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科学美国人60秒 SSS 蜜蜂更偏爱含有尼古丁的花朵

时间:2017-07-04 08:17:03

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(单词翻译)

Bees Prefer Flowers That Proffer1 Nicotine2 蜜蜂更偏爱含有尼古丁的花朵

We humans enjoy coffee and tea, to give our brains a caffeine boost. And bees sometimes sip3 nectar that naturally contains caffeine, which seems to enhance their memory. Now a study suggests that bees enjoy another familiar drug produced by plants: nicotine.

人类喜饮咖啡和茶,以使大脑受到咖啡因的刺激。然而,有时蜜蜂吸到天然含有咖啡因的花蜜,似乎也会增强它们的记忆力。目前一项研究表明,蜜蜂们也喜爱另一种由植物制造出的我们熟识的药物:尼古丁。

"As it turns out, not just in humans, but even the bees seem to have difficulties quitting." Lars Chittka, a professor of behavioral and sensory4 ecology at Queen Mary University of London.

“事实证明,不仅是人类,就连蜜蜂似乎也很难戒烟。”伦敦玛丽女王大学行为与感官生态学教授Lars Chittka说道。

Chittka and his colleagues studied bumblebees as they visited fake flowers that contained varying levels of nicotine. Unnaturally5 high nicotine concentrations deterred6 the bees. But at real-world levels, the drug attracted bees. And they even learned a flower's color faster, if that flower offered a nicotine fix.

Chittka和他的同事研究了吸食过含有不同程度尼古丁的假花的大黄蜂。尼古丁浓度异常高会使蜜蜂望而却步。但是当浓度保持在自然水平时,这时药物就会吸引蜜蜂。如果这种花一直提供尼古丁,蜜蜂们甚至会更快地识别这种花的颜色。

Sometimes bees paid a steep price for this preference. "They returned actually to flowers that had previously7 sold them nicotine, so to speak, even if these flowers no longer contained nectar."

有时蜜蜂会为这种偏爱付出昂贵的代价。“实际上它们会回来吸食以前曾给它们供给过尼古丁的花朵——即使这些花不再含有花蜜。”

Which might give nicotine-pushing plants, like tobacco, an edge. "It provides these plant species with an unfair advantage over competing plants, because they can retain the faithful services of pollinators, even if they're offering suboptimal nectar in this case."

这可能会为制造尼古丁较多的植物——比如烟草——带来一种优势。“它为这些植物物种提供了不公平的竞争优势——即使是在这些植物提供的花蜜是次优水平的情况下,它们依然能够保有传粉者的忠实服务。”

The results are in the journal Scientific Reports.

该研究结果发表在《科学报告》杂志上。

And if caffeine and nicotine have these effects on bees? Perhaps natural floral pharmacies8 stock other drugs too—that enhance pollination9, and give bees a buzz.

如果咖啡因和尼古丁会对蜜蜂产生这些影响?那么也许“天然的植物药房”还存有其他能够增加授粉几率的药物促使着蜜蜂们为之奔忙。


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1 proffer FBryF     
v.献出,赠送;n.提议,建议
参考例句:
  • He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes.他站起身,伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。
  • I proffer to lend him one.我表示愿意借他一个。
2 nicotine QGoxJ     
n.(化)尼古丁,烟碱
参考例句:
  • Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
  • Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
3 sip Oxawv     
v.小口地喝,抿,呷;n.一小口的量
参考例句:
  • She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
  • Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。
4 sensory Azlwe     
adj.知觉的,感觉的,知觉器官的
参考例句:
  • Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
  • The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。
5 unnaturally 3ftzAP     
adv.违反习俗地;不自然地;勉强地;不近人情地
参考例句:
  • Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮,但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 deterred 6509d0c471f59ae1f99439f51e8ea52d     
v.阻止,制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣,可他却不罢休。
  • Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句
7 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
8 pharmacies a19950a91ea1800ed5273a89663d2855     
药店
参考例句:
  • Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
  • Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店,和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网
9 pollination FOGxH     
n.授粉
参考例句:
  • The flowers get pollination by insects.这些花通过昆虫授粉。
  • Without sufficient pollination,the growth of the corn is stunted.没有得到充足的授粉,谷物的长势就会受阻。

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