An ocelot is a wild cat from the Americas, from the south of the United States down through Central America and well into South America. Dictionaries sometimes call it a “large” cat, but though actually it is more a medium one: much bigger than a house cat, with a long body and a coat of spots and stripes, yet far smaller than a jaguar or a leopard.

An ocelot是 a wild cat from the Americas美洲的一種野生貓科動物, from the south of the United States down through Central America and well into South America分布從美國南部，經過中美洲，一直到南美洲深處。 Dictionaries sometimes call it a “large” cat字典有時候把牠叫做「大型」貓科動物, but though actually it is more a medium one但其實牠比較算是中型的: much bigger than a house cat比家貓大很多, with a long body and a coat of spots and stripes身體修長，毛皮上有斑點和條紋, yet far smaller than a jaguar or a leopard但比美洲豹或花豹小很多。

It often hunts at night in forests, and it is shy. People prize the coat, which has not been kind to the animal’s history.

It often hunts at night in forests牠常常在森林裡夜間狩獵, and it is shy而且個性害羞。 People prize the coat人們很珍視牠的毛皮, which has not been kind to the animal’s history這對這種動物的處境很不友善。

The name came into English from French. A French scientist, Buffon, took a Nahuatl word — ōcēlōtl, from the old language of the Aztec people in Mexico — which in that language meant the jaguar, and he used it for this smaller spotted cat. So the name has a little twist: it started as a word for a different, bigger cat.

The name came into English from French這個名字是從法文傳進英文的。 A French scientist, Buffon一位法國科學家布豐, took a Nahuatl word拿了一個納瓦特語的字 — ōcēlōtl就是ōcēlōtl, from the old language of the Aztec people in Mexico源自墨西哥阿茲特克人的古老語言 — which in that language meant the jaguar在那個語言裡本來指的是美洲豹, and he used it for this smaller spotted cat但他把這個字用在這種比較小的斑點貓身上。 So the name has a little twist所以這個名字有個小小的轉折: it started as a word for a different, bigger cat它一開始其實是另一種比較大的貓的名字。