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科学美国人60秒 SSS 北极海鹦也会使用工具

时间:2020-12-02 03:03:08

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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列,我是克里斯托弗·因塔格里塔。

We humans used to think that our ability to use tools made us different from all other animals. But then we found out that chimps1 use tools, too, such as twigs2 to gather termite3 snacks and rocks to hammer open nuts. And some birds use tools—like brainy New Caledonian crows, which can assemble multipart tools to solve puzzle boxes presented to them by researchers.

我们人类过去认为,使用工具的能力使我们区别于其他动物。但后来我们发现黑猩猩也能使用工具,比如用树枝收集白蚁小吃和用石头砸开坚果。有些鸟类也会使用工具,比如聪明的新喀里多尼亚乌鸦,它们能集合多种工具来解决研究人员给它们的难题箱。

Now we've learned that a different group of birds—seabirds—can also use tools. Scientists spied on Atlantic puffins, the distinctive4 tuxedoed5 birds with bright orange beaks7. And in 2014 the observers spotted8 one floating on the sea off Wales, scratching its back with a stick.

现在我们知道,另一种鸟类——海鸟——也可以使用工具。科学家观察了北极海鹦,这是一种独特鸟类,其喙呈明亮的橙色,仿佛穿着燕尾服。2014年,观察人员发现,一只漂浮在威尔士海域的北极海鹦,在用棍子挠背。

Then, in 2018, the researchers caught another tool-using puffin on camera, on Iceland's Grímsey Island.

之后,2018年,研究人员在冰岛格里姆西岛拍摄到另一种使用工具的海鹦。

(CLIP: Video)

(视频剪辑录音)

In a short video clip, a puffin can be seen grabbing a stick with its beak6 and then using it to scratch its chest—perhaps to dislodge one of the seabird ticks infesting9 the island that summer.

在一个视频片段中,我们可以看到一只海鹦用嘴叼着棍子,然后用它刮擦胸部,这可能是为了弄出那年夏天在该岛泛滥的一种海鸟蜱虫。

The details about puffin proficiency10 are in the Proceedings11 of the National Academy of Sciences.

海鹦能力的详细信息刊登在《美国国家科学院学报》上。

Study author Annette Fayet told Scientific American in an e-mail that these two instances don't prove that seabirds are highly intelligent—though they could be smarter than we thought. But what is certain, she says, is that puffin populations are crashing, and it's largely the fault of us and our tools—which have led to overfishing, climate change, marine12 pollution and the presence of invasive species, all of which make seabird life harder. It would be nice to keep puffins and their compatriots around and find out just what else we don't know that they're capable of.

该研究作者安妮特·法伊在电子邮件中告诉《科学美国人》,这两个例子并不能证明海鸟拥有高度智慧,尽管它们可能比我们想象的要聪明。但她表示,有一点可以肯定,那就是海鹦种群正在瓦解,这很大程度上要归咎于我们和我们的工具,由此导致了过度捕捞、气候变化、海洋污染和入侵物种,所有这些都使海鸟的生活更加艰难。让海鹦及其同胞留在这里,发现它们还有什么我们尚未知晓的能力,会是件很美好的事情。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 chimps 2a09048610e52de775e2fe426c063f06     
(非洲)黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少,也太接近于人类,不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
  • And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类,就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
2 twigs 17ff1ed5da672aa443a4f6befce8e2cb     
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
  • Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。
3 termite npTwE     
n.白蚁
参考例句:
  • The termite control was also probed into further in this text.本文还进一步探讨了白蚁的防治方法。
  • Termite often destroys wood.白蚁经常破坏树木。
4 distinctive Es5xr     
adj.特别的,有特色的,与众不同的
参考例句:
  • She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
  • This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。
5 tuxedoed 1c2f21a796d331eab15e6cb65cf9ee81     
adj.穿无尾礼服的,穿(夜)小礼服的
参考例句:
6 beak 8y1zGA     
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
参考例句:
  • The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
  • This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
7 beaks 66bf69cd5b0e1dfb0c97c1245fc4fbab     
n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 );鹰钩嘴;尖鼻子;掌权者
参考例句:
  • Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的,嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
  • Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网
8 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
9 infesting 528ab9bf44d227960f1bc5e4c6bf8e03     
v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的现在分词 );遍布于
参考例句:
  • Crime and drugs are infesting the inner cities. 市中心充斥着犯罪与毒品。 来自辞典例句
  • They are mainly forest scavengers infesting damp, rotted wood. 它们主要是些森林食腐动物,多侵害潮湿腐朽的木材。 来自辞典例句
10 proficiency m1LzU     
n.精通,熟练,精练
参考例句:
  • He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺,技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
  • How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何?
11 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
12 marine 77Izo     
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
参考例句:
  • Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

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