科学美国人60秒 SSS 2014-08-26
时间：2018-12-24 作者：英语课 分类：2014年Scientific American(八)月
英语课
Based on the sheer number of ants that invaded my home this summer, it seems hard to believe, but a new study finds that the numbers of invertebrates 1, which include any animal without a spine 3, has fallen by nearly half over the past thirty-five years, the same period of time in which the human population has doubled. The estimate appears in the journal Science.
When we think of extinction 4, we usually picture large charismatic creatures. Like the saber-toothed tiger, the wooly 5 mammoth 6 or even the dodo bird. Over the past five hundred years, more than three hundred species of vertebrates like these have disappeared, but what about creators that fly or crawl under our radar 7? Butterflies, beetles 8, spiders, slugs and worms are all in the miss of decline. Much of that die-off is due a habit lost.
In the UK for example, scientists have recorded a thirty to sixty per cent decrease in areas inhabited by common insects, including bees and wasps 9. While fewer flooding pests may seem a plus, insects also perform functions that are key to human survival, liking 10 pollinating crops and recycling nutrients 11. So crowding out our invertebrate 2 allies could turn out to a real buzz-kill.
When we think of extinction 4, we usually picture large charismatic creatures. Like the saber-toothed tiger, the wooly 5 mammoth 6 or even the dodo bird. Over the past five hundred years, more than three hundred species of vertebrates like these have disappeared, but what about creators that fly or crawl under our radar 7? Butterflies, beetles 8, spiders, slugs and worms are all in the miss of decline. Much of that die-off is due a habit lost.
In the UK for example, scientists have recorded a thirty to sixty per cent decrease in areas inhabited by common insects, including bees and wasps 9. While fewer flooding pests may seem a plus, insects also perform functions that are key to human survival, liking 10 pollinating crops and recycling nutrients 11. So crowding out our invertebrate 2 allies could turn out to a real buzz-kill.
1 invertebrates
n.无脊椎动物( invertebrate的名词复数 )
- Insects and worms are all invertebrates. 昆虫和蠕虫都是无脊椎动物。 来自辞典例句
- In the earthworm and many other invertebrates, these excretory structures are called nephridia. 在蚯蚓和许多其它无脊椎动物中，这些排泄结构称为肾管。 来自辞典例句
2 invertebrate
n.无脊椎动物
- Half of all invertebrate species live in tropical rain forests.一半的无脊椎动物物种生活在热带雨林中。
- Worms are an example of invertebrate animals.蠕虫是无脊椎动物的一个例子。
3 spine
n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊
- He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
- His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。
4 extinction
n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种
- The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
- The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。
5 wooly
adj.毛茸茸的；糊涂的
- I like the feel of this cloth and it has a warm wooly feel.我喜欢这块布的手感,它摸上去毛茸茸的很暖和。
- He wore a brown t-shirt with jeans and a pair of shoes,with a wooly hat covering his hair.小贝身穿一件棕色t恤，搭配牛仔裤和皮鞋，头戴一顶盖住头发的羊毛帽子。
6 mammoth
n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的
- You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
- Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。
7 radar
n.雷达，无线电探测器
- They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
- Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。
8 beetles
n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )
- Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 wasps
黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人
- There's a wasps' nest in that old tree. 那棵老树上有一个黄蜂巢。
- We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths. 我们不仅生活在对象蜘蛛或黄蜂这样的小虫的惧怕中，而且生活在对诸如飞蛾这样无害昆虫的惧怕中