关于兔子的英文资料

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), cottontail rabbits (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, an endangered species on Amami Oshima, Japan). There are many other species of rabbit, and these, along with cottontails, pikas and hares make up the Order Lagomorpha. Rabbits generally live between four and 10 years. A rabbit's gestation period is 31 days.[1]

Humans' relationship with rabbits (人和兔子的关系）
Humans' relationship with the European (sometimes called true) rabbit was first recorded by the Phoenicians earlier than 1000 BCE, when they termed the Iberian Peninsula i-shfaním (literally, the land of the hyraxes). This phrase is pronounced identically in modern Hebrew, i (אי) meaning island and shafan (שפן) meaning hyrax; shfaním (שפנים) is the plural form. Phoenicians called the local rabbits hyraxes because hyraxes resemble rabbits in some ways, and were probably more common than rabbits in their native land Levant at the time. Hyraxes, like rabbits, are not rodents. The Romans converted the phrase i-shfaním to its Latin form, Hispania, which evolved into the modern Spanish word España, English Spain and such other variations of modern languages.

The European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is the only species of rabbit to be domesticated. All pet breeds of rabbits, such as dwarf lops, and angoras, are of this species. However, rabbits and humans interact in many different ways beyond domestication. Rabbits are an example of an animal which is treated as food, pet, and pest by members of the same culture.

When used for food, rabbits are both hunted and bred for meat. Snares or guns along with dogs are usually employed when catching wild rabbits for food. In many regions, rabbits are also bred for meat, a practice called cuniculture. Rabbits can then be killed by hitting the back of their heads, a practice from which the term rabbit punch is derived. Rabbit pelts are sometimes used in for clothing and accessories, such as scarves or hats. Rabbits are very good producers of manure; additionally, their urine, being high in nitrogen, makes lemon trees very productive. Their milk may also be of great medicinal or nutritional benefit due to its high protein content (see links below).

There are a number of health issues associated with the use of rabbits for meat, one of which is Tularemia or Rabbit Fever. Another is so-called rabbit starvation, due most likely to essential amino acid deficiencies in rabbit meat and synthesis limitations in human beings.

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一切关于兔子：

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits