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科学美国人60秒 SSS 放屁甲虫 毒气般的存在

时间：2019-09-29 02:17:29

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（单词翻译）

Daylight Brings Toxic1 Beetles3 Together For Safety

If you’re a skunk4, or fox, or very strange person, and you poke5 your nose under a rock in the desert Southwest looking for something to eat, you might be surprised to see dozens of bright blue and red beetles scurrying6 to and fro. And you might be really curious as they quickly turn their butts7 toward you.

如果你是一只臭鼬，一只狐狸，或者是一个非常奇怪的人，当你在西南部沙漠的一块岩石下寻找食物时，可能会惊讶地发现几十只鲜艳的蓝色和红色的甲虫跑来跑去。你可能真的很好奇，因为他们很快就把屁股转向你。

But the curiosity wouldn’t last long: a couple thousandths of a second later, a fusillade of boiling hot, toxic spray would drive off both you and your musings.

但好奇心不会持续太久:几千秒之后，一股滚烫的、有毒的喷剂会驱散你和你的沉思。

The insects with the spraying butts are fittingly named bombardier beetles. And they can fire off 500 pulses per second of caustic8 defensive9 chemicals. What also makes them unusual is that, even though the nocturnal beetles are solitary10 by night, dozens or even hundreds of them—of various bombardier species—snuggle together under rocks during the day.

这种有喷射屁股的昆虫被称为放屁甲虫。它们每秒能发射500次腐蚀性防御化学物质。另一个不同寻常之处在于，尽管夜间活动的甲虫在夜间是独居的，但白天却有数十甚至数百种不同种类的放屁甲虫依偎在岩石下。

“It's actually a fairly unusual phenomenon for different species to regularly associate with one another.”

“对于不同的物种来说，经常彼此联系是一种相当不寻常的现象。”

University of Arizona entomologist Wendy Moore.

亚利桑那大学昆虫学家温迪·摩尔说道。

“But these guys are sheltering together and they're actually doing it intentionally11 you know because they have more options. There's plenty of options within the habitat that they could actually segregate12 out by species, and they don’t.”

“但这些家伙躲在一起，实际上它们是有意这样做的，因为他们会有更多的选择。在栖息地中有很多选择，它们实际上可以根据物种进行隔离，但它们没有。

In fact, when Moore and her colleagues put beetles into a setting where they had cozy13 solitary hiding places, aswell as hiding places already packed with other beetles, the newcomers invariably chose to shelter with others under the crowded rocks. The study is in the journal PLOS One.

事实上，当摩尔和同事们把甲虫放到一个舒适的单独的藏身之处，或者已经挤满其他甲虫的藏身之处时，新来者总是选择和其他甲虫一起躲在拥挤的岩石下。这项研究发表在PLOS One杂志上。

Moore says buddying14 up may help protect the insects from predators16.

摩尔说，亲近可能有助于保护昆虫免受捕食者的伤害。

“Bombardier beetles produce benzoquinones which are really powerful as a matter of defense17, but these other beetles produce other kinds of defensive chemicals that probably contribute to a big chemical cocktail18 for a vertebrate predator15 that might find them during the day.”

“放屁甲虫会产生苯并醌类化合物，作为一种防御手段，苯并醌类化合物非常强大，但这些甲虫也会产生其他种类的防御性化学物质，这些化学物质可能会为脊椎动物捕食者提供一种巨大的化学混合物，导致可能会在白天找到它们。”

In addition, a lone19 beetle2, no matter how brightly colored, might not scare off a predator as effectively as a whole bunch of beetles.

此外，一只单独的甲虫，不管它的颜色有多鲜艳，都不可能像一群甲虫那样有效地吓跑捕食者。

“If you imagine being a predator, even a human, turning over a rock and seeing hundreds of these blue and red beetles going in every direction, that serves as a bigger advertisement to them of their toxicity20. It may help them be able to avoid attack.”

如果你想象自己是一个捕食者，甚至是一个人，翻过一块石头，看到数以百计的蓝色和红色甲虫朝各个方向移动，这有助于扩大它们的毒性。可能有助于它们避免攻击。”

So whatever you can say about an encounter with these fearsome little insects, you can’t say that you weren’t warned.

所以无论你能说什么关于遇到这些可怕的小昆虫，你不能说没有收到警告哦~


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1 toxic inSwc     
adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的
参考例句：
  • The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
  • There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。
2 beetle QudzV     
n.甲虫，近视眼的人
参考例句：
  • A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
  • He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。
3 beetles e572d93f9d42d4fe5aa8171c39c86a16     
n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
4 skunk xERzE     
n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥
参考例句：
  • That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
  • The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。
5 poke 5SFz9     
n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢
参考例句：
  • We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
  • Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。
6 scurrying 294847ddc818208bf7d590895cd0b7c9     
v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句
7 butts 3da5dac093efa65422cbb22af4588c65     
笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂
参考例句：
  • The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。
  • The house butts to a cemetery. 这所房子和墓地相连。
8 caustic 9rGzb     
adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的
参考例句：
  • He opened his mouth to make a caustic retort.他张嘴开始进行刻薄的反击。
  • He enjoys making caustic remarks about other people.他喜欢挖苦别人。
9 defensive buszxy     
adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的
参考例句：
  • Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
  • The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。
10 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。
11 intentionally 7qOzFn     
ad.故意地，有意地
参考例句：
  • I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
  • The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。
12 segregate eExys     
adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离
参考例句：
  • We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
  • Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。
13 cozy ozdx0     
adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的
参考例句：
  • I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
  • We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
14 buddying 41fe96b58c0672035d379934158ee497     
v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的现在分词 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人
参考例句：
  • You start buddy--buddying with them and they'll get knocked off. 你跟他们可亲热不得，一亲热他们就得掉脑袋。 来自辞典例句
15 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。
16 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》
17 defense AxbxB     
n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩
参考例句：
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
18 cocktail Jw8zNt     
n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物
参考例句：
  • We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
  • At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。
19 lone Q0cxL     
adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的
参考例句：
  • A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
  • She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。
20 toxicity InYwc     
n.毒性，毒力
参考例句：
  • The hoarse grunt or squeal is characteristic of toxicity.嘶哑的哼声和叫声是中毒的特征。
  • Dieldrin is related to aldrin,and its toxicity to earthworms is similar.狄氏剂与艾氏剂有关，对蚯蚓的毒性是相似的。

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