Yes, the largest animal living on land is the elephant,a real
monster[1] of flesh and muscles[2]. The largest males found on the African continent measure 7 meters
from the forehead to the tip of the tail, and are easily 3 and a half
meters tall. They are no light weights, they weigh about 6 tons. The females
are more modest[3], when they get on the scale[4], they
only weigh 3 tons. As for this baby elephant, after a 22 months gestation period
in his mother's stomach. It takes time to make an elephant. It already weighs 120 kilos. And the elephant which can live
up to 60 years continues to grow all its life, so the biggest animals
in the world are also the oldest. When you weigh this much, you've obviously got an appetite, 150
kilos of vegetation daily and about 80 liters of water a day. The world
record for the largest elephant belongs to one killed in Angola in 1955.
It was four meters tall and weighed no less than 10 tons.
2、 flesh and muscles:这里我们翻译为“血肉之躯”,作为“monster”的定语。实际上“血肉之躯”还有另一个对应的英语词组:flesh
and blood。比如:These sorrows are more than flesh and blood can bear. 这种忧伤是血肉之躯难以承受的。
3、 modest的原意是“谦逊的”,在这里是指“适当的”,比如 a modest price合适的价格。