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SSS 2010-06-01

时间：2010-07-12 06:17:38

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（单词翻译）

This is Scientific America's 60-Second Science. I am Karen Hopkin. This’ll just take a minute.

Mmm, sticky rice. It’s a glutinous1 side dish that’s perfect for practicing your chopstick skills, for sopping2 up curry3 sauce and, amazingly, for building really strong pagodas4.

The Chinese have been building with mortar5 made from sticky rice and limestone6 since the time of the Ming Dynasty. Now scientists have figured out this ancient secret, in a study in the journal Accounts of Chemical Research.

Mud is probably the oldest mortar used to hold together bricks or stones. About 5,000 years ago, China started producing lime for construction. At least 1,500 years ago Chinese masons discovered that mixing in sticky rice soup makes lime even stronger.

Some tombs and city walls that were reinforced with the stuff are still standing7. They’ve survived earthquakes and even modern bulldozers. The key, say the chemists, is amylopectin, a component8 of starch9 that interacts with the calcium10 carbonate in limestone to form a mortar that’s more water-resistant and less prone11 to shrinkage than lime mortar alone.

And that’s true even today. In 2006 traditional sticky rice mortar was used to restore the Shouchang bridge, built some eight centuries ago. Because even for an ancient stone bridge, sometimes sticky rice hits the spot.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific America's 60-Second Science. I am Karen Hopkin.

 


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1 glutinous jeWzj     
adj.粘的，胶状的
参考例句：
  • The sauce was glutinous and tasted artificial.这种酱有些黏，尝起来不是非常地道。
  • The coat covering the soft candies is made from glutinous rice.包裹软糖的江米纸是由糯米做成的。
2 sopping 0bfd57654dd0ce847548745041f49f00     
adj. 浑身湿透的 动词sop的现在分词形式
参考例句：
  • We are sopping with rain. 我们被雨淋湿了。
  • His hair under his straw hat was sopping wet. 隔着草帽，他的头发已经全湿。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
3 curry xnozh     
n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革
参考例句：
  • Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
  • Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。
4 pagodas 4fb2d9696f682cba602953e76b9169d4     
塔，宝塔( pagoda的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • A dream is more romantic than scarlet pagodas by a silver sea. 梦中的风光比银白海洋旁边绯红的宝塔更加旖旎艳丽。
  • Tabinshwehti placed new spires on the chief Mon pagodas. 莽瑞体在孟人的主要佛塔上加建了新的塔顶。
5 mortar 9EsxR     
n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合
参考例句：
  • The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
  • The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。
6 limestone w3XyJ     
n.石灰石
参考例句：
  • Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
  • Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。
7 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
8 component epSzv     
n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的
参考例句：
  • Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
  • Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。
9 starch YrAyK     
n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆
参考例句：
  • Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
  • I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。
10 calcium sNdzY     
n.钙(化学符号Ca)
参考例句：
  • We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
  • Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。
11 prone 50bzu     
adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的
参考例句：
  • Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
  • He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

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