时间:2019-01-08 作者:英语课 分类:Scientific American(十一)月


英语课
In a recent podcast, we heard the beluga whale NOC change his voice's rhythm and pitch to imitate human speech.
Pretty impressive, but you ain't heard nothing yet. M K, an Asian elephant that appears to form actual words.  That’s annyong,Korean for hello.
His trainers claim to have taught K six Korean words. But how accurate is he? Researchers recorded the elephant at his home, the Everland Zoo in South Korea, and then played the recordings 1 for 16 native Korean speakers.
When the subjects transcribed 2 K's noises, they generally recognized five of the six words, including annyong. It turns out that Koshik can produce correct-sounding vowels 3 67 percent of the time, but his consonant 4 pronunciation was only recognizable 21 percent of the time. The work is in the journal Current Biology.
To achieve his remarkable 5 feat 6, K sticks his trunk in his mouth, which changes the shape of his vocal 7 tract 8 so he can reproduce human sounds and pitch. However he learned this technique, it’s a good bet the elephant won’t forget it.

n.记录( recording的名词复数 );录音;录像;唱片
  • a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
  • old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐
(用不同的录音手段)转录( transcribe的过去式和过去分词 ); 改编(乐曲)(以适应他种乐器或声部); 抄写; 用音标标出(声音)
  • He transcribed two paragraphs from the book into his notebook. 他把书中的两段抄在笔记本上。
  • Every telephone conversation will be recorded and transcribed. 所有电话交谈都将被录音并作全文转写。
n.元音,元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )
  • Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
n.辅音;adj.[音]符合的
  • The quality of this suit isn't quite consonant with its price.这套衣服的质量和价钱不相称。
  • These are common consonant clusters at the beginning of words.这些单词的开头有相同辅音组合。
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
n.功绩;武艺,技艺;adj.灵巧的,漂亮的,合适的
  • Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
  • He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。
adj.直言不讳的;嗓音的;n.[pl.]声乐节目
  • The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
  • Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林)
  • He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
  • He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。
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