Fun Facts-5 活用知识搜查线-5
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2013年5月20日
- 最后更新于 2023年12月18日
- 发布于 2013年5月20日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：385
课文朗读
课文讲解
Q: It’s likely that you’ve noticed an insect struggling in the sticky webbing of a spider. But why doesn’t a spider get stuck to its own web? 你可能见过昆虫在具有黏性的蜘蛛网中挣扎，但为什么蜘蛛不会陷在自己的网上呢？
(A) Spiders build the webs so they’re immune to their traps. 网是蜘蛛结的，因此牠们对自己的陷阱免疫
(B) Spiders are careful to avoid all the sticky parts of the web. 蜘蛛很小心地避开网上所有粘性的部分
(C) Spiders use small hooks on their feet to avoid getting stuck. 蜘蛛以脚上的小钩子避免陷在网上
A: If you guessed C, then you’ve avoided a sticky situation. Spiders have two to three small claws on each of their eight legs. These tiny claws grip onto the threads of the web and allow spiders to swing themselves around. If the spider somehow trips up and lands on their own web, their oily body will help them to avoid capture.
如果你猜C，那你已避开了一个棘手的处境。蜘蛛的八条腿上各有两到三只爪子，这些微小的爪子紧抓在蜘蛛网的蛛丝上，让蜘蛛得以轻松走动。假使蜘蛛因某种原因失足跌在自己的网上，牠们带有油性的身体会帮助自己避免被捕捉。
Q: Domesticated animals have a habit of burying things. Dogs will bury bones and cats will bury their waste, but why do cats bury their poop? . 家养动物有掩埋东西的习惯。狗会埋骨头而猫则会埋排泄物，那为甚么猫要将自己的粪便掩埋起来呢？
(A) To ensure that they are not stinking up the house. 为了确保自己不会令房子臭气冲天
(B) To avoid challenging larger, fiercer animals. 为了避免引来更大更凶猛的动物
(C) To hide it so that nobody takes it away. 为了把粪便藏起来，才不会被人拿走
A: You have a nose for figuring things out if you answered B. Cats have unique pheromone markers in their urine and feces. This odor is as unique to each cat as fingerprints are to each human. Larger cats in the wild leave their piles out in the open to warn other big cats that the area is claimed. Smaller ones, like house cats bury it so that they don’t agitate bigger cats despite the fact that they may have no enemies in their owner’s home.
如果你选B，你对于弄清真相特别敏锐。猫的尿液和粪便中有着特殊的费洛蒙记号，这种味道对每只猫来说就像人类的指印般独一无二。野外的大型猫会公然留下自己的粪便来对其他的大型猫警告及宣示主权。家猫等小型猫则会埋藏粪便。以免招惹大型猫，尽管牠们在饲主的家中也许并没有敌人。
单词发音
Vocabulary
hook [hʊk] n. 钩
When the fisherman felt a pull, he knew there was a fish on his hook.
thread [θrɛd] n. 线; 细丝
She used a needle and thread to fix the hole in her jeans.
capture [ˋkæptʃɚ] n. 捕获
The fish swam away from the shark to avoid capture.
stink up 使发臭
Stinky tofu can stink up the whole street at a night market.
fierce [fɪrs] adj. 凶猛的
Lions and tigers are fierce animals that shouldn't be kept as pets.
odor [ˋodɚ] n. 气味
If you smell a strange odor coming from milk, you should not drink it.
