科学美国人60秒 SSS 2014-05-07
时间：2019-01-20 作者：英语课 分类：2014年Scientific American(五)月
英语课
This Scientific American 60-Second Science, I'm Cynthia Graber. Got a minute?
To a farmer, good insects pollinate, and bad insects decimate. But they often had a tough time knowing which flying creatures were invading their crops. Now eavesdropping 1 researchers might offer help.
For sixty years, scientists have tried to identify insects by their wing sounds. The challenge increases with distance, wind and other noises. So researchers created a monitor using lasers. When an insect crosses the laser, the shadow of the wing beats gets recorded and translated into an MP3. Here's a female aedes aegypti mosquito. Here's a female culex quinque fasciatus.
The researchers spent three years gathering 2 data from dozens of sensors 3. They have tens of millions of data points-more than had been previously 4 collected all together for the algorithms. Using wing beats plus location and time of day, they've achieved up to 99 percent accuracy identifying six insect species thus far.
The research will be published in the Journal of Insect Behavior.
The prototype was made of Legos, a 99-cent laser pointer and part of a TV remote. The researchers say a set-up could be manufactured for less than $10. It could identify both farm pests and disease carriers, which could help people picnic in peace.
Thanks for the Minute for Scientic American 60-second Science, I'm Cynthia Graber.
n. 偷听
- We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
- Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。
n.集会，聚会，聚集
- He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
- He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )
- There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句
adv.以前，先前（地）
- The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
- Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。