SSS 2009-01-23
时间：2018-12-24 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(一)月
This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin. This will just take a minute.
As Valentine’s day approaches, remember, it’s the thought that counts. Just ask a decorated cricket. Because according to a study published in the January 21 issue of the journal Biology Letters, the nuptial 1 gift that male crickets use to woo their women is just a handful of amino acids—in a whole lotta water.
Many insects use a food offering to win over a potential mate. For crickets, the giftbag serves to distract the female while the actual sperm 2 transfer takes place. As long as she’s busy eating, she won’t reach around and remove that little packet of swimmers. And the longer she feeds, the more sperm will make it through. And, presumably, the more little crickets that male will sire.
But the male, of course, wants to get the biggest bang for his buck 3. So his goal is to minimize what he lays out in his token of appreciation 4. The solution? The cricket’s gift contains a small sampling of amino acids, mostly nonessential glycine, and 84 percent water. But those amino acids act as an appetite stimulant 5, which causes the female to spend more time enjoying her nutritionally empty snack. It’s a cheap gift, but it works. Because nothing says “be mine” like a gooey glob of glycine.
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
- Their nuptial day hasn't been determined.他们的结婚日还没有决定。
- I went to the room which he had called the nuptial chamber.我走进了他称之为洞房的房间。
- Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
- In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。
- The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
- The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。
- I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
- I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。