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ChaseLaDueandBruceSchulte_Trunks_2020E-_大象交流的秘密信号_-
As a breeze blows through the savannah , a snake-shaped tube stretches into the air and scans the horizon like a periscope . 当微风吹过稀树大草原, 一根蛇形的管子伸向空中, 如潜望镜般扫描着地平线。
like the scent of a watering hole or the musk of a dangerous predator . 诸如水坑或是 危??险捕食者携带的麝香的气味。
The trunk’s owner is a young African elephant. 这象鼻的主人 是一头年轻的非洲象。
At only 8 years old, she still has a lot to learn about her home. 年仅八岁的她, 关于她的家,还有很多要学。
breeze:n.微风;和风;轻而易举的事;v.轻盈而自信地走; savannah:n.大草原,热带草原(等于savanna); stretches:v.拉长; n.一片; (stretch的第三人称单数和复数) horizon:n.地平线;(欲望、知识或兴趣的)范围; periscope:n.潜望镜; scent:n.香味;香水;气息;察觉;v.嗅出;闻到;觉察出;预感到; watering hole:n.酒吧;酒馆; musk:n.麝香;麝香鹿;麝香香味; predator:n.[动]捕食者;[动]食肉动物;掠夺者;
Fortunately , she’s not alone. 幸运的是, 学习路上并不只有她一头象。
Elephants are extremely social creatures , with females living in tight-knit herds led by a single matriarch . 大象是社会性极强的动物, 雌象生活在由一个女首领领导的 关系紧密的象群中。
And every member of the group has one of the most versatile tools in the savannah to help them get by. 这个象群的每个成员都有 一个在大草原生存的通用的工具
Fortunately:adv.幸运地; extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地; creatures:n.生物;动物;(具有某种特征的)人(creature的复数) tight-knit:adj.亲密的,紧密的; herds:n.畜群;大量(herd的复数);人群;v.聚在一起;结交(herd的三单形式); matriarch:n.女家长;女统治者;女负责人;受人尊敬的妇女; versatile:adj.多才多艺的;通用的,万能的;多面手的;
Today her herd is looking for water. 今天雌象首领的象群正在寻找水源。
Or, more accurately , smelling for water. 或者,更准确地说, 用嗅觉寻找水源。
Elephants have more genes devoted to smell than any other creature, making them the best sniffers in the animal kingdom. 大象拥有比其它任何生物 都要多嗅觉基因, 这让它们成为 动物王国中最好的嗅探者。
Even at our elephant’s young age, her trunk is already 1.5 meters long and contains five times as many olfactory receptors as a human nose, allowing her to smell standing water several kilometers away. 即使是年幼的大象, 她的鼻子就已有 1.5 米长, 并且其嗅觉感受器的数量 是人类鼻子的五倍, 这让她能够嗅到几公里外的水源。
accurately:adv.精确地,准确地; genes:n.基因;(gene的复数) devoted:adj.专心致志; v.献身; (devote的过去分词和过去式) sniffers:n.嗅探器,封包探嗅器;封包监听(sniffer的复数形式); olfactory:adj.嗅觉的;味道的;n.嗅觉器官; receptors:n.[生化]受体;接受器;神经末梢(receptor的复数);
And now, the matriarch uses her own keen sense of smell to plot the herd’s course. 现在,雌象首领用她自己敏锐的嗅觉 来绘制象群的路线。
Their journey is long, so our elephant keeps her energy up by snacking on the occasional patch of thick grass. 她们要走的路途很长, 所以大象们在偶尔途径茂密草地时 会吃草来保持充沛的精力。
But this light lunch isn’t just about staying fed— she’s also looking for clues . 不过,这顿清淡的午餐 不仅仅是为了吃饱—— 她还以此寻找线索。
keen:adj.敏锐的,敏捷的;渴望的;强烈的;热心的;锐利的;n.痛哭,挽歌; plot:n.情节;阴谋;布局;小块土地;v.密谋;暗中策划;(在地图上)标出;绘制(图表); journey:n.旅行;行程;vi.旅行; snacking:n.[贸易]小吃;v.吃小吃;斗嘴;急促地说(snack的ing形式); occasional:adj.偶然的;临时的;特殊场合的; patch:n.补丁;小片;眼罩;色斑;v.修补;打补丁;缝补; clues:n.(调查,研究等的)线索;迹象;(故事的)关键情节;(clue的复数)
Like many other mammals , vents in the roof of an elephant’s mouth lead directly to the vomeronasal organ . 与许多其它的哺乳动物一样, 大象口腔上颚的开口会直接 通向犁鼻器。
