SSS 2011-07-25
时间：2018-12-24 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(七)月
英语课
This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Christopher Intagliata. Got a minute?
Think humans are at the top of the food chain? Not quite, in parts of Africa. Lions have attacked over 1000 people in Tanzania in the last 20 years. Two thirds of those attacks were fatal, and the victims were eaten. But there does seem to be a way to lower the risk of becoming dinner—avoid going out before moonrise on the nights following the full moon. So says a study in the journal Public Library of Science One.
Researchers plotted the timing 1 of nearly 500 of those lion attacks against the phases of the moon. And they found that the odds 2 of being devoured 3 by a lion were highest on nights following the full moon—nights when the moon rises late, providing hours of darkness for lions to stage a strike.
And previous studies have found that the fatter the moon, the slimmer the lion. Probably because the bright nights make hunting harder. So lions are hungriest around the full moon, too—and more willing to pounce 4 on two-legged prey 5, as soon as they're provided the cover of darkness. The authors speculate that humans may be afraid of the dark because this situation has long been true. Seems like a bit of a stretch. But you won't find me strolling the Serengeti after a full moon.
Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Christopher Intagliata.
1 timing
n.时间安排，时间选择
- The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
- The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。
2 odds
n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别
- The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
- Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？
3 devoured
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光
- She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
- The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。