英文科学读本 第二册·Lesson 36 Three Classes of Monkeys

Lesson 36 Three Classes of Monkeys

Teacher showed us some fine pictures of monkeys today, Norah, said Willie. "One was the Gorilla. We call him an ape. He has no tail. He is much bigger than a man, for he is nearly seven feet high, and has a great broad, powerful body and a huge head. He is covered with coarse, iron-gray hair, and his face is jet black. He is a fierce, ugly, savage creature. A man would rather meet a lion than this great ape.

He lives in the dense forests of Africa. He and his mate make their nest in the trees by twining the branches together. They live on roots, fruits, and berries. Then we saw pictures of the baboons. They have short tails. Some baboons are nearly as tall as a man. They are all very fierce and strong. Teacher showed us one with a face marked with lines of scarlet, purple, and blue. He is called a Mandrill.

Now, Fred, suppose you tell us about the monkeys.

Well, said Fred, "the monkeys are smaller than either the apes or the baboons. They all have long tails.

Monkeys are found in the forests of Asia and Africa, and also in America. The monkeys of America are not like those of Asia and Africa. They have either no thumb at all or a very small one, but to make up for this, the tail is very long, and the creatures use it as a sort of fifth hand. They are very clever climbers. The monkeys of Asia and Africa have shorter tails, but the thumbs are better fitted for grasping. You could easily tell them by their cheek pouches. Teacher showed us their loose wrinkled cheeks. The wrinkles form bags or pouches, and the monkeys stow away in them the nuts and fruit which they gather in the forests.

I am going to ask father to take us to the Zoo, to see the monkeys and baboons, Fred added. "Teacher says we can't see the dreadful gorilla there. He is such a furious, savage beast that he will not live in a cage. He refuses his food and dies rather than live a prisoner. Perhaps father will take us to the Museum, to see the stuffed bodies of the dead gorillas."

SUMMARY

Apes have no tails. The gorilla is a fierce, ugly, savage ape, bigger than a man. He lives in the forests of Africa.

Baboons have short tails. They are nearly as big as a man, and very fierce.

Monkeys have long tails. The monkeys of Asia and Africa have cheek pouches; their tails are not so long as those of the American monkeys.