SSS 2012-04-09
时间：2019-01-08 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(四)月
英语课
This is Scientific American 60 second Science, I am Christopher Intagliata, got t minute.
City dwellers 1 compete with the din 2 of traffic to be heard. And it’s not just urban humans. Sparrows living in San Francisco's Presidio district actually tweet their tunes 4 in a higher register than they did in the past, to be heard over the rumble 5 of cars on the nearby Golden Gate Bridge. So says a study in the journal Animal Behavior.
Researchers compared white-crowned sparrow songs recorded in 1969 and 2005. Over that time span, ambient noise levels went up. And the bird calls were essentially 6 the same—but the more recent one was higher in pitch. The change presumably allows the song to better penetrate 7 the traffic noise.
The modern calls carry more weight with the birds, too. Because when male sparrows heard the 2005 recordings 8 played back in their territory, they responded more aggressively—swooping in on the speaker with a “get outta here" chirp 9 and flapping their wings at the suspected intruder.
The researchers say most species simply can't handle the noise and cramped 10 habitats of the city, and head to the country. The adaptable 11 sparrow, however, simply changed its tune 3.
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American 60 second Science, I am Christopher Intagliata.
n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )
- City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.喧闹声，嘈杂声
- The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
- They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。
n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整
- He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
- The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调
- a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
- When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说
- I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
- We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。
adv.本质上，实质上，基本上
- Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
- She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解
- Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
- The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。
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
v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫
- The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
- The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。
a.狭窄的
- The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
- working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作