(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Home-based bird watchers might have mixed up a batch of nectar to attract the feathered objects of their affection.
It's pretty easy—just mix sugar and water.
But the real stuff is a lot more complex—nearly all nectars are laced with amino acids, and some contain alkaloids, like nicotine and caffeine.
What's the plants' motivation for producing such chemicals? "
It's possible that this is an antimicrobial adaptation of plants—that they're toxifying their nectar to protect it from spoilage by yeast or other microbes."
Leif Richardson, an ecologist at the University of Vermont.
He says the compounds might also be a chemical defense.
"Maybe the compounds are deterrent to nectar robbers, who take nectar without pollinating."
And yes, "nectar robbing is indeed a thing."
But Richardson and his colleagues have come up with yet another function for nectar's chemicals: as medicine for bees.
They found compounds in the nectar of wild tobacco, linden, and white turtlehead flowers that cut the numbers of a common gut parasite in bumblebees by as much as 80 percent.
The results are in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The big unanswered question here is whether bees might actually self-medicate when they're sick.
Preliminary work suggests they do.
And if that notion holds true, farmers and home gardeners alike could boost bee health—simply by growing plants that serve up the right medicine.
中文翻译
非专业的鸟类观察家们很可能会自制一些花蜜来吸引他们钟情的鸟类。
做法非常简单—只要把糖和水混合一下就可以了。
但真正的制作工序要更为繁琐—因为几乎所有花蜜都含有氨基酸，还有一些含有如尼古丁和咖啡因等的生物碱。
那么植物制造这样一种化学物质是何缘由呢?
“这可能是植物所做出的一种抗菌反应—它们会毒化花蜜以保护自身免遭酵母或其它微生物的侵害。”
莱夫·理查德森是佛蒙特大学的一位生态学家。
他表示这种化合物也可能是一种化学防卫体系。
“也许这种化合物能够对那些不授粉就抢夺的采蜜大盗起到威慑作用。
是的，花蜜抢劫一事确实存在。
但理查德森和他的同事们也提出花蜜化学物质的另一个功能：那就是它是蜜蜂的一种药物。
他们发现野外的烟草、菩提树叶及白龟头花中含有的花蜜化合物能够将熊蜂身上的常见肠道寄生虫数量减少80%。
这一研究结果已经在《皇家学会学报B》上发表。
而现在还有个仍未解决的大难题：当蜜蜂生病时能否自我治愈。
初步的研究表明的确能够实现。
如果这一理念属实，农民和园丁仅通过种植提供正确药品的植物就可以为蜜蜂的健康保驾护航。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
词语解释
1.come up with 追赶上；提出；想出
Let's fingerprint the canoe, see if we come up with anything.
让我们提取一下独木舟上的指纹，看看能不能有什么发现。
Howard Wilkinson has come up with an absolute corker of an idea.
霍华德·威尔金森想出了一个绝佳的主意。
2.lace with 加入
I am wearing a plaid nightgown trimmed with white lace.
我穿着一件带有白色蕾丝花边的格子呢睡衣。
She finally found the perfect gown, a beautiful creation trimmed with lace.
她终于找到了理想的礼服一袭饰有蕾丝的美丽长裙。
3.serve up 上菜；提供；发送
Chrysler will be able to serve up a substantially better car.
克莱斯勒有能力制造更为优异的汽车.
Are you ready to serve up?
你们可以上菜了吗?
