时间:2018-12-28 作者:英语课 分类:初学者听力文摘精选


英语课

Researchers at Penn State University and the University of Buffalo 1 have completed the most in depth bear DNA 2 study to date. The project has revealed a lot about genetic 3 relationships between bears, and also the unlikely romances that pepper their history.

宾夕法尼亚州立大学和布法罗大学的的研究人员已经完成了迄今为止对熊的基因最为深入的研究。



From previous studies, we knew that polar and grizzly 4 (or, brown) bears are “sister species.” That means that they share some DNA background; scientists believed they had split from one another fairly recently–about 600,000 years ago.

该项研究揭示了不同种类的熊之间的遗传关系,同时也揭露了熊之间的不太可能的关系,这种不可能性充斥着它们的历史。从之前的研究来看,我们知道北极熊和灰熊的关系是“姐妹品种”。



However, this latest DNA analysis suggests that they have, in fact, been two distinct species for the past four to five million years. Most grizzlies 5 and polar bears out there these days share less than two percent of their DNA.

但是,这项最新的DNA分析却显示,事实上,在过去的四至五百万年,北极熊和灰熊一直是作为两个不同的物种存在的。如今现存的灰熊和北极熊拥有的相同基因少于百分之二。



Think of it this way: with polar bears sticking to the Arctic, and grizzlies hanging around farther south, it’s been pretty easy to maintain evolutionary–and genetic–separation: there simply haven’t been many chances for the two species to meet up!

让我们这样思考:北极熊一直在北极生活,而灰熊一直在地球上遥远的南面生活,所以它们各自不影响对方的进化和基因分离——它们甚至没有机会遇见对方!不过,其中还是会有一些特例。比如说,根据来自阿拉斯加亚历山大群岛的一群灰熊的基因显示,灰熊和北极熊还是有可能曾经在一起生活过。



There can be exceptions, though. For instance, the DNA from a group of grizzlies living in Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago indicates that, given the opportunity, grizzlies and polar bears certainly aren’t opposed to cuddling up. In fact, thanks to intermittent 6 cross breeding over time, some of those Alaskan grizzlies share up to eleven percent of their DNA with polar bears!

事实上,由于历史上出现的断断续续的杂交,在这些来自于阿拉斯加的灰熊中,部分灰熊的基因和北极熊的相同竟达到了百分之十一!



This fact has far reaching implications for future bear genetics, especially now that climate change is shifting the geographical 8 range of grizzly and polar bear populations. The potential for inter 7 species “matchmaking” is on the rise, and in places where habitats now overlap 9, researchers have already observed grizzly polar bear hybrids 10 out roaming the landscape.

如今,气候改变影响着灰熊和北极熊的栖息范围,这一研究结果对未来熊的遗传学有着深远的启示作用。不同物种之间拥有“亲缘关系”的可能性正在增加,而且在一些栖息地重叠的地方,研究人员已经发现有灰色的北极杂交熊出没。



1 buffalo
n.(北美)野牛;(亚洲)水牛
  • Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
  • The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。
2 DNA
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
  • DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
3 genetic
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
4 grizzly
adj.略为灰色的,呈灰色的;n.灰色大熊
  • This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
  • Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来,灰熊不是社交型动物。
5 grizzlies
北美洲灰熊( grizzly的名词复数 )
  • The Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 127-113 earlier Tuesday night. 在周二晚上早些时候,太阳以127:113击败孟菲斯灰熊。
  • Whatever you do, do not blink.They're like grizzlies. 无论你做什么,别眨眼。他们跟熊有点相象。
6 intermittent
adj.间歇的,断断续续的
  • Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗?
  • In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里,时断时续地下着雨,使整个大地都生气勃勃了。
7 inter
v.埋葬
  • They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
  • The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。
8 geographical
adj.地理的;地区(性)的
  • The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
  • These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。
9 overlap
v.重叠,与…交叠;n.重叠
  • The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
  • Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。
10 hybrids
n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 );杂交植物(或动物);杂种;(不同事物的)混合物
  • All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
  • The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的,这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句
学英语单词
(of a silkworm) molt to go through the chrysalis state
amethystanthus japonicus nakai
Ampcoloy
antipodism
arsentsumebite
asymmetric conductivity
autogyro rotor
bacterial calls
ballet british colombia
bioocclusion
biotropic
birth control measure
carried-out
Caryophyllineae
cell granulations
chimney exit diameter
chresard
closer-in
consultation committee
coolant distribution unit
cryptands
Cupressus sempervirens
daylight robberies
direct-geared
dito
domestic staff
electronic band
exceptional performance
eye-blinks
fixture for boring machine
flood-level rim
formrs
green machine
hisds
homatropine eye drops
i could have wept
Iepê
igloo
imagistically
intropressions
isooctyl alcohol
joint and several obligation
laser raman photoacoustic spectrometry
lebanese pounds
line terminator
love beat
main spar
mapmakings
mat-forming
mecke
media check
meta-anthracite
methylmetal-crylates
mixed tumor of submaxillary gland
monarchia
moss locust
muckamuck
Muhamut
musculoligamentous
nitrocellulose varnish
nonstratified crown
Norheimsund
onagers
online monitoring
ooxanthines
order Spirochaetales
oxoglutaric
particulars of goods
pestiferously
postheparin
potato beans
power supply main
precipitron
press agencies
PsLogList
refolds
relieving oppression and masses
rere-county
residence half
restimulates
self-directing missile
single-spindle lathe
slab amplifiers
sode ash
soft-pedalleds
sphericities
static MOS inverter
stratified sand
stringifying
subsonic ejection seat
swallowers
systems analysis and design
target.com
the means of production
tourism area
true folding
uncastigated
uniform heat flux
vestibule floor
visual relief map
width of ruled area