在线英语听力室

科学美国人60秒 SSS 2014-10-21

时间：2014-11-19 07:30:20

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）

 Coyotes. In the last two decades they’ve become common in almost every North American metropolitan1 area. Stanley Gehrt is a wildlife ecologist at Ohio State University who studies urban coyotes in Chicago. He spoke2 October 20th at the ScienceWriters2014 meeting in Columbus, Ohio, about why coyotes are so good at adapting to various environments:

 
“For mammalian carnivores, the 20-kilogram point, 20 to 21 kilograms, is the key here. Because mammalian predators4 that stay below that number can exist on prey5 smaller than them. And they’re often solitary6 or they only form small groups. And they can scavenge and be able to meet their energetic needs.
 
“But it they exceed 20 kilograms in body weight, now they have to eat prey that’s their size or larger to be able to maintain their energetic requirement. So they often are hunting prey larger than them, which requires often sociality. And so that’s why wolves rely a lot on deer, moose, elk7, that they have to hunt cooperatively.
 
“Some of our coyotes get right to that 20-kilogram level, and that’s the perfect spot, because what they can do is they can either exist quite well on prey smaller than them, and that’s typically what they do, or if they have to, if the conditions dictate8 it, then they can hunt and consume prey larger than them. So they can do whatever they need to do. As opposed to the others, you’ll never see foxes taking down prey that are their size or larger, or rarely will you see that. And you won’t see wolves living off of really small prey, rodents9, for any length of time, they will temporarily but not for a long time. So this kind of sets the stage for the perfect predator3 here.
 
“Also, being in the middle means that they are also subjected to predation at times by the larger predators such as wolves and mountain lions, and the occasional bear. So they have to be extra good at hunting their own prey as well as not becoming prey themselves. So it creates a super-smart animal.”

分享到：


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 metropolitan mCyxZ     
adj.大城市的，大都会的
参考例句：
  • Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
  • Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。
2 spoke XryyC     
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
3 predator 11vza     
n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者
参考例句：
  • The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
  • Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。
4 predators 48b965855934a5395e409c1112d94f63     
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）
参考例句：
  • birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
  • The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨
参考例句：
  • 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 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。
7 elk 2ZVzA     
n.麋鹿
参考例句：
  • I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
  • The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。
8 dictate fvGxN     
v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令
参考例句：
  • It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
  • What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？
9 rodents 1ff5f0f12f2930e77fb620b1471a2124     
n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

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。