SSS 2012-05-30
时间：2018-12-24 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(五)月
英语课
This is Scientific Americans 60 second Science, I am Christopher Intagliata, got a minute?
You've probably seen clouds of insects swirling 1 round a streetlamp at night. But something you may not have noticed is that streetlights attract bugs 3 to the ground below them, too—especially carnivorous bugs, like beetles 4. So says a study in the journal Biology Letters by researchers at the University of Exeter. Thomas W. Davies, Jonathan Bennie and Kevin J. Gaston,"Street lighting 5 changes the composition of invertebrate 6 communities"]
The researchers set up 28 traps in the grass below and between streetlamps in the English town of Helston, in Cornwall. They collected captured insects at dawn and dusk over three days, and ended up with nearly 1,200 specimens 7. Turns out, more bugs hung out under the lights than between them. And that was true at night and day—suggesting that streetlights permanently 8 upped the value of the buggy real estate below them.
The researchers also found greater numbers of predators 9 and scavengers under the lamps—like ground beetles, harvestmen and ants—because it may be easier to hunt for prey 10 with the help of a spotlight 11.
With artificial lighting increasing globally at 6 percent a year, the authors say there's a chance light pollution could shake up food webs in unforeseen ways. Call it a bug 2 in the system.
Thanks for the minute, for Scientific Americans 60 second science, I am Christopher Intagliata.
1 swirling
v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )
- Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句
2 bug
n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器
- There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
- The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
3 bugs
adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误
- All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 beetles
n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )
- Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 lighting
n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光
- The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
- The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
6 invertebrate
n.无脊椎动物
- Half of all invertebrate species live in tropical rain forests.一半的无脊椎动物物种生活在热带雨林中。
- Worms are an example of invertebrate animals.蠕虫是无脊椎动物的一个例子。
7 specimens
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人
- Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
- The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 permanently
adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地
- The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
- The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
9 predators
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）
- birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
- The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》