33 The Ship with Four Legs

There is just one four-legged animal that can walk two hundred miles without stopping once to rest. It would take a person two days and two nights to walk this far, and only one man has ever done it without stopping. What amazing animal has such endurance? The camel! The camel is well known for something else, too. It can cross an entire desert without a single drink of water. Its body is built in a special way to help it store water and food.

A person has just one stomach, but a camel has quite a few. Within each stomach are layers and layers of cells. These cells are like tiny water balloons storing liquids until the camel needs them. When the camel drinks, the cells grow larger and larger. For a whole week, they can keep the animal’s thirst away by sending water to all parts of its body.

Did you ever wonder why the camel has a hump? The hump is a storage place for fat. Because it has this storage area, the camel does not need to eat very often. When the animal needs energy, the layers of fat serve as fuel to keep it going on the long, hot days in the burning sun.

The camel has one other gift that makes it well suited to regions. This gift is its amazing nose. A camel can smell a water hole from miles away!

When a camel moves, it sways from side to side like a ship on a wavy ocean. Because of this swaying motion, the camel has been called the “Ship of the Desert.”

33 四条腿的船

只有一种四足动物可以连续行走两百英里而不用停下来休息一次。一个人要走这么远，需要两天两夜，而且只有一个人曾经不间断地完成过。哪种神奇的动物有这样的耐力呢？是骆驼！骆驼还有一件事也很出名，它可以不喝一滴水就穿越整个沙漠。它的身体构造很特别，有助于储存水和食物。

人只有一个胃，但骆驼有好几个。每个胃里都有一层又一层的细胞，这些细胞就像 tiny 水气球，储存着液体，直到骆驼需要它们。当骆驼喝水时，这些细胞会变得越来越大。整整一周，它们可以通过向身体各个部位输送水分来缓解动物的口渴。

你有没有想过骆驼为什么有驼峰？驼峰是储存脂肪的地方。因为有这个储存区域，骆驼不需要经常进食。当动物需要能量时，这些脂肪层就会作为燃料，让它在烈日炎炎的漫长白天里维持生命。

骆驼还有另一种天赋，这使得它非常适应某些地区。这个天赋就是它那神奇的鼻子。骆驼可以在数英里外闻到水的味道！

当骆驼行走时，它会像波涛汹涌的海洋上的船一样左右摇晃。由于这种摇摆的动作，骆驼被称为“沙漠之舟”。