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科学美国人60秒 SSS 盯紧海鸥 避免损失午餐

时间:2020-06-02 06:26:48

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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。

No trip to the beach would be complete without a swarm1 of hungry gulls3. But don't get distracted. Because one of those gulls may soon go after your food. "There's a very small proportion of extremely bold individuals that seem to ruin the reputation of the whole species."

碰不到一群饥饿海鸥的海边旅行是不完整的。但不要分心。因为其中一只海鸥可能很快就要追逐你的食物。“极少数非常大胆的个体似乎毁掉了整个物种的名声。”

Neeltje Boogert, an animal behavior researcher at the University of Exeter. She studied the food-snatching habits of gulls in seaside towns in the southern U.K. and found that very few—only the boldest—would actually take the bait. Or make that the bite.

埃克塞特大学的动物行为研究员尼尔杰·布格特说到。她在英国南部沿海城镇研究海鸥抢食的习惯,她发现极少数——只有最大胆的海鸥——会上钩。或者咬一口人类的食物。

The experiment went like this: A researcher crouched4 near a gull2, then set out a plastic bag of french fries. For those brave gulls that then started to approach, the researcher either stared straight at the gull, as in "I see you, thief," or the researcher simply looked away. And it turns out, staring down the gulls made them hesitate 21 seconds on average before approaching the fries.

实验是这样进行的:一名研究人员蹲在一只海鸥附近,然后摆上一塑料袋薯条。对那些开始靠近薯条的勇敢海鸥,研究人员要么直直地盯着它们,就像在说“我看到你了,小偷”,要么只是把目光移开。结果发现,平均来说,目不转睛地盯着海鸥会让它们犹豫21秒后再靠近薯条。

The results are in the journal Biology Letters.

研究结果发表在《生物学通讯》期刊上。

Gulls aren't the only ones who behave better when being watched. A 2006 study found that people paid three times as much for their drinks at an unattended honor-system coffee bar when just an image of staring eyes was displayed nearby.

海鸥并不是唯一在被监视时表现得更好的动物。2006年进行的一项研究发现,只要在实行荣誉制度的无人咖啡吧附近放一张瞪大眼睛的图片,人们在咖啡吧购买饮品时就会付三倍的价钱。

As for the gulls, Boogert points out that we need to learn to live with them—because the particular species she studied, the herring gull, is on the U.K.'s Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.

至于海鸥,布格特指出,我们需要学会和他们共存——因为她研究的特殊物种银鸥,在英国濒危鸟类红色名录上。

"The thing is: people don't want to have a seaside holiday without gulls there. So it's just trying to find ways to harmoniously5 live with one of the only wildlife species we still have around in these coastal6 areas."

“问题是,人们不希望在海边度假时没有海鸥。因此,我们要试图找到方法,与这些沿海地区尚存的唯一野生物种和谐相处。”

So don't turn your back on the gulls, she says. Both figuratively for conserving7 the species and, of course, literally—for conserving your lunch.

所以不要对海鸥置之不理。她说,这既比喻保护这个物种,当然也是为了保护你的午餐。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 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 swarm dqlyj     
n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入
参考例句:
  • There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
  • A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。
2 gull meKzM     
n.鸥;受骗的人;v.欺诈
参考例句:
  • The ivory gull often follows polar bears to feed on the remains of seal kills.象牙海鸥经常跟在北极熊的后面吃剩下的海豹尸体。
  • You are not supposed to gull your friends.你不应该欺骗你的朋友。
3 gulls 6fb3fed3efaafee48092b1fa6f548167     
n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句
4 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
5 harmoniously 6d3506f359ad591f490ad1ca8a719241     
和谐地,调和地
参考例句:
  • The president and Stevenson had worked harmoniously over the last eighteen months. 在过去一年半里,总统和史蒂文森一起工作是融洽的。
  • China and India cannot really deal with each other harmoniously. 中国和印度这两只猛兽不可能真心实意地和谐相处。
6 coastal WWiyh     
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
  • This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
7 conserving b57084daff81d3ab06526e08a5a6ecc3     
v.保护,保藏,保存( conserve的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植,无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
  • Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约,符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

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