时间:2019-01-08 作者:英语课 分类:Scientific American(十一)月


英语课

  This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata. Got a minute?

Toss a piece of leaf onto a spider web. The spider is indifferent. Because leaves don't squirm like captured flies. But Australia's "assassin bug 1" turns the tables on spiders. It exploits their keen sense for vibrations 2 by mimicking 4 the movements of prey 5—luring unwitting spiders into striking range.

Researchers observed how spiders reacted to various visitors to their webs—like leaf fragments, courting males, prey like flies and the assassin bugs 6. The spiders ignored leaves, and assumed mating position for males. But they approached assassin bugs just as if they were investigating a juicy fly.

Then the researchers analyzed 7 the frequency, duration and amplitude 8 of each visitor's vibrations. And they found that assassin bug's vibes most closely matched some of those of prey. When prey struggle violently, spiders rush to subdue 9 them—a potentially dangerous situation for assassin bugs. So the bugs have learned to gently pluck the silk strands 10, to mimic 3 only the unthreatening leg twitches 11 of exhausted 12 prey. The research is in the journal Proceedings 13 of the Royal Society B.

The assassin bug's choice of vibrations maximizes the chances that the spider, while still behaving like the hunter, becomes the hunted.

Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American's 60-Second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.



n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器
  • There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
  • The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 );震动;感受;(偏离平衡位置的)一次性往复振动
  • We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
  • I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了,她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.模仿,戏弄;n.模仿他人言行的人
  • A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
  • He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。
v.(尤指为了逗乐而)模仿( mimic的现在分词 );酷似
  • She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
  • The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音,逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误
  • All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞,都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 );分解;解释;对…进行心理分析
  • The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程,因为对他来说,爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.广大;充足;振幅
  • The amplitude of the vibration determines the loudness of the sound.振动幅度的大小决定声音的大小。
  • The amplitude at the driven end is fixed by the driving mechanism.由于驱动机构的作用,使驱动端的振幅保持不变。
vt.制服,使顺从,征服;抑制,克制
  • She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
  • He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。
n.(线、绳、金属线、毛发等的)股( strand的名词复数 );缕;海洋、湖或河的)岸;(观点、计划、故事等的)部份v.使滞留,使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )
  • Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.(使)抽动, (使)颤动, (使)抽搐( twitch的名词复数 )
  • No response, just a flutter of flanks and a few ear twitches. 没反应,只有胁腹和耳朵动了几下。 来自互联网
  • BCEF(50,100 mg·kg~-1 ) could distinctly increase the head-twitch number in the 5-HTP induced head-twitches test. BCEF50、100mg·kg-1可明显增加5羟色胺酸诱导甩头小鼠的甩头次数。 来自互联网
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
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a doring
acting crowd
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antiparliamentarian
basswood
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Biography of Medical Figures
black roller
booleanise
boundary-layer control
british harilla
buut
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character-increment adjustment
Charterers pay dues
chloromalic acid
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circuit switching delay
clematis patens morr.et decne
concatenating
condensed instruction desk
consistorial
contact sound filter
continuing-ed
corner resolution
crystal projection
cut a wide swath
cyclic plastic deformation
daily meeting
dnica
doucine
drone out
enicospilus pseudoconspersae
Entz booster
eumc
fission-product decay heat
foramina nutricium
girays
groiff
gross machine-hours
harriet beecher stowes
haussman
havoline
head and neck
high frequency shale shaker
hypothesis confirmation bias
identical twelvemonth period
klay
lateral enamel strand
lenient disposal of a criminal
lifefull
machine check summary counter
methylations
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moist-heat sterilization
moochary
mutual will
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OBSY
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partitioned emulation programming
party animals
Pensky-martens closed tester
phenylsulfamide
philagra fusiformis
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precision teaching
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pseudo-resistance polarization
reserve for bad debts
Rotten Row
Royal Albert Hall
safflower oils
saroses
semi-flexible chain polymer
server, network
set a hen
Shōdo-jima
sonnil
square shank bolt
squeeziest
stone curlew
system start up
Talfan
telescope arm
Torulopsis spherica
trass mortar
Turtle Creek
twin-plate clutch
Uchita
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unification of maritime documents
vertical separator
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