This structure can detect chemical signals left by other elephants. 这一结构使其能探测到 其它大象留下的化学信号。
So as the herd forages , they’re also gathering information about what other herds have come this way. 所以在象群觅食的同时, 她们也在收集 其它路过此处象群的信息。
mammals:n.哺乳动物;(mammal的复数) vents:n.[矿业]通风孔(vent的复数);排空(气)阀;通风管;管乐类; directly:adv.直接地;立即;马上;正好地;坦率地;conj.一…就; vomeronasal:adj.犁鼻骨的; organ:n.[生物]器官;机构;风琴;管风琴;嗓音; structure:n.结构;构造;建筑物;vt.组织;构成;建造; detect:vt.察觉;发现;探测; chemical:n.化学制品,化学药品;adj.化学的; forages:n.饲料;草料;搜索;vi.搜寻粮草;搜寻;
All the while, the group’s adults are on the lookout for signs of other animals, including potential threats. 与此同时,象群的成年象会观察 其它动物的迹象, 包括潜在的威胁。
Fortunately, while lions might attack a young or sickly elephant, few are foolish enough to take on a healthy adult. 幸运的是,虽然狮子可能会攻击 一头年幼或病弱的大象, 但很少有狮子会愚蠢到 攻击一头健康的成年大象。
Weighing 3 tons and bearing powerful tusks nearly a meter long, our elephant’s mother is a force to be reckoned with. 重达 3 吨, 长着将近 1 米长且有力的象牙, 大象妈妈 是一股不容小觑的力量。
on the lookout for:寻觅;注视着,警惕着; potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的; sickly:adj.有病的,苍白的; v.病态地; vt.使苍白,使现病容; bearing:n.关系;影响;姿态;举止v.承受;忍受;承担责任;(bear的现在分词) tusks:n.獠牙(tusk的复数);[建]墙面牙石;v.用长牙掘(tusk的第三人称单数); reckoned:v.认为,被看作是;料想;预计;指望;(reckon的过去分词和过去式)
Her dexterous trunk doubles as a powerful, flexible arm. 她灵巧敏捷的象鼻 可兼作强壮而灵活的手臂。
Containing no bones and an estimated 40,000 muscles , these agile appendages can bend, twist , contract , and expand . 象鼻虽不含骨骼 却有大约 4 万块肌肉, 这些敏捷的附器 可以弯曲、扭转、收缩和扩张。
At 8 years old, our elephant’s trunk is already strong enough to move small fallen trees, while finger-like extensions allow for delicate maneuvers like wiping her eye. 在 8 岁时,大象的象鼻就已强壮到 可以搬运倒下的小树。 而象鼻末端的指状突 可做精细动作,如擦拭她的眼睛。
dexterous:adj.灵巧的;敏捷的;惯用右手的; flexible:adj.灵活的;柔韧的;易弯曲的; estimated:adj.估计的;预计的;估算的; muscles:n.肌肉(muscle的复数); agile:adj.敏捷的;机敏的;活泼的; appendages:n.[船]附件(appendage的复数);船体附属体; twist:v.捻;扭转;曲折;扭动;n.捻;拧;扭动;搓; contract:v.收缩;感染;订约;n.合同;婚约; expand:v.扩张;使膨胀;详述;发展;张开,展开; extensions:n.扩大;延伸;扩建部分;增建部分;(extension的复数) delicate:adj.精致的,微妙的,脆弱的,熟练的,柔和的; maneuvers:n.军事演习(maneuver的复数);
She can even grab a nearby branch, break it to just the right length, and wave off pesky insects. 她甚至可以抓住身边的一根树枝, 把它折断至合适的长度, 然后用它挥赶讨厌的昆虫。
Suddenly, the matriarch stops their march and sniffs the air. 突然,雌象首领停下脚步, 嗅了嗅空气。
Using smell alone, elephants can recognize each member of their herd, and their exceptional memories can retain the smells of elephants outside their herd as well. 仅凭嗅觉,大象就可以辨认出 自己象群中的每一个成员, 而且它们非凡的记忆力 可以让它们记住不属于这个象群的 其它大象的气味。
grab:v.攫取;霸占;将…深深吸引;n.攫取;霸占;夺取之物; nearby:adj.附近的,邻近的;adv.在附近;prep.在…附近; pesky:adj.讨厌的;麻烦的;adv.极端; sniffs:v.嗅;闻;用力吸;发觉;n.吸,闻;气味;以鼻吸气;(sniff的第三人称单数和复数) recognize:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到; exceptional:adj.异常的,例外的;n.超常的学生; retain:v.保留;保持;持有;继续拥有;
It’s one of these old but familiar odors that’s caught the matriarch’s attention. 正是这种似曾相识的气味 引起了雌象首领的注意。