More Information
immune [ɪˋmjun] adj. 免疫的
trip up 绊倒,犯错误
domesticated [dəˋmɛstə͵ketɪd] adj.（指动物）被驯养了的
poop [pup] n.【俚】排泄物，粪便
pheromone [ˋfɛrə͵mon] n. 费洛蒙（昆虫分泌以刺激同种昆虫之化合物质）
urine [ˋjʊrɪn] n. 尿
feces [ˋfisiz] n. 排泄物
out in the open 公开(尤指秘密计划、想法等); 人人皆知
agitate [ˋædʒə͵tet] v. 使激动；使焦虑
课文朗读
课文讲解
Q: We know that the English alphabet begins with A and ends with Z, but why then are keyboard keys not listed in alphabetical order? 我们知道英文字母是从A到Z，但为什么键盘按键不是以字母顺序排列呢？
(A) Typists during the 19th century were not strong spellers. 19世纪的打字员不太会拼字
(B) Because the A through Z arrangement made it difficult to type. 因为从A到Z的排列顺序造成打字困难
(C) So we don’t have to look at the keyboard while typing. 这样我们才不必看着键盘打字
A: The answer is B. A man named C.L. Sholes invented the typewriter in 1873. He first arranged the letters in alphabetical order. However, typists spent a good deal of time untangling keys that got stuck together. It seems words which had letters adjacent to each other tended to bunch up. Sholes invented the QWERTY layout to solve the problem, and keyboards today still use his solution.
答案是B。一位叫做C.L.肖尔斯的人于1873年发明打印机。他先以字母顺序排列键盘字母。然而，打字员花费许多时间解开卡住的按键，因为相邻的字母似乎很容易纠缠。肖尔斯发明QWERTY配置来解决此问题，而现今的键盘仍沿用此方案。
Q: Embarrassing yourself in front of a room full of people almost always ends up with you being red in the face. But why do we blush? 在满屋子人面前令自己尴尬几乎总是会以脸红作为结束，但为什么我们会脸红呢？
(A) Blushing is our body’s way of keeping our head warm. 脸红是我们的身体让头部保持温暖的方法
(B) Our bodies like to highlight our embarrassment by reddening our faces. 身体喜欢以令脸变红的方式强调我们的尴尬
(C) Blood rushes to our cheeks due to adrenaline. 血液由于肾上腺素作用冲至我们的脸颊
A: You likely avoided embarrassment if you correctly guessed C. Our bodies subconsciously react whenever we feel embarrassment, guilt, or love. Not much research has been done on blushing, but what we do know is that it’s completely involuntary and cannot be controlled. Our cheeks have a lot of capillaries and blood vessels, so when our heart rate increases due to an egg on the face moment, the blood rushes rapidly to our face. If you ever do something silly and feel humiliated, remember that the red isn’t permanent and quickly dissipates.
如果你猜出正确答案是C，你可能避免了尴尬的情况。每当我们感觉到尴尬、罪恶或爱的时候，我们的身体下意识地起反应。关于脸红的研究并不多，但我们知道的是脸红完全是非自发性的，也无法控制。我们的两颊有许多毛细管及血管，因此感到惭愧而心跳加速时，血液会快速窜至脸部。如果你做了某件蠢事并觉得羞辱，记得脸红并不是永久性的，很快就会消散了。
－by Kristopher Snyder
单词发音
Vocabulary
alphabet [ˋælfə͵bɛt] n. 字母系统
The English alphabet is a group of 26 letters.
typewriter [ˋtaɪp͵raɪtɚ] n. 打字机
The writer used his noisy typewriter late at night, bothering his neighbors.
blush [blʌʃ] v.（因害羞，尴尬等而）脸红
Marty blushed when the girl that he likes walked up to him.
highlight [ˋhaɪ͵laɪt] v. 使突出；强调
In a job interview, you need to highlight your best skills.
vessel [ˋvɛs!] n. 血管，脉管
Blood travels through vessels and runs throughout the whole body.
permanent [ˋpɝmənənt] adj. 永久的
You can't move the chair because its position is permanent.
More Information
untangle [ʌnˋtæŋg!] v. 解开〔纠结〕
adjacent [əˋdʒesənt] adj. 相邻的; 邻近的
bunch [bʌntʃ] up 使成一串; 形成一串（或一群等）
adrenaline [ədˋrɛn!in] n.【生化】肾上腺素
subconsciously [͵sʌbˋkɑnʃəslɪ] adv. 潜意识地
involuntary [ɪnˋvɑlən͵tɛrɪ] adj. 不受意志控制的；不由自主的
capillary [ˋkæp!͵ɛrɪ] n. 毛细管
an egg on the face 惭愧, 很丢脸, 不好意思(通常肇因为自己的行为)
dissipate [ˋdɪsə͵pet] v. 驱散（雾等），使消散；消除，使消失