时间:2018-12-05 作者:英语课 分类:国家地理2007年


英语课
When male Antarctic fur seals head to the beach each spring, it's no vacation. They are basically gonna be here for a month, holding their territory not eating, not sleeping, and just hoping they get some females in.

95% of the Antarctic fur seal population breeds on the beaches of South Georgia Island. Aggressive males get here first, it's often a fight for the best breeding spot and the biggest heroines.

It's all hormonal 1. Everything's about hormones 2 on the beach. This is definitely a muscle beach. The males are so territorial 3, so aggressive, Naturalist 4 Conrad Field and I will have to be ready to defend ourselves when we go in for a closer look.
We have the sticks, something that's not, not to harm them, but simply to hold them off if they charge. They're, they're nasty potentially.
Yeah, they're, they're quick as lightening, very, very powerful. These males are weighing 400, 450 pounds. And they can throw a hundred pounds over their shoulder on the run. So they aren't really to be feared but to be respected. And the sticks primarily are just to extend our range out, like this.

You can't blame these guys for being hostile, there's a lot at stake.
All about real estate and passing new genetic 5 line on. And now the females are coming in, and they will go to the best places on the beach to have their pups, so the males who have the best real estates, they get the most females.
So it's the old location, location, location thing?
Exactly.

These guys stuck in the middle of a river have their work cut out for them.
We are definitely in a low-rent district here. These guys have lost, but they are still holding the territory with hopes that the females will come in.

She's trying to find the best way, the best real estate possibly. See how big she is? She's a pregnant one, and she's coming down, and these males, if she gets within area, their territory, they will try to herd 6 her and keep her in there.
Look at them.
Look at them go. Try to get her. Now he's taking a big chance because he's leaving the harem open. So he's just got her in?
Yep, he's just got another female.

Females give birth to their pups and then mate again 6 to 8 days later.
Pup is only a couple of days old, still has a staggering head, about 3 to 4 days.

Life on the beach isn't easy for newborn pups. We watch as a mother fights off skuas and a giant petrel looking for a meal. Pups face other dangers. Aggressive males that can easily crush them seemingly unconcerned about whom they are running over.
You see what happens, the female moves and the male tries to keep her from going anywhere. He's no connection to the pup, and she's trying to get to her pup.
Now this one I don't want to walk towards. Yeah. I don't blame ya.

For Antarctic fur seals, life begins, and sometimes ends on the beach.
And if anybody ever wanted a lesson in, in elementary evolution and biology, this is it, isn't it?
Yeah, the strongest definitely survive in this situation. But to come out and see all this, and all the behaviors, absolutely amazing.


at stake: At risk to be won or lost 危险
harem: A group of women sexual partners for one man. 【动】[集合词](与一只雄动物配偶和聚居的)一群雌动物
skua: 【动】贼鸥




1 hormonal
adj.激素的
  • Some viral diseases are more severe during pregnancy, probably tecause of hormonal changes. 有些病毒病在妊娠期间比较严重,可能是由于激素变化引起的。
  • She underwent surgical intervention and a subsequent short period of hormonal therapy. 他接受外科手术及随后短暂荷尔蒙治疗。
2 hormones
adj.领土的,领地的
  • The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
  • They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。
3 naturalist
n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)
  • He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业,同时是个博物学爱好者。
  • The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。
4 genetic
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
5 herd
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起
  • She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
  • He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见,只是人云亦云。
学英语单词
-ild
35 mm film
acanthochitonid
anode sheath
Appalachian Mts.
appreciation against other currencies
archils
Armitt
arterial hemorrhage
bed load rate
Blood-brain-barrier
Blue Ribbon Award
cat dirt
Centotheca lappacea
chromoreceptor
clanships
conjunctivitis petrificans
coupling with rub ber pads
cramaid
cumulative double bond
Dacryocyte
deep coal
dhahran (az zahran)
disperse dyes
dolna lipnitsa
Dukhovnitskoye
Dutch Reformed Church in Africa
engine oil dilution system
erythro-disyndiotactic
exaction
finite increment
formula counter
FPTAS
give sb the brush
Golina
hapax legomenon
homogeneous state of strain
Huxleys layer
ill-smelling
impleached
indirect experience
interlacing arch
isocheimic
jump graft
ketopyranoses
Kowarsky's test
L-HPC
leatherjackets
lenticular aphasia
make ... number
mass diagram
metal armature
milk bucket
nasograph
negative stimulation
Nephronline
Nicrobraz
ninesome
no room between lines
nonprismatic beam
occipito-anterior
orthiochordus
osiarde
overruns
pappy
participational
permeable strata
plug bean
polyfluoroacylphosphonate
preimagine
progressive concentration
propagandistic
radiator rust preventive
redin
rheotaxy
rubber padding
saw-dust
scourings
see-saws
semi finishing tooth of broacher
shifted penalty function
should point
silicristin
slotcar
small wave
spasmodic sneezing
Stan Laurel
stomach drops
suffice it to say
sweet balms
tankin' it
threshold amount
transport users
two-armature generator
unintelligence
unregisterfont
vest pockets
wagon body
yayness
yellow-bellied
Yuanzhao
zeel