She bellows into the air, sending out a sound wave that rings across the savannah. 她向空中咆哮, 发出响彻整个大草原的声浪。
But it travels even further through the earth as infrasonic rumbles . 但她发出的次声波隆隆声 可以在陆地上传得更远。
Elephants up to 10 kilometers away can receive these rumbles with their feet. 10 公里外的大象 可以用脚接收到隆隆声。
familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友; odors:气味;名声(odor的复数); bellows:n.波纹管;风箱;皮老虎; sound wave:n.声波; infrasonic:adj.[声]次声的;次声所产生的; rumbles:vt.使隆隆响;低沉地说;vi.隆隆作响;n.隆隆声;抱怨声;
If the matriarch’s nose is right, her herd should expect a response . 如果首领鼻子的判断正确, 她的象群应该期待获得回应。
Smelling the secretions from her daughter’s temporal glands , our elephant’s mother can sense her daughter’s unease about this unfamiliar encounter . 大象母亲 闻着她女儿颞腺的分泌物, 能感觉到她女儿 对这一陌生遭遇的不安。
As the herd of unknown elephants approaches , trunks from both herds rise into the air, sounding trumpets of alarm. 当一群陌生的大象接近时, 两群大象的象鼻都升到了空中, 发出警报的号角。
response:n.响应;反应;回答; secretions:n.分泌物(secretion的复数); temporal:adj.暂时的;当时的;现世的;n.世间万物;暂存的事物; glands:n.腺体(gland的复数);气封; unease:n.不安;不舒服; unfamiliar:adj.不熟悉的;不常见的;没有经验的; encounter:v.遭遇,邂逅;遇到;n.遭遇,偶然碰见; approaches:v.靠近,接近; n.方式,方法,态度; trumpets:n.喇叭; v.吹喇叭;
But upon recognition , apprehension quickly gives way to happy rumbles. 但经过辨认,先前的忐忑 很快被快乐的隆隆声所取代。
Members from each herd recognize each other despite time apart, and many investigate each other’s mouths with their trunks to smell what their counterparts have been eating. 两个象群的成员虽然长久未见, 但还是能认出对方, 许多象用鼻子 互相探查对方的嘴巴, 嗅嗅对方吃了什么。
recognition:n.识别;认识;承认;认可; apprehension:n.理解;恐惧;逮捕;忧惧; despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱; investigate:v.调查;研究;审查; counterparts:n.(契约)副本(counterpart的复数);相对物;相对应的人;
With the reunion now in full swing , both herds head toward their final destination: the long-awaited watering hole. 团圆如火如荼进行的同时, 两个象群朝着最终目的地前进: 那期待已久的水坑。
Here, older elephants suck up to 8 liters of water into their trunks before spraying the contents on themselves to cool off. 水坑边,年长的大象 将多达 8 升水吸入象鼻, 随后把水喷洒在自己身上 用来降温。
Meanwhile , our young elephant plays in the mud with her peers , digging into the muck and even using her trunk as a snorkel to breathe while submerged . 与此同时,小象和同伴们 一起在泥泞中玩耍, 挖泥巴,甚至用鼻子作为通气管 以便在潜入泥巴时呼吸。
reunion:n.团聚;聚会;团圆;重逢; now in full swing:正地着如火如荼; long-awaited:adj.被期待已久的; suck:v.吸吮;吸取;n.吮吸; liters:n.(计量)公升(容量单位)(liter的复数) spraying:v.喷;喷洒;向…扫射(或抛洒);撒尿(以示领地占有);(spray的现在分词) contents:n.内容; v.知足; (content的第三人称单数和复数) Meanwhile:adv.同时,其间;n.其间,其时; peers:n.平辈,同事(peer的复数);v.凝视;比得上(peer的三单形式); muck:n.粪便,粪肥;脏东西;泥浆;令人厌恶的事物;v.施粪肥于… snorkel:n.通气管;潜艇换气装置;vi.用水下通气管潜航; submerged:adj.在水中的; v.(使)潜入水中,淹没; (submerge的过去式和过去分词)
The pair of matriarchs look contentedly on their herds, before turning their trunks to the horizon once more. 两个雌象首领 心满意足地看着她们的象群, 然后再一次, 将她们的象鼻转向地平线。
matriarchs:女家长;女统治者;受人尊敬的妇女(matriarch的名词复数); contentedly:adv.满足地;安心地;