SSS 2012-02-22
时间：2018-12-24 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(二)月
英语课
This is Scientific American 60 second science, I am Christopher Intagliata, got a minute?
The most common types of ingested birth control contain estrogen. But the hormone 1 doesn’t just prevent human babies. It may be lowering numbers of frog babies, too. Because estrogens can travel unaltered through a woman’s system, and back into the environment—where they interfere 2 with the courtship of frogs.
Researchers bathed male frogs in tanks containing various concentrations of estrogen—comparable to levels previously 3 measured in nature. And they found that males exposed to estrogen made significantly fewer ‘advertisement’ calls: mating calls that say “hey ladies, I’m over here.” Instead, the frogs made more so-called ‘rasping’ calls: a sign the boys weren’t as turned on as they used to be.
As it turns out, neither were the ladies. Because when researchers played back estrogen-influenced calls to females, the lady frogs weren’t as hot to hop 4, compared to when they heard the crooning of control frogs. Those findings appear in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.
The authors say less seductive mating calls could mean fewer tadpoles 5. Which means our sex lives could be partly to blame for making global populations of amphibians 6 croak 7.
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American 60 second Science, I am Christopher Intagliata!
1 hormone
n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌
- Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
- This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
2 interfere
v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰
- If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
- When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。
3 previously
adv.以前，先前（地）
- The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
- Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。
4 hop
n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过
- The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
- How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？
5 tadpoles
n.蝌蚪( tadpole的名词复数 )
- The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Both fish and tadpoles have gills. 鱼和蝌蚪都有鳃。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 amphibians
两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器
- The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
- Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。