SSS 2010-11-30

时间：2010-12-07 07:30:19

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（单词翻译）

This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Steve Mirsky. Got a minute？
The November 26th issue of the journal Science included a study showing that the extinction¹ of the dinosaurs² some 65 million years ago allowed puny³ mammals to get really big. But well before all that happened, another event triggered a different burst of evolutionary⁴ activity.
A new study finds that about 300 million years ago, the tropical rainforests along the equator fell apart. The familiar culprit—global warming.
Present-day Europe and North America were on the equator back then, and were covered with rainforests. But global warming made things even hotter and drier.
The expansive rainforests broke up into smaller fragments, and reptile⁵ populations became isolated⁶ from each other in the fragments. Such geographical⁷ isolation⁸ allows different populations to evolve in different directions, which led to a great increase in reptile diversity. The research appears in the journal Geology. The explosion in reptiles⁹ ultimately led to the evolution of the dinosaurs, which dominated the planet until they fell victim to the massive impact that allowed us mammals to take over. As Vonnegut would say, so it goes.
Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Steve Mirsky.

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1 extinction
n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种
参考例句：
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。

2 dinosaurs
n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西
参考例句：
The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。来自《简明英汉词典》 Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。来自《简明英汉词典》

3 puny
adj.微不足道的，弱小的
参考例句：
The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。 Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙，身体还不壮，还不能干活。

4 evolutionary
adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的
参考例句：
Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。 These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

5 reptile
n.爬行动物；两栖动物
参考例句：
The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。 So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

6 isolated
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句：
His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。 Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

7 geographical
adj.地理的；地区(性)的
参考例句：
The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。 These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

8 isolation
n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离
参考例句：
The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。 He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

9 reptiles
n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。来自《简明英汉词典》 Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

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