Eight Baby Capybaras Bring Huge Crowds to a Wildlife Park

Curraghs Wildlife Park had its busiest October weekend ever. A huge crowd of visitors came to see eight new baby capybaras.

busiest ... ever= 表示「有史以來最繁忙的」，用最高級搭配 ever 表示創紀錄的情況。

Capybaras come from South America. They are the largest rodents in the world. Two mother capybaras gave birth to the eight pups just a few days apart. The park last welcomed a single baby four years ago. Pictures and videos of the babies quickly became popular on social media, and visitors filled the car park.

a few days apart= 表示「相隔僅幾天」，apart 用來表示兩件事情在時間上的間隔。

The park manager, Kathleen Graham, said the reaction to the cute babies was extraordinary. She said the animals delighted people, and even grown men were cooing at them.

cooing at= 指對著嬰兒或可愛動物「發出輕柔喜悅的聲音」或「溫柔逗弄」。

The visits also helped wild nature. Capybaras live in wetlands, which are areas of wet ground that soak up extra rainwater. Each visitor gave one pound to the park's wildlife fund unless they chose not to pay it. This extra money will help protect wetlands both locally and in South America.

unless they chose not to= 表示「除非他們選擇不支付」，說明預設會捐款、除非主動拒絕的機制。

學習筆記

文法整理

句型	意思
busiest ... ever	表示「有史以來最繁忙的」，用最高級搭配 ever 表示創紀錄的情況。
a few days apart	表示「相隔僅幾天」，apart 用來表示兩件事情在時間上的間隔。
cooing at	指對著嬰兒或可愛動物「發出輕柔喜悅的聲音」或「溫柔逗弄」。
unless they chose not to	表示「除非他們選擇不支付」，說明預設會捐款、除非主動拒絕的機制。

詞彙整理

單字	意思
crowd	聚集在一起的大批人或事物；人群。
extraordinary	不平凡的；非同尋常的；特別出色或令人驚嘆的
protect	保護；保衛，使免於危險、傷害、破壞或損失
reaction	化學反應；一種或多種物質轉變成其他物質的過程。
soak up	吸收（液體、熱、光等）；（比喻）吸收、領會（資訊或知識）。

延伸學習

•水豚原產於南美洲，以溫和沉穩的個性聞名，在社群網路和影音平台上經常成為熱門話題。
•英文的「pup」可用來稱呼多種動物的幼崽，包括水豚、狗、狼和海豹。
•濕地（wetlands）能像天然海綿一樣吸收多餘雨水並減少洪水，因此保護濕地對當地生態系統至關重要。