时间:2018-12-24 作者:英语课 分类:Scientific American(八)月


英语课

You’ve probably seen dogs working security at airports, sniffing 1 for drugs, bombs and contraband 2 food. Now our best-friend biosensors might have a new task: ferretting out the scent 4 of bird flu.


And they may not be alone on the job. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Monell Chemical Senses Center trained mice to identify duck droppings from animals infected with bird flu. The work was presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.


The scientists trained six mice to run a maze 5 in search of infected feces. Every time they found the right feces, they got a drink of water. The mice learned to choose infected over noninfected duck feces about 90 percent of the time.


The researchers believe the implications could be twofold. First, bird flu apparently 6 leaves an odor imprint 7 on bird feces, and so dogs—and even mice—could be trained to recognize it. Second, scientists might be able to isolate 8 the cocktail 9 of compounds that gives off the odor to develop lab instruments or automated 10 field detectors 11. Until then, we may find four-legged sensors 3, large and small, sniffing away to protect us from a bird-borne epidemic 12.


Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber.

 



1 sniffing
n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
  • We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了,一个劲地抽鼻子,打喷嚏。
  • They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了,呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
2 contraband
n.违禁品,走私品
  • Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
  • The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。
3 sensors
n.传感器,灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )
  • There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时,有很大变化。 来自辞典例句
4 scent
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
5 maze
n.迷宫,八阵图,混乱,迷惑
  • He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
  • She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时,她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。
6 apparently
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
7 imprint
n.印痕,痕迹;深刻的印象;vt.压印,牢记
  • That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
  • Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。
8 isolate
vt.使孤立,隔离
  • Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
  • We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。
9 cocktail
n.鸡尾酒;餐前开胃小吃;混合物
  • We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
  • At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上,人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。
10 automated
a.自动化的
  • The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
  • Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS),作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。
11 detectors
探测器( detector的名词复数 )
  • The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
  • This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者,这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
12 epidemic
n.流行病;盛行;adj.流行性的,流传极广的
  • That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
  • The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。
学英语单词
a line of least resistance
accumulated deformation
acoustic power level
Antine
approved program
aromatic nitroderivatives
avigraph
be cool
Boa Vista, Ilhas
buckeye states
bumpman
charge transfer efficiency
Cladothrix thermophile
compass marking
compressed coated tablet
concentration of tracer
conductive foam
culmorin
dasymetric dot map
disconformable
distance learner
drumble
dual lattice-homomorphism
dye the nail
dynamic-stiffness
economic projectional relation
electronic jet
Eurovision network
expansion device for continuously welded rail
exponential growth rate constant
farm-hand
fasiq
fine space
Friesland, Mount
frugal-innovation
fuel-doubling time
glendaloughs
gonodiospore
gulen
haass
HIDAM
imitation by augmentation
infanodal
instructionsheet
Internet metering
inventivenesses
Ishasha
Isoquinolinium
Jasper County
Legionnaires' disease
linen cupboard
list-directed input/output
liver shock
lookism
M.N.S.
marine bed
maxilloalveolar length
Mercer engine
micoheptin
multisized material
nondiastatic
nourisht
on full cock
Pamphiliidae
paper-tape turing machine
parallel antenna
Parry Islands
phenoxymethylpenicillin
photocauter
photofixation
pitch width
polychromes
poon ya
pre-finishing tooth profile
principle of charge compensation
regular growth
repeatability of wavelength setting
revision test
RuleML
saddle supports for horizontal vessels
sapulpa
sausage-shapes
self setting silicate systems
semiconductor heterostructures
shallowy
slip-slops
stellar spectrum
stephaboline
Stokvis'disease
stop-and-go valve
strontium ethylacetoacetate
susceptibility to failure
suspicions
taurocarbamic acid
the selling party
thermoelectrical inversion
turbine inlet casing
two-tier price
unknown function
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
Western birch