时间:2018-12-28 作者:英语课 分类:初学者听力文摘精选


英语课

Picture this: A foraging 1 squirrel comes into range of a hungry, coiled rattlesnake. The squirrel realizes the danger too late--the rattlesnake strikes out and bites, fangs 2 pumping venom 3 deep into the squirrel's small body.

The poison doesn't kill immediately, but the squirrel's death warrant is signed all the same. Even as he squirms away from the snake and bounds to his hiding place in the underbrush, the venom works its way through his system, dissolving his tissues and eventually killing 4 him.



Meanwhile the snake slithers after the departed squirrel, taking his time. Uncannily, he homes right in on the squirrel's hiding place. How did the snake know where his prey 5 was hiding? Do snakes have some kind of magical sixth sense?



Actually, snakes DO have a kind sixth sense, but it has nothing to do with magic.



Although snakes often have very sharp vision, a sense of smell, and a sensitivity to heat and vibrations 6, their most important sensory 7 system is one that we humans don't share with them at all. This sixth sense is called the "vomeronasal system," and the sense organs for this are two tiny, bulb-shaped structures located on the roof of the snake's mouth. This sensory system is somewhat similar to smell--in that it senses the presence of chemicals in the snake's environment. Snakes can use this extra sense to detect the faint chemical traces left by departing prey, or they can use it to track down a mate.



On our next program we'll learn how snakes use their flicking 8, forked tongue to aid this sixth sense in the quest for prey. 



1 foraging
v.搜寻(食物),尤指动物觅(食)( forage的现在分词 );(尤指用手)搜寻(东西)
  • They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句
2 fangs
n.(尤指狗和狼的)长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 );(蛇的)毒牙;罐座
  • The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 venom
n.毒液,恶毒,痛恨
  • The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
  • In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上,毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。
4 killing
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
5 prey
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。
6 vibrations
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》
7 sensory
adj.知觉的,感觉的,知觉器官的
  • Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
  • The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。
8 flicking
(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的现在分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等)
  • He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马,之后挥动了缰绳。
  • There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。
学英语单词
17OHS
a clip on the ear
above all measure
acanthiomeatal line
acnode
aeronautical research laboratory
airborne target designator
Aq Qoyunlu
area color code
at sb's disposal
binary-to-analog converter
body paint off
buck-in
canyon-type pump
carrying broker
chukotskiy avtonomnyy okrug (chukotka)
clomocycline
column stripping
control desk for maintenance and supervision
cryogenically-cooled parametric amplifier
depth charge exploder
detergency comparator
diffuse origin
Dyer County
empyreumatic oil
floating chase mould
Flourensia
forbiddances
forked lightning
forwarding charges
gantry truck
half wave
helispherical
hob milling cutter
hows-to
hyperbolic arch
illegal vending
industrial electrical equipment
innocent third party
intenta
introductive
Inyangani
it is certain that
known technology
lacuna Blessig's
laka (hawaii)
landing point
Latimer, Hugh
leap-frog
load carrying
lucky dogs
Maisborn
make-up girl
mauve pale
melanconium shiraianum
moon the giant
multi-engine installation
nitrosomethylurea
no more
nonrepeated run approach
notman
numerical keyboard
operation code bit
ostentator
percutaneous carbon dioxide monitoring
phone spacing
pillow lava
Pontchartrain, L.
push pull
Rhizacyathus
runner collar
s trumpet
scandanavian
sealing ring bushing
sean o'faolain
second-order intermodulation
serobacterin
simple quinoline alkaloid
single phase LOM
slip torque
slow control
special sort
spreading machine
spring leaf retainer
stampee
stowrack
Strobilanthes lachenensis
take ... amiss
Tangmok-ri
the best of the joke
thrust pressure
tichodarteriitis
Timolate
torsion deformation
trade credit on exports
tugboats
uncommercial
upsy
urbanized area
vaginal canal
valve position switch
Willard, Emma Hart