【英语时差8,16】为何负鼠倒挂于树（上）

（单词翻译）

Have you ever seen a cartoon of a sleeping opossum hanging upside down by its tail? Well, you may be surprised to learn that ‘possums don’t actually sleep that way. Just A Myth Although often depicted¹ in cartoons as hanging from their tails, the muscles in the ‘possums’ tail are not strong enough to support an adult’s weight for more than a moment. Young ‘possums are sometimes spotted² dangling³ temporarily by their tails, which may be where the myth got started, but even juveniles⁴ don’t hang upside down while sleeping. Still, the ‘possum’s prehensile⁵ tail is quite handy. It can curl tightly around branches, grasp and carry objects, and help stabilize⁶ the ‘possum as it clambers around in trees and bushes. Related To Kangaroos Another common misconception is that ‘possums are related to rats. While they do look like rats with their pointy snouts and scaly⁷, hairless tails, the resemblance is only superficial. ‘Possums are actually more closely related to kangaroos than to rats.