国家地理-2008-05-05 Vampire Bats 恐怖的吸血蝙蝠

（单词翻译）

Here are some happy vampire¹ bats. What's causing all this giddiness? A great, big, fat meal has arrived. You can practically hear these bats going "Oh, boy! Oh, boy!" Better yet, the victim is asleep. This is gonna be like, well, taking blood from a sleeping pig.

The bats have heat sensors² in their noses. This thermal³ process lets us see what the bat sees. The bat wants to feed where the pig's skin glows white hot. Let the dining commence. Like two wildcatters fighting over a fresh oil strike, these bats battle over a particularly rich feeding spot. Four vampire bats, one sleeping pig. Why doesn't the pig wake up? Because the bat's teeth are razor-sharp and cut painlessly. The bats can sip⁴ to their hearts' content with the pig none the wiser. The bat's saliva⁵ actually prevents the blood from clotting⁶. As the bat sips⁷, the blood runs up a glue on the underside of its tongue. Mother Nature thinks out everything. These vampire bats can feast for a full half hour, drinking half their weight in blood.

In a month of feedings, five vampire bats can guzzle⁸ almost a gallon of pig's blood. In this case, it's the bats making a pig of themselves, not the pig.

1. giddiness: n. 晕眩
feeling slightly sick and unable to balance, because everything seems to be moving

2. thermal: adj
relating to or caused by heat

3. wildcatter: n.
A wildcatter is a person who drills oil wells in areas that are not in advance known to be oil fields.

4. razor-sharp: adj.
as sharp as a razor

5. be none the wiser: idiom
to not be aware of something

6. saliva: n. 唾液
Saliva is the watery⁹ liquid that forms in your mouth and helps you to chew and digest food.

7. guzzle: v.
to eat or drink a lot of something, eagerly and quickly - usually showing disapproval¹⁰

8. make a pig of oneself: infml

to eat too much