SSS 2012-06-21
时间：2018-12-24 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(六)月
英语课
This is Scientific American, 60-second science. I'm Evelyn Lamb. Got a minute?
That is Generation Zero of DarwinTunes. It is a website researchers are using to study how listener preferences affect the evolution of music.
A new study claims that the taste of the public exerts a force on music similar to natural selection. The findings support the theory that culture and art are shaped not only by their producers, but by consumers too. The report is in the Proceedings 2 of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers created short tunes 1 and allowed them to procreate,that is, they’d combine aspects of the parent tunes to produce a new generation of music.User ratings on the DarwinTunes site provided the evolutionary 3 selection, with only the most appealing tunes allowed to create progeny 4.
The researchers found that quality increased quickly at the beginning. The random 5 sounds rapidly gave rise to something an awful lot like music. Here’s generation 600.
But after a while things stagnated 6. The researchers plan to update the program to drive evolution further. Meanwhile, here’s DarwinTunes generation 3000.
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American-60 second science. I'm Evelyn Lamb.
1 tunes
n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调
- a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
- When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 proceedings
n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报
- He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
- to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
3 evolutionary
adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的
- Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
- These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。
4 progeny
n.后代，子孙；结果
- His numerous progeny are scattered all over the country.他为数众多的后代散布在全国各地。
- He was surrounded by his numerous progeny.众多的子孙簇拥着他。