英语听力文摘 English Digest 541、冻结的一瞬！！
时间：2018-12-31 作者：英语课 分类：英语听力文摘 English Digest
英语课
Freeze
Suppose you are an animal. Well, actually, you are an animal, but suppose you’re another kind of animal, maybe something small that might make a tasty snack for a larger predator 1. You’re walking along one day when you see a big dog. What do you do?
Well, depending on what kind of animal you are, you have different options. A skunk 2 can spray a noxious 3 liquid that will repel 4 predators 5, a cat can make its hair stand on end so that it seems larger than it is, or some animals, such as opossums, may pretend to be dead already.
There’s another strategy all these animals have, though. You’ve seen it before, but maybe never thought about it. They can freeze.
When a squirrel or a rabbit or a chipmunk 6 freezes, it can remain almost entirely 7 motionless for minutes at a time. Try it yourself. Whatever position you’re in right now, move nothing at all for the next minute. It’s not so easy!
The reason an ability to freeze works as a defense 8 is that a predator’s attack behavior may actually be triggered by motion. A frog, for example, will literally 9 starve to death in a box full of dead flies. Pass one of those flies in front of its eyes on a little string, though, and it will automatically gulp 10 it down.
The response to freeze is completely hard-wired, so freezing shows us something about both predator and prey 11. Evolution has caused the freeze strategy to come into existence precisely 12 because it fits in with the way the visual systems of predators operate.
n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者
- 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。
n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥
- That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
- The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。
adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的
- Heavy industry pollutes our rivers with noxious chemicals.重工业产生的有毒化学品会污染我们的河流。
- Many household products give off noxious fumes.很多家用产品散发有害气体。
v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥
- A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
- Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。
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）
- 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》
n.花栗鼠
- This little chipmunk is hungry.这只小花栗鼠肚子饿了。
- Once I brought her a chipmunk with a wound on its stomach.一次，我带了只腹部受伤的花栗鼠去找她。
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
- The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
- His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩
- The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
- The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽
- She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
- Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。
n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨
- Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
- The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。