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科学美国人60秒 SSS 蟋蟀用工具来放大叫声

时间:2019-09-29 02:29:22

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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Jason G. Goldman.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是杰森·古德曼。

Not too long ago we thought that only humans could make and use tools. Then Jane Goodall watched a chimpanzee called David take a small twig1, snap the leaves off, stick it into a termite2 mound3, and lick the insects off the stick. Seems some animals also made and used tools.

不久之前,我们还认为只有人类才能制造和使用工具。可是之后,珍妮·古德尔观察到一只名叫大卫的黑猩猩拿起一根小树枝,揪掉上面的树叶,将树枝插进白蚁丘里,然后舔掉树枝上的昆虫。似乎有些动物也能制造和使用工具。

That observation was in 1960. Since then the club of tool users has expanded to include a wide range of primates4, birds, marine5 mammals, and others. And now: an insect. Maybe.

这是在1960年观察到的情况。自那以后,制造和使用工具的动物不断增加,包括灵长类动物、鸟类、海洋哺乳动物等各个物种。而现在,昆虫也加入到了这一行列中。也许是这样。

Tree crickets use sound to attract mates. And they also fashion and use "baffles"—sound controllers—made of leaves to produce sound more efficiently6. It's a behavior that's been known since at least 1975, but nobody ever really tried to figure out out how and why the bugs7 use the baffles.

树蟋用声音来吸引配偶。它们还会制作并使用“控声板”,这是由树叶制成的声音控制器,可以更有效地发出声音。这种行为至少从1975年开始就为人所知,但从没有人真正试图去弄清树蟋如何以及为何会使用这种控声板。

"The way that tree crickets sing is to raise their wings and vibrate their wings back and forth8. This causes sound to come off each surface of the wing, the front face of the wing and the back face of the wing."

“树蟋的发声方式是抬起翅膀来回振动。这使翅膀的各面——前面和后面——都会发出声音。”

University of Toronto biologist Natasha Mhatre.

多伦多大学的生物学家纳塔莎·马特尔说到。

But sound waves coming off the front of the wings and the sound waves coming off the back of the wings are o?ut of phase with each other. The two sounds interfere9 with each other, making the call quieter.

但是翅膀前面和后面发出的声波彼此不协调。这两种声音会相互干扰,使树蟋叫声变小。

To make a baffle, the cricket carves a small hole in the center of a leaf and sticks its body halfway10 through. The baffle absorbs sound coming from the back of the wings, and therefore lets the sounds coming from the front sides to come through loud and clear.

为了制作控声板,树蟋会在一片树间切一个小洞,然后将半个身体穿过小洞。控声板会吸收翅膀后面发出的声音,这使来自翅膀前面的声音更加响亮和清晰。

"And this prevents what we call acoustic11 short-circuiting, and therefore they make more sound."

“这可以防止所谓的‘声短路',所以它们能发出更响亮的声音。”

But do these structures count as tools?

但这些结构算工具吗?

Mhatre weighed the behavior against the most recent definition for tool use described in the scientific literature. And based upon the requirements of that definition, it would seem that tree crickets do indeed make and use tools. The findings are in the journal Ethology.

马特尔将树蟋的行为与科学文献对工具使用的最新定义进行了比较。基于最新定义的要求,看起来树蟋的确是在制造并使用工具。这项研究结果发表在《动物行为学》期刊上。

So what does this discovery mean for the link between tool use and animal smarts?

那对于工具使用和动物智慧之间的联系,这项发现意味着什么?

"I don't know if I want to say it exactly this way but it actually takes tool use down a notch12. Because if you see tool use in an animal, you can't immediately say the animal is smart. Even if you see optimal13 tool use in the animal, you can't say, well that's a really clever animal. Because actually that could be an inherited behavior."

“我不知道我是否真的想这么说,但这一发现实际上降低了工具的使用。因为,如果你看到一只动物在使用工具,你不能马上就说那个动物有智慧。即使你看到该动物对工具进行了最优使用,你也不能说它非常聪明。因为实际上那可能是一种遗传行为。”

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Jason G. Goldman.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是杰森·古德曼。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 twig VK1zg     
n.小树枝,嫩枝;v.理解
参考例句:
  • He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
  • The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。
2 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。
3 mound unCzhy     
n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫
参考例句:
  • The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
  • The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。
4 primates 9536f12c27d026e37c108bd6fc53dbba     
primate的复数
参考例句:
  • Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
  • Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。
5 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。
6 efficiently ZuTzXQ     
adv.高效率地,有能力地
参考例句:
  • The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
  • Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。
7 bugs e3255bae220613022d67e26d2e4fa689     
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误
参考例句:
  • All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞,都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
9 interfere b5lx0     
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰
参考例句:
  • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
  • When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
10 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
11 acoustic KJ7y8     
adj.听觉的,声音的;(乐器)原声的
参考例句:
  • The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
  • Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。
12 notch P58zb     
n.(V字形)槽口,缺口,等级
参考例句:
  • The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
  • He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。
13 optimal zmDzhM     
adj.最适宜的;最理想的;最令人满意的
参考例句:
  • What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么?
  • Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

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