough to touch my toes.
（我柔軟度不夠，無法碰到我的腳趾。）
3. situation n.
處境 (chu3 jing4)
例：Jack's two best friends, Paul and Rachel, are in a fight, and they both want Jack to be on their side. It is not a good situation for Jack.
（傑克兩個最好的朋友─保羅和瑞秋起爭執，他們都要傑克站在自己這一邊，這對傑克來說情況不妙。）
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