时间:2018-12-24 作者:英语课 分类:Scientific American(七)月


英语课

Why did the orangutan cross the forest canopy 1? Presumably, to reach some tasty fruit. But the better question might be: how did the orangutan cross the forest canopy. And according to a study published in the Proceedings 2 of the National Academy of Sciences, the answer is something of a surprise.


Large apes that spend a lot of time in the treetops face a major challenge in getting to their food: how can they maneuver 3 their bulk over those spindly little outermost 4 branches, which hold all the best fruit? Scientists had predicted that the best way to navigate 5 the canopy would be to swing underneath 6 the branches, or to crawl over them carefully with knees and elbows flexed 8.


But orangutans have a different approach. They like to mix it up. Sometimes they move upright, sometimes horizontally with their limbs fully 7 extended. They avoid repetitive motions, which could make their perches 9 sway even more precariously 10. And they tend to grab on to more than one branch at a time—a third of the time they’ve got hold of more than four at once. Which is good because the apple might not fall far from the tree, but an orangutan doesn’t want to fall at all.


 



1 canopy
n.天篷,遮篷
  • The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
  • They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。
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 maneuver
n.策略[pl.]演习;v.(巧妙)控制;用策略
  • All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后,所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
  • I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。
4 outermost
adj.最外面的,远离中心的
  • He fired and hit the outermost ring of the target.他开枪射中了靶子的最外一环。
  • The outermost electron is shielded from the nucleus.原子核对最外层电子的作用受到屏蔽。
5 navigate
v.航行,飞行;导航,领航
  • He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
  • Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。
6 underneath
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
7 fully
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
8 flexed
adj.[医]曲折的,屈曲v.屈曲( flex的过去式和过去分词 );弯曲;(为准备大干而)显示实力;摩拳擦掌
  • He stretched and flexed his knees to relax himself. 他伸屈膝关节使自己放松一下。 来自辞典例句
  • He flexed his long stringy muscles manfully. 他孔武有力地弯起膀子,显露出细长条的肌肉。 来自辞典例句
9 perches
栖息处( perch的名词复数 ); 栖枝; 高处; 鲈鱼
  • Other protection can be obtained by providing wooden perches througout the orchards. 其它保护措施是可在种子园中到处设置木制的栖木。
  • The birds were hopping about on their perches and twittering. 鸟儿在栖木上跳来跳去,吱吱地叫着。
10 precariously
adv.不安全地;危险地;碰机会地;不稳定地
  • The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上,摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
标签: SSS orangutan
学英语单词
a-shosshe
Adase
Anaconda-Trail process (for zinc extraction)
anti-siccative agent
articleless
Asplenium pinnatifidum
average speed
besugo
binary tree processor network
blending mixer
boiled-out water
Bus Interface Unit
chessels
ciudad trujilloes
co-sleeper
Cobourg Peninsula
coeffcient scale
command service
commnad control program
correction of permanent set of rail
count of dot
coupling spud
deeply-rooteds
demi-cadence
dibromobutyric acid
discharge sump
display subsystem
diuretic mixture
divecha
dog-star
dot and dash signal
double-heights
ECAP
emetines
encephaloceles
endless main
equity ownership
experimental farm
Ferula lehmannii
filbore
fist-pump
flareout analysis
generalized programming extended
groot-vis (great fish r.)
half section
halon fire extinguisher
high tension bushing
history of embryology
holding your breath
hoxes
increasing the solubility of zinc compounds
indizating agent
intern in
jacquard lever
jasjit
juvenile fish
Kairatu
keep your hair on!
labial necrosis of rabbits
Landowska, Wanda
lesbianisms
liathaches
line stocks
Liparis elliptica
low pressure turbine
low-molecular-weight
Mauthner's tests
media hub
mesotonic
metamorphized
microaspirations
monogerm
muster out (of service)
Naxalites
offshore waters
planesful
plasma-arc melting
puffing agent
ratio of asset value to sales
reactor head
refrigerating system oil separator
reutilizes
right-sider
sediment-depositing side of bend
sequential pyrolysis
shop activity edit
short anneal furnace
simply supported at the edges
social ads
sodium nickelous(ii) sulfate
sporoblast
ssgas
subvertise
synnes
tabernacler
the documents
there but for the grace of god
through midsole
tractography
traverse table mapping
up-until
wear-resistant quality