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SSS 2010-02-19

时间:2010-05-20 03:12:54

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(单词翻译)

When you’re looking for a table in a crowded cafeteria, you probably give wide berth1 to the family that sounds like it’s sharing a big dish of whooping2 cough. Well, not if you’re a house finch3, particularly a male. Because a study in the journal Biology Letters shows that male finches actually prefer feeding near males who are visibly ill.

Finches don’t get whooping cough. But they are susceptible4 to infection with something called Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a bug5 that leaves them lethargic6 and sporting a bad case of conjunctivitis, otherwise known as pinkeye. The disease is quite contagious7 and can be passed from one finch to another while dining beak8-to-beak. All the more reason, you’d think, for healthy birds to avoid sitting next to someone with crusty red peepers. Yet male house finches, when given a choice, opt9 to break breadcrumbs with males who are obviously under the weather.

Why risk catching10 a nasty infection when all you really want to catch is a quick bite? Because males infected with Mycoplasma tend to be less aggressive. So eating with the infirm means you’re more likely to wind up with seed in your beak than a beak in your eye.

 


——Karen  Hopkin

 


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1 berth yt0zq     
n.卧铺,停泊地,锚位;v.使停泊
参考例句:
  • She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
  • They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。
2 whooping 3b8fa61ef7ccd46b156de6bf873a9395     
发嗬嗬声的,发咳声的
参考例句:
  • Whooping cough is very prevalent just now. 百日咳正在广泛流行。
  • Have you had your child vaccinated against whooping cough? 你给你的孩子打过百日咳疫苗了吗?
3 finch TkRxS     
n.雀科鸣禽(如燕雀,金丝雀等)
参考例句:
  • This behaviour is commonly observed among several species of finch.这种行为常常可以在几种雀科鸣禽中看到。
  • In Australia,it is predominantly called the Gouldian Finch.在澳大利亚,它主要还是被称之为胡锦雀。
4 susceptible 4rrw7     
adj.过敏的,敏感的;易动感情的,易受感动的
参考例句:
  • Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
  • We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。
5 bug 5skzf     
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器
参考例句:
  • There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
  • The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
6 lethargic 6k9yM     
adj.昏睡的,懒洋洋的
参考例句:
  • He felt too miserable and lethargic to get dressed.他心情低落无精打采,完全没有心思穿衣整装。
  • The hot weather made me feel lethargic.炎热的天气使我昏昏欲睡。
7 contagious TZ0yl     
adj.传染性的,有感染力的
参考例句:
  • It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
  • He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。
8 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。
9 opt a4Szv     
vi.选择,决定做某事
参考例句:
  • They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
  • Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗?
10 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

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