时间:2018-12-27 作者:英语课 分类:英语时差8,16


英语课

 Last time we were thinking about why some birds hop 1 and other birds walk. We decided 2 that you can't make any blanket statements about this, because there will always be exceptions. But in general it's true that larger birds are more likely to walk and smaller birds to hop, just because of the amount of energy it takes. But there's more to it than that. Ornithologists are actually very interested in bird legs and feet. The differences between different kind of legs are used in bird classification. For example, what we commonly call "songbirds"--cardinals, wrens 3, mockingbirds, warblers--are also called "perching birds." They have specialized 5 structures in their feet that include three toes pointing forward and one more called the "hallux" that points back. That three-and-one design is excellent for holding on to branches, which is an important skill to possess if you are a bird. Okay, so far so good. But now, what does that kind of foot make more difficult? You got it--a foot with a conspicuous 6 hallux toe won't be very good at walking. Some birds manage it, and there are different kinds of hallux toes that make it easier or harder. But to move around with feet like that, sometimes you just might be better off hopping 7. So, evolution has to make a choice. Is it better to perch 4 safely on branches or walk comfortably on the ground? Do I catch food with my feet or my beak 8? And so on. The end result can be birds with different kinds of feet, and different kinds of walks.



1 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?
2 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
3 wrens
n.鹪鹩( wren的名词复数 )
  • Other songbirds, such as wrens, have hundreds of songs. 有的鸣鸟,例如鹪鹩,会唱几百只歌。 来自辞典例句
4 perch
n.栖木,高位,杆;v.栖息,就位,位于
  • The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
  • Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。
5 specialized
adj.专门的,专业化的
  • There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
  • These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。
6 conspicuous
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
7 hopping
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
  • The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
  • This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
学英语单词
Aldis
anamorphic imaging system
Antihistal
atheisticalness
autonite
bahati
be silent about
bebothered
blobber-lipped
bottom-of-the-league
breakaway starting current
bridlewood
buttery bar
C3 convertase
Cairnbaan
catch-all exceptions
cathode luminance
celery vase
Cheaster
Chromobacterium mycoides roseum
cold welding
congenital ectodermal defect
cyberbabble
D-list
Dermanyssus gallinae
dibenzazepines
DuBois-Reymond theorem
duodirectional
edemagen
effective charge
electronic optical comparator
Espartero, Baldomero, Count of Luchana
ethylandrol
for a starter
free surface vortex
Glycophos
Gottfrieding
hand-held perimeter
hemihyperplasia
Hière
home brews
household finace corporation
I-direction
improvement system time
kandaharis
Kasba L.
Kjækan
kluwer
laudification
lead grey
lingual quinsy
mcalister
most-promising
musk-scented
n-tetradecane
near the bone
nonbelligerent
north platte rivers
organize into
Panasqueira
partner interface processes
peace-brokers
physical unit
physiology of balance
phytogeny
pickstock
picture brightness
potassium terephthalate
prefrontal area
pritchard equivalent network
protephemerid
proxifezone
rattled up
relaxed market
rene char
reversal of season
Rosa primula
sabicu woods
schweriners
secret approvals
send/receive protocol
senstive
shaking conveyor swivel
shared linkage segment
shijie
shoplike
sleeping giant
socialist property
solidarity through division of labour
State of Israel
subserous anesthesia
sudeley
Sutura ethmoidomaxillaris
The Applicable Law of Arbitration
tonquin bean
trombidoidea
ugging
unordered basis
vasicolinone
viewest
wacholder
wave absorber