Have you ever seen a crocodile? Crocodiles spend much of their time hiding under water with just their eyes showing above the water. This helps them to surprise their prey.
A long time ago people who saw crocodiles eating their prey saw something very strange. The crocodile cried while eating its prey! Tears would fall from its eyes as it ate an animal or sometimes even a person.
Of course people didn't believe that a crocodile could really be sad about killing and eating its prey. So if someone's tears seem to be just for show— if you don't believe they are really sad or sorry — in English you can say they are crying crocodile tears.
PHOTO: EPA
Now zoologists have found that crocodiles cannot swallow their prey under water or they will drown. So they have to eat their prey on land. When they have been out of the water for a few minutes their eyes become dry. So the "tears" are just the way that a crocodile looks after its eyes.
(Catherine Thomas, Staff Writer)
你看過鱷魚嗎？鱷魚時常躲在水裡，水面上只看得到眼睛，這也有助於牠們突擊獵物。
很久以前，當人們看見鱷魚吃獵物時，發現了相當奇怪的事。鱷魚吃獵物時會哭泣！鱷魚吃動物、甚至吃人時，眼淚會從牠們眼裡掉下來。
當然，人們可不相信鱷魚真的是因捕食獵物而難過。所以，假使某人的眼淚似乎只是為了表演，而你不相信他們是真心難過或抱歉，在英文中，你就可以說他們是「cry crocodile tears」。
現今，動物學家已發現，鱷魚在水中不能吞食獵物。所以，牠們必須在陸地食用獵物。牠們離開水中幾分鐘，眼睛就會變得乾澀。因此，「流淚」不過是鱷魚調適眼睛的方式。
（翻譯：賴美君）
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