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
all-position electorde
androgenicities
animal nuclein
anti-roll pump
Aqzhar
ascending neuropathy
automatic sizing apparatus
backed by
backshop
banjo ukuleles
Bell's sign
Bernard-Horner syndrome
Bizhong
case column
centocor
chute blades
clay regeneration
complex constants
computerized drill and practice
concave clearance lever
consulting system
cope cutter
copy editor
council house
cuticle crack
dc-dc power converter
dip one's hand in one's purse
direct customer
Dock's Regulations
ecohydrologist
economicology
electric system
exposed pallets
field-effect physiatrics instrument
flapped approach
flowster
fluoride ions
garage queen
geoliterary
Girgensohnia
glaresid
gloeosporium passifloricola
grit reservoir
ground freezing
have no heart for sth
heat run test
hexastichs
ice kachang
ICFR-187
interlocutory decree
inviolabilities
Kata Kolok
lactifluous
last trunk capacity
lecon
line-at-time printer
lowwage
Lysichiton americanum
maned
mcillwain
metaatom
methylpyridone-carboxylamide
midwave diathermy
minor-league team
moniliferum
multiparters
neutron dosimeter
nonpress
norbornene
nuclear angular precession frequency
overanalyze
overwalks
pachycheilias
parmigianoes
photoresistive cell
pilot model system
pygosceliss
quadric discriminant function
radar fuzing
radio-frequency alternator
regularly homotopic immersion
removing of radiological agents
restriction of birth
rolling tail gate
seroresistance
Simengaon
soft science
st-merris
steel shallow hardening
stenothermic bacteria
string frame
suckling pigs
supporting system for TT&C
synthetic natural gas
syrian arab republics
teller's settlement book
Terbulaline
title of ownership
tsunamis
twenty-percent rule
video gain cantrol
wooden handle ratchet screwdriver