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There are a few camels in Istanbul, but camels don’t belong in Europe. They have to be carried across the Bosporus from Asia, for a camel is said to be the only animal that cannot swim and cannot learn to swim. Most animals, like dogs, swim naturally; they don’t have to learn. The camel may not be able to swim, but he can cross deserts, which no other animal can do as well.

The camel is an animal of the desert, and when we see camels we know there must be deserts somewhere near. The camel loves heat and dryness, the sun and sand. Men and most animals, when it is hot, like the cool shade when they rest, but a camel when he rests lies down in the hot sun. He is often called “the ship of the desert,” for he is the only “boat” that can carry passengers across the sea of sands. His feet are made like cushions so that they do not sink into the sand. A camel has several pouches inside of his body in which to store up water, as in tanks, for in crossing desert lands he may have to go days at a time without a drink, so he fills up these tanks inside of him.

The camel in Asia has one hump and is called a Dromedary. There are other camels that have two humps. The hump is not a broken back, as it looks—it is made of fat, and when the camel can get no outside food, the fat in his hump helps to feed him as the food in his stomach feeds him.

参考译文

伊斯坦布尔有一些骆驼，但欧洲不产骆驼。骆驼只能通过博斯普鲁斯海峡从亚洲用船运来。据说骆驼是唯一不会游泳也学不会游泳的动物。大多数动物，比如狗，天生就会游泳，它们不需要学。骆驼虽不会游泳，但它能穿过沙漠，这是其他任何动物都做不到的。

骆驼是沙漠里的一种动物。如果看见骆驼，我们就知道附近某个地方一定有沙漠。骆驼喜欢高温和干燥，阳光和沙子。天气炎热时，人类和大多数动物喜欢在荫凉处休息，但是，骆驼却躺在炎热的阳光下休息。骆驼常被称作“沙漠之舟”，因为它是唯一能载着乘客穿越“沙海”的“船”。骆驼的脚长得像垫子一样，所以不会陷进沙里。骆驼的体内长有几只可以储水的袋囊，就像水箱一样，因为穿越沙漠时骆驼也许会一连几天都没有水喝，所以它就得将体内的水箱充满。

亚洲骆驼有一个驼峰，叫做“单峰骆驼”，也有长着两个驼峰的骆驼。驼峰看起来像是断了的脊背，其实不然，驼峰里全是脂肪。当骆驼找不到食物吃的时候，驼峰里的脂肪就可以向身体输送营养，就像胃里的食物向身体输送营养一样。