在线英语听力室

科学美国人60秒 SSS Facts about Groundhogs Other Than Their Poor Meteorology

时间:2020-03-10 23:53:14

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)

Groundhogs are less accurate at weather forecasting than are coin flips2, but they are nonetheless pretty interesting critters.

Full Transcript3 

February 2: the day each year when we look toward an oversized rodent4 to find out how much more winter we’ll endure. In honor of the occasion, here’s seven things you might not have known about the groundhog.

1. The groundhog’s scientific name is Marmota monax, making it one of 14 types of marmot that can be found in the Northern Hemisphere. Marmots are members of the Sciuridae family, which makes the groundhog just a really big ground squirrel.

2. As just noted5, groundhogs are a type of marmot. So you can accurately6 say, “Hey, the marmot saw its shadow.” You could also refer to them as woodchucks, whistle-pigs or land beavers7, depending on where you’re from. The name whistle-pig comes from the high-pitched whistle that groundhogs emit to warn the rest of a colony about danger. And contrary to what you might think, the name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood. It’s derived8 from the Algonquian name for the animal, wuchak. A big enough groundhog could nevertheless chuck some wood.

3. Male and female groundhogs tend to occupy the same territories, year after year. Females generally keep to themselves, with only around a 10 percent overlap9 during the late spring, as they try to expand their home ranges. Males also tend to avoid other males, but they have much larger home ranges. Their territories can overlap with as many as three females’ territories.

4. Infant groundhogs are usually born around mid-April. And after just two or three months, they’re ready to set off on their own. But around a third of juvenile10 females stay at home for nearly a year, right up until Mom gives birth to the next litter of babies. While Dad has his own burrow11 elsewhere, he visits each of his mates’ burrows12 every day until the infants disperse13.

5. Groundhogs salute14 each other with a unique greeting. Groundhog number one approaches and touches his or her nose to the mouth of groundhog number two. Scientists call this behavior “naso-oral contact.”

6. The animals might be called groundhogs, but they are quite adept15 at climbing trees. So next time you’re in groundhog territory, look up!

7. When it comes to accurately predicting the weather, the famous Punxsutawney Phil has been correct only around 36 percent of the time since 1969. That’s according to an analysis by meteorologists from Weather Underground. You’d have a higher rate of accuracy by simply flipping16 a coin. But nobody’s gonna come to Punxsutawney to watch a coin flip1.

—Jason G. Goldman

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 flip Vjwx6     
vt.快速翻动;轻抛;轻拍;n.轻抛;adj.轻浮的
参考例句:
  • I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书,看来似乎很有趣。
  • Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。
2 flips 7337c22810735b9942f519ddc7d4e919     
轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 ); 按(开关); 快速翻转; 急挥
参考例句:
  • Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时,打开电视收看节目。
  • He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。
3 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
4 rodent DsNyh     
n.啮齿动物;adj.啮齿目的
参考例句:
  • When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜,这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。
  • This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。
5 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
6 accurately oJHyf     
adv.准确地,精确地
参考例句:
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
7 beavers 87070e8082105b943967bbe495b7d9f7     
海狸( beaver的名词复数 ); 海狸皮毛; 棕灰色; 拼命工作的人
参考例句:
  • In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。
  • Thus do the beavers, thus do the bees, thus do men. 海狸是这样做的,蜜蜂是这样做的,人也是这样做的。
8 derived 6cddb7353e699051a384686b6b3ff1e2     
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取
参考例句:
  • Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 overlap tKixw     
v.重叠,与…交叠;n.重叠
参考例句:
  • The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
  • Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。
10 juvenile OkEy2     
n.青少年,少年读物;adj.青少年的,幼稚的
参考例句:
  • For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人,他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
  • Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。
11 burrow EsazA     
vt.挖掘(洞穴);钻进;vi.挖洞;翻寻;n.地洞
参考例句:
  • Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
  • The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。
12 burrows 6f0e89270b16e255aa86501b6ccbc5f3     
n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘(洞穴),挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 );翻寻
参考例句:
  • The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
  • A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句
13 disperse ulxzL     
vi.使分散;使消失;vt.分散;驱散
参考例句:
  • The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
  • The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。
14 salute rYzx4     
vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮
参考例句:
  • Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
  • The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。
15 adept EJIyO     
adj.老练的,精通的
参考例句:
  • When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相,我不是内行。
  • He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。
16 flipping b69cb8e0c44ab7550c47eaf7c01557e4     
讨厌之极的
参考例句:
  • I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆!
  • Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

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。