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An animal that lives part of its life in water and part on land — frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders. Most start as eggs in water, hatch as babies that breathe like fish (a baby frog is a ), then grow legs and lungs and come out onto land. Their skin is thin and wet, and they drink and even breathe a little through it, which is why they must stay near water and why pollution hurts them so quickly; scientists watch amphibians as a warning sign for a sick environment.
An animal that lives part of its life in water and part on land一種生命有一部分在水裡、一部分在陸地上度過的動物 — frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders像青蛙、蟾蜍、蠑螈這一類。Most start as eggs in water大多數先是在水裡當卵, hatch as babies that breathe like fish孵化成像魚一樣用鰓呼吸的幼體 (a baby frog is a tadpole青蛙的幼體就叫蝌蚪), then grow legs and lungs and come out onto land再長出腳和肺，爬上陸地。Their skin is thin and wet牠們的皮膚又薄又濕, and they drink and even breathe a little through it牠們甚至會透過皮膚喝水、呼吸, which is why they must stay near water這就是為什麼牠們一定要待在水邊 and why pollution hurts them so quickly也是為什麼污染會這麼快傷害到牠們；scientists watch amphibians as a warning sign for a sick environment科學家把兩棲類當作環境生病的警訊來觀察。
The adjective is 'amphibious'. That adjective travels further than the animal: an 'amphibious vehicle' can drive on land and float on water, and an 'amphibious landing' is soldiers coming ashore from ships.
The adjective is 'amphibious'形容詞是 amphibious。That adjective travels further than the animal這個形容詞用得比動物本身還廣: an 'amphibious vehicle' can drive on land and float on water「amphibious vehicle 兩棲車輛」可以在陸地上開，也能在水上浮, and an 'amphibious landing' is soldiers coming ashore from ships而「amphibious landing 兩棲登陸」是指士兵從船上上岸。
Careful — a turtle is a reptile, not an amphibian, and so is a crocodile, even though they swim. The test is not 'does it swim' but 'does it have that two-stage life with thin wet skin'.
Careful要小心 — a turtle is a reptile, not an amphibian烏龜是爬蟲類，不是兩棲類, and so is a crocodile鱷魚也是爬蟲類, even though they swim就算牠們也會游泳。The test is not 'does it swim' but 'does it have that two-stage life with thin wet skin'判斷的標準不是「牠會不會游泳」，而是「牠有沒有那種薄濕皮膚的兩階段生命」。
組成From Greek: amphi- 'both, on both sides' + bios 'life' — so, 'both-lives', an animal with two lives, one in water and one on land. The -an ending turns it into a name for a member of that group.
同家族的字
- amphitheatresame amphi- 'on both sides' — seats going all the way round
- biologysame Greek bios 'life' — the study of living things
- antibioticalso bios 'life' — a medicine that works against living germs
原始詞典資料6 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
amphibianadj/æmˈfɪbɪən/
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Of or relating to the class Amphibia.
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Capable of operating on both land and water; amphibious.
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obsoleteHaving two natures.
amphibiannoun/æmˈfɪbɪən/
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An animal of the Amphibia; any vertebrate that does not have amniotic eggs, typically living both on land and in water.
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A vehicle which can operate on both land and water.
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A person with two distinct characters, qualities or identities.
- The prime exemplar of such a cast of mind must be Johann Ladislas Pyrker, a definite amphibian and ‘Austro-Hungarian’ in his literary and in his public life. The son of another estate bailiff in Transdanubia, Pyrker became successively a Hungarian official, an Austrian monk and at length a fairly worldly abbot at Lilienfeld, then a bishop in Hungary, patriarch of Venice, and archbishop in Hungary again.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。