那么，能够代表加拿大的是哪一种动物呢？ 给你三个选项：
A： polar bear(北极熊) B：moose（北美驼鹿） C: beaver（河狸）
你会选哪一个呢？
答案是C beaver （河狸）
Yes, it's beaver, the Canada's national symbol. (加拿大民族的标志)
Are you kidding me? Why? Most people think it should be the polar bear!
OK, calm down, let me tell you why.
加拿大人对beaver 有很高的评价，甚至有人说“Without beaver, Canada would not exist.”
“没有beaver, 加拿大这个国家也许就不会存在.。"
这是为什么呢？早在16世纪，some French explorers （法国探险家）最早发现加拿大这个地方，本来想着发现个什么金矿银矿，结果连个煤矿也没发现。可是，他们有个意外的收获。
"It doesn't have any gold here, but these beavers would make good looking hats."
这个意外的收获就是：他们发现这些河狸皮毛很厚（they have thick furs），可以做皮帽，正好御寒。皮毛生意（fur trade）从此开始了。
Beginning in the 16th century, the fur trade was the backbone of the colonial economy and a major international industry for roughly 300 years. 从16世纪开始，皮毛生意就成了殖民地经济的支柱，同时也成为重要的国际工业，一直持续大概300年。The fur trade was instrumental in the development of the country that would become Canada. 皮毛生意在加拿大这个国家的形成过程中起到重要作用。
backbone: 后面的骨头，那就是脊梁骨，脊柱，引申为支柱，极其重要的部分
colonial: 殖民地的，当时加拿大还是法国的殖民地，后来成英国的殖民地
economy: 经济，也有节约的意思，比如飞机的经济舱 economy class
roughly: 粗略的，大概的
instrumental：起作用
At the heart of the fur trade was the beaver, whose pelts were used to make everything from felt hats to robes to winter coats. 而河狸在皮毛生意中处于核心地位，他的皮可以用来做一切，如皮帽，长袍，外套。
pelt: 皮，专指从动物身上剥下的皮（以现代人观点看，当然这很残忍）
The use of the beaver as a symbol stems back to the main players of the fur trade, the Hudson’s Bay Company, who put the animal on their coat of arms in 1621.
有一家皮毛生意的重要参与者，就是今天著名的Hudson's Bay公司.该公司在1621 就将beaver放在他们盾徽上。
stem back: 源自于，追溯到
Hudson's Bay: 加拿大著名的百货公司
coat of arms: a special design in the form of a shield that they use as a symbol of their identity 遁形图案，一般用来显示家族，公司或这组织的身份。
下图就是Hudson's Bay公司的 coat of arms, 中间四个小动物就是 beaver, 左右两边是两只麋鹿（elk）,上面是一只狐狸（fox）.
You can also see the beaver on Canada's five-cent coin like the picture below.
The only reason the beaver is still around today is because of an extensive conservation effort over the course of the 20th century. 今天大家依然可以看到beaver， 唯一的原因就是贯穿于整个20世纪努力保护的结果。By the time the fur trade industry collapsed in the middle of the 19th century, the beaver was close to becoming extinct. 随着18世纪皮毛生意的衰落，beaver也几乎灭绝。
still around: 依然存在
extensive: covering a wide range of 大范围的 ， 广泛的
conservation: 保护 如自然保护区，the conservation area
over the course of : 在……的进程中
Beavers are superb swimmers and can stay under water for up to 15 minutes.
他们是超级游泳健将，可以在水下呆15分钟。
More amazingly, they are the only mammals, other than humans, that can manufacture its own environment, the beaver is known for building dams, canals and lodges.
更让人惊奇的是，他们是除人类以外，唯一可以为自己营造居住环境的哺乳动物。他们会建造拦河坝，构建通道和建造“小屋子”。
mammal: 哺乳动物
manufacture: 建造，制造 manufacturing 指制造业
除了人类，也只有 beaver 懂得这般享受了
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