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
7-hexadecenoic acid
A-locomotive
Adam's arms
air-core type reactor
analogue timing pulse
anthratetrol
axis of direct elasticity
Balaenidae
best-ever
betray the pot to the roses
bijugous leaf
Bir Chouhada
buboes
california personality inventories
calling to order
caloplaca flavovirescens
camulodunum
caprolactone
chancre of portio vaginalis
change-pole moter
Channel, The
coal seismic prospecting
Collonges
colo(u)r balance
commfu
council tax
crafts-child
crane hook
dasyurid
daxer
de falla
difluorodiazene
direct-coupled logic
DIYs
euphemismus
fall-back control
finite-sized sample
genus symphalanguss
gondwana block
Hylotelephium spectabile
idle rod
image guide bundles
interchangeable substitute
Kern counter
lapack
lethargy group
lipoiduria
low birth weight infant
mammatus
Marshally
mean activity product
Middle I.
midmorning prayer
moon-man
no-win
nonreplaceable unit
normal category
ostial fistula
owen falls
pentalenolactone
perizonial
pleural segment
Ponte de Lima
pressed charge
prionospio japonicus
proton bombarded
pseudo-eutectic texture
pterophore
pterygospinosus muscle
puncture weed
q-number
quaffest
Rhapis filiformis
Rosa willmottiae
run-time error check
sacrosant
saxifragaceous
say farewell
serriform
Silene karaczukuri
Slangkop
special tea
speech vibration
Sperguleae
talk ... head off
the spirit of the times
thelypteris angustifrons
thipcarbonyl
Thuret
transversion(freese 1959)
triacotane
trichothecium campaniforme
trousers down
turgesce
turn out the guard
two stroke
ulcus necroticum mucosae oris
universal strength tester
vaginant lamina
vallate
vertical excitation
Watarase-gawa