Absolute silliness: this har-har kid's joke features talking animals and a zoo manager that should probably be fired. <!--more-->

<h3>Grammar: 将... 由... 到...</h3>
In the first paragraph there, we get a slightly complex grammatical structure in this sentence: 

所以他们决定将笼子的高度由原来的10米加高到20米。

Now, I don't know if real grammarians would explain it this way, but for me, three key characters link this sentence together, and once we decipher those, the whole thing makes sense. I'm highlighting those words in Chinese first, then highlighting the corresponding words in the English translation: 

Chinese: 所以他们决定<strong>将</strong>笼子的高度<strong>由</strong>原来的10米加高<strong>到</strong>20米。

English: So they decided to <strong>take</strong> the cage <strong>from</strong> its original height of 10 meters and increase it <strong>to</strong> 20 meters.

See? These three characters link the sentence together - we "take" (将) something "from" (由) one state "to" (到) another. Now, this "take" isn't the same as 拿 [pinyin]na2[/pinyin], where we actually pick something up with our fingers (though 将 can be used that way). This is more of a figurative "take". 

In this sentence, 由 serves the same purpose as the slightly more familiar 从 [pinyin]cong2[/pinyin]. 

Go straight to the <a href="hhttp://www.xuexila.com/success/story/6873.html" target="_blank">source</a>.
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<div class="chinesetext">
<h3>Chinese text:</h3>
1) 一天动物园管理员发现袋鼠从笼子里跑出来了，于是开会讨论，一致认为是笼子的高度过低。所以他们决定将笼子的高度由原来的10米加高到20米。结果第二天他们发现袋鼠还是跑到外面来，所以他们又决定再将高度加高到30米。

2) 没想到隔天居然又看到袋鼠全跑到外面，于是管理员们大为紧张，决定一不做二不休，将笼子的高度加高到100米。

3) 一天长颈鹿和几只袋鼠们在闲聊。

4) "你们看，这些人会不会再继续加高你们的笼子？长颈鹿问。

5) 袋鼠说∶“很难说。如果他们再继续忘记关门的话!"
 
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1) One day, the manager of the zoo discovered that the kangaroo had run out of his cage, so he called a meeting to discuss it, and everyone unanimously agreed that the height of the cage was too low. So they decided to take the cage from its original height of 10 meters and increase it to 20 meters. But on the second day they found that the kangaroo had gotten out again, so they decided to once again increase the height to 30 meters. 

2) Would know know it, but on the next day, to everyone's surprise, they once again saw that the kangaroos had all gotten out, so the zoo manager became quite anxious, and decided to go all out, raising the height of the cage to 100 meters.   

3) One day the giraffes and several kangaroos were having a leisurely chat. 

4) "Look here fellas, you think these folks are going to raise the height of the cage again?" asked a giraffe. 

5) A kangaroo answered, "Hard to say. Probably will if they keep leaving the cage door open!" 
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