在线英语听力室

SSS 2012-04-09

时间：2012-05-09 07:16:58

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

（单词翻译）

 This is Scientific American 60 second Science, I am Christopher Intagliata, got t minute. 

 
City dwellers1 compete with the din2 of traffic to be heard. And it’s not just urban humans. Sparrows living in San Francisco's Presidio district actually tweet their tunes4 in a higher register than they did in the past, to be heard over the rumble5 of cars on the nearby Golden Gate Bridge. So says a study in the journal Animal Behavior.
 
Researchers compared white-crowned sparrow songs recorded in 1969 and 2005. Over that time span, ambient noise levels went up. And the bird calls were essentially6 the same—but the more recent one was higher in pitch. The change presumably allows the song to better penetrate7 the traffic noise.
 
The modern calls carry more weight with the birds, too. Because when male sparrows heard the 2005 recordings8 played back in their territory, they responded more aggressively—swooping in on the speaker with a “get outta here" chirp9 and flapping their wings at the suspected intruder.
 
The researchers say most species simply can't handle the noise and cramped10 habitats of the city, and head to the country. The adaptable11 sparrow, however, simply changed its tune3.
 
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American 60 second Science, I am Christopher Intagliata.

分享到：


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dwellers e3f4717dcbd471afe8dae6a3121a3602     
n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 din nuIxs     
n.喧闹声，嘈杂声
参考例句：
  • The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
  • They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。
3 tune NmnwW     
n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整
参考例句：
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
4 tunes 175b0afea09410c65d28e4b62c406c21     
n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调
参考例句：
  • a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
  • When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 rumble PCXzd     
n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说
参考例句：
  • I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
  • We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。
6 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上，实质上，基本上
参考例句：
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
7 penetrate juSyv     
v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解
参考例句：
  • Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
  • The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。
8 recordings 22f9946cd05973582e73e4e3c0239bb7     
n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片
参考例句：
  • a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
  • old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐
9 chirp MrezT     
v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫
参考例句：
  • The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
  • The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。
10 cramped 287c2bb79385d19c466ec2df5b5ce970     
a.狭窄的
参考例句：
  • The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
  • working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作
11 adaptable vJDyI     
adj.能适应的，适应性强的，可改编的
参考例句：
  • He is an adaptable man and will soon learn the new work.他是个适应性很强的人，很快就将学会这种工作。
  • The soil is adaptable to the growth of peanuts.这土壤适宜于花生的生长。

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交，仅供参考，部分栏目没有内容，如果您有更合适的内容，欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。