时间:2018-12-27 作者:英语课 分类:英语时差8,16


英语课

 Last time we were thinking about why some birds hop 1 and other birds walk. We decided 2 that you can't make any blanket statements about this, because there will always be exceptions. But in general it's true that larger birds are more likely to walk and smaller birds to hop, just because of the amount of energy it takes. But there's more to it than that. Ornithologists are actually very interested in bird legs and feet. The differences between different kind of legs are used in bird classification. For example, what we commonly call "songbirds"--cardinals, wrens 3, mockingbirds, warblers--are also called "perching birds." They have specialized 5 structures in their feet that include three toes pointing forward and one more called the "hallux" that points back. That three-and-one design is excellent for holding on to branches, which is an important skill to possess if you are a bird. Okay, so far so good. But now, what does that kind of foot make more difficult? You got it--a foot with a conspicuous 6 hallux toe won't be very good at walking. Some birds manage it, and there are different kinds of hallux toes that make it easier or harder. But to move around with feet like that, sometimes you just might be better off hopping 7. So, evolution has to make a choice. Is it better to perch 4 safely on branches or walk comfortably on the ground? Do I catch food with my feet or my beak 8? And so on. The end result can be birds with different kinds of feet, and different kinds of walks.



1 hop
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
  • The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
  • How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
2 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
3 wrens
n.鹪鹩( wren的名词复数 )
  • Other songbirds, such as wrens, have hundreds of songs. 有的鸣鸟,例如鹪鹩,会唱几百只歌。 来自辞典例句
4 perch
n.栖木,高位,杆;v.栖息,就位,位于
  • The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
  • Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。
5 specialized
adj.专门的,专业化的
  • There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
  • These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。
6 conspicuous
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
7 hopping
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
  • The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
  • This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
学英语单词
airmanship
all-direction propeller
Altopascio
amarjeet
annular eclipse of sun
apparatus urogenitaliss
assimilation root
bactreia
bayes estimator of constant risk
be antagonistic to
be beyond the compass of
Bellona I.
Benflumentol
black africas
block bill
blue colo(u)red milk
butter-ham
chrome-dome
contract of property insurance
copper(ii) silicofluoride
coprolaba
cronite
deleveraged
delpregnin
Denver City
Desdemin
desertings
diastrephia
dirt poor
drift chamber
dry stained
duendes
economic cooperation as joint ventrues
electric control of rig
Eligulate
eosinophilia
ex allotment
flexible bond
flickering lamp
garden snail
genus Trichecus
Green Economics
gum damar
Gyöngyös Oroszi
henrys
holmium(Ho)
illumination of retina
inconsumptible
internal reforming
interrelate
limosus
Marenzio
maritime bridge
medicozoological
melanin stimulating hormone
national good quality product
nitpickers
non-selfquenching
oilcloths
orthoboric
out and in search
outlimb
over hedge and ditch
pachydermodactyly
PACP
Pim1p
plant hatchet
platen variable knob
Port Davey
port hinterland
press barons
price-to-earning
productress
Pāthargāma
reciprocating-plate feeder
resistance percussive-welding
restraining structure
resyklin
reverse idler gear shaft
richard iis
ronin
scn
sedimentary iron
sensori-motor skill
set off box
sisssos-s
smectogen
Soukra
Spenser Mts.
strengths
stress-intensity factor
style-conscious
Sulfacetyl
system base register
telescope tube
three-point form
unconvertible loan stock
vineyard
wetherllite (hetaeroite)
wmv
wyfold
yellow union