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国家地理:Mother Fish Mouthful 慈鲷鱼妈妈

时间：2008-05-30 00:59:03

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When mom tells these babies "it's a scary world out there, so be careful", she's saying a mouthful. Cichlid fish here in Africa's Lake Tanganyika have a big problem with predators2. Other fish will do whatever it takes to get cichlid babies and gobble 'em up. Just scaring'em off isn't the answer.

The cichlid has to create a safe haven3 for its young, using its mouth as both shovel4 and bucket, then it moves its wriggling5 brood to safety, mouthful by mouthful. When they are not in the hole, the cichlid babies are in mom's mouth. That's why the cichlid are called "mouth brooding fish". Mom's mouth is both nest and nursery. Like all good moms, this one lets her babies out to play, and then provides protection when it's time to come home. It seems like a foolproof system for keeping the young ones safe. But it's not.

Let's introduce a predator1 that is so wily, it's able to hijack6 the evolutionary7 process itself. These catfish8 are notorious parasites9. They are after the eggs of the cichlid, but the cichlid fiercely defend their young. The catfish're able to pick off a few eggs, and they also drop a few of their own eggs, knowing that the cichlid mothers will pick them up, thinking they are her own. And so the cichlid becomes a surrogate mother to a predator. The catfish take off, never knowing what becomes of their young ones. Mother does her job, letting the brood grow in her mouth. Now, as in a bad horror movie, the catfish eggs hatch first, and the baby catfish feast on the cichlid babies, gobbling down every single one. Finally, the cichlid mother releases, not her own children, but the catfish cannibal kitties. Ironically, the cichlid whose brood they destroyed is the only mother they'll ever know. More irony10, the cichlid mom fails to sense the switch. She treats the catfish as if they were her own, scooping11 them up to protect them at the first hint of danger. The catfish have clearly won this round in the eternal fight for evolutionary dominance.


gobble: To devour12 in large, greedy gulps13. 狼吞虎咽
foolproof: Designed so as to be impervious14 to human incompetence15, error, or misuse16 傻瓜用的
wily: Full of wiles17; cunning. 诡计多端的；狡猾的
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1 predator 11vza     
n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者
参考例句：
  • The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
  • Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。
2 predators 48b965855934a5395e409c1112d94f63     
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）
参考例句：
  • birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
  • The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 haven 8dhzp     
n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所
参考例句：
  • It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
  • The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。
4 shovel cELzg     
n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出
参考例句：
  • He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
  • He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。
5 wriggling d9a36b6d679a4708e0599fd231eb9e20     
v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕
参考例句：
  • The baby was wriggling around on my lap. 婴儿在我大腿上扭来扭去。
  • Something that looks like a gray snake is wriggling out. 有一种看来象是灰蛇的东西蠕动着出来了。 来自辞典例句
6 hijack KdNxS     
v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫
参考例句：
  • Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
  • The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。
7 evolutionary Ctqz7m     
adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的
参考例句：
  • Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
  • These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。
8 catfish 2OHzu     
n.鲶鱼
参考例句：
  • Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
  • We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。
9 parasites a8076647ef34cfbbf9d3cb418df78a08     
寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫
参考例句：
  • These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
  • Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。
10 irony P4WyZ     
n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄
参考例句：
  • She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
  • In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
11 scooping 5efbad5bbb4dce343848e992b81eb83d     
n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）
参考例句：
  • Heated ice cream scoop is used for scooping really cold ice cream. 加热的冰淇淋勺是用来舀非常凉的冰淇淋的。 来自互联网
  • The scoop-up was the key phase during a scooping cycle. 3个区间中，铲取区间是整个作业循环的关键。 来自互联网
12 devour hlezt     
v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷
参考例句：
  • Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
  • Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。
13 gulps e43037bffa62a52065f6c7f91e4ef158     
n.一大口（尤指液体）( gulp的名词复数 )v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的第三人称单数 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住
参考例句：
  • He often gulps down a sob. 他经常忍气吞声地生活。 来自辞典例句
  • JERRY: Why don't you make a point with your own doctor? (George gulps) What's wrong? 杰瑞：你为啥不对你自个儿的医生表明立场？有啥问题吗？ 来自互联网
14 impervious 2ynyU     
adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的
参考例句：
  • He was completely impervious to criticism.他对批评毫不在乎。
  • This material is impervious to gases and liquids.气体和液体都透不过这种物质。
15 incompetence o8Uxt     
n.不胜任，不称职
参考例句：
  • He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
  • She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。
16 misuse XEfxx     
n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用
参考例句：
  • It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
  • He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。
17 wiles 9e4z1U     
n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • All her wiles were to persuade them to buy the goods. 她花言巧语想打动他们买这些货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The woman used all her wiles to tempt him into following her. 那女人用尽了自己的诱骗本领勾引着他尾随而去。 来自《用法词典》

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