时间:2019-02-24 作者:英语课 分类:英语听力文摘 English Digest


英语课

  D: Oh, no, Yeal, it is starting to rain, and I left my ant farm outside.Now my ants would drown and die.

Y: Come on, Don. I am guessing plenty of ants drown everytime it rains, which makes me wonder how do ground-nesting ants cope with rain?

D: Actually, ant species that burrow 1 have different flood survival strategies. I mean, nest design alone can go a long way. Some species make sure to build their nests in sandy or well-drained soil that absorbs moisture and dries quickly. And others build mounds 2 with waterproof 3 roofs.

Y: Pretty clever.

D: Oh, that's nothing. One tropical species of ants has an alarm and evacuation plan for flooding. At the first sign of rain, minor 4 worker ants start racing 5 through the nest’s tunnels, mobilizing the entire nest is less than thirty seconds.Odor trails then direct everyone down unobstructed tunnels to dry areas in the nest or–if necessary–to those exits that aren’t blocked by water.

Y: Now, that's pretty amazing.

D: Some species have flood plans that even top that. A species of fire ants in the southwest leave their nests and form a large mass around the queen and her brood, basically acting 6 like a living raft that floats until the waters recede 7, or it gets anchored on grass or bushes. Even though some die, enough survive–usually including the queen–so that once the waters go down, they can return to the nest or build a new one and go back to business as usual.

Y: So, Don, how could an ant lover like you leave his ant farm outside?

D: Well, I thought that I enjoyed a change of scenary.



vt.挖掘(洞穴);钻进;vi.挖洞;翻寻;n.地洞
  • Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
  • The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。
土堆,土丘( mound的名词复数 ); 一大堆
  • We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
  • Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊,这就是同墓,”——我想他要说的一定是公墓,“看到那些土墩了吗?
n.防水材料;adj.防水的;v.使...能防水
  • My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
  • All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
vi.退(去),渐渐远去;向后倾斜,缩进
  • The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
  • He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。
学英语单词
- morph
after consent
Anhingidae
approved flame safety lamp
atomarius
atrolactyltropin
autocorrelograms
autopartitioning
Bacillus zenkeri
biploar
bluntnesses
bounded-input bounded-output stability
break-bulk from
busway
calidarium
caudal muscle (or coccygeal muscle)
charge mobility
childling
closed tolerances
compensating mechanism
continuous annuity
copper mica (chalcochyllite)
coupling capacitor potential device
denuclearization
dogmas of empiricism
drizzling rain
ectopic pacemaker
embryo sac
ependymin
eye link
fang-liker
flections
flocors
Fray Marcos
gas and oil separator
gas ballast
gauge the velocity of a political wind with a wetted finger
geared sleeve
genetic feedback mechanism
george charles hevesies de hevesies
glass point
haymaking
high-polish
imbalance in trade
in fours
input output medium
inverse ferrite
isoiconic
jelly rolls
korner
kurn
Levasole
light-middleweights
live-steam autoclave
low active waste
lubarsky
matter field
miccing
mommynge
monosynaptic transmission
needle shaped source
non faceted non faceted eutectic alloy
Northern Cameroons
organ-
orogenic geology
OSAP
passive armour
penis locking sensation
periodic tenance
piezoeffect
pilson
plain-milling
prayer mill
presetting machine
PT (program time)
Pyinyaung
relief pressure control valve (pneumatic)
Rhododendron sinogrande
scapi
search procedure
sekens
self-supporting debt
separated uniform space
shared cell
smockfrock
sodded slope
speaker's
stag
strength of brick
submerged hydraulic jump
successive survey
tokan
toluene-3,4-dithiol
torricelli's principle
trans-stilbene
triethyl-silicane
Van Wyck
vicariance event
wave-range switch
wire code
work-tables
zymolase