(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Ring-tailed lemurs are a chatty lot.
They vocalize to exchange information.
And they also communicate via a veritable smorgasbord of stinky secretions they use to mark their territory and advertise their romantic availability.
But male lemurs, which have more scent glands than do females, are really masters of musk—because they sometimes mix their smelly secretions to produce a veritable bouquet of stank.
And now researchers have a better idea why.
Male lemurs sometimes use the scent glands on their wrists to mark tree branches and saplings.
Other times, they double down, rubbing their wrists against glands on their chests to create a foul and funky fusion.
This special blend can then be smeared over objects or wiped onto their tails, which the males wave at their rivals in a display that scientists refer to as a “stink fight.”
But why create such a custom combination?
Perhaps adding the oily exudate from the chest alters the information conveyed by the wrist.
Or maybe it acts as a kind of preservative that makes the wrist signal longer lasting.
To find out, researchers gathered secretions from a dozen ring-tailed lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina.
They then presented male lemurs with wooden dowels that were doused with either the wrist fragrance, the chest scent, or a mixture of the two.
And they found that males spent more time sniffing the stick with the mixture, which suggests that the fragrant combination does contain more interesting information than the solo scents alone.
But the lemurs were even more interested in the odiferous amalgamation when it was left out to evaporate for 12 hours, licking the sticks to better access the dried volatile compounds.
That observation supports the theory that mixing secretions actually boosts their staying power.
The results are in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
So while a rose is a rose is a rose, the perfume of the ring-tailed lemur is a complex concoction, the subtle meaning of which lies in the nose of the beholder.
参考译文
环尾狐猴真的很健谈。
它们发声的目的是交流信息。
而且它们也会通过名副其实散发恶臭分泌物的混合物进行交流，而它们一般将这些分泌物用作标记领地及向异性求爱。
但气味腺比雌性狐猴多的雄性狐猴才是真正的气味大师—它们有时候会将那些臭味分泌物混合然后弄出一些散发恶臭的混合气。
而现在研究人员们已经对环尾狐猴这样做的原因有了进一步的了解。
雄狐猴有时候会用手腕的腺体气味分泌物在树枝及嫩枝上做标记。
其余时间它们就一直躺着，摩擦自己手腕上的腺体分泌物到胸部并制造出一种散发强烈臭味的混合物。
这种特殊混合物随后就被涂在一些物体或者附着在它们的尾巴上，而雄性狐猴向它们的情敌宣战摆动尾巴时就会起到交流作用，而科学家们将此称为“臭气的较量”。
但为什么要特别弄出这种臭味的混合物呢?
或许加入从胸部分泌出的油状物可以改变手腕部臭气所代表的信息。
又或者它起到的是一种防腐剂的作用，让手腕的信号更持久。
为了一探究竟，研究人员们从北卡莱罗纳州的杜克狐猴中心收集到了12只环尾狐猴的分泌物。
然后他们分别将附着腕部气味，胸部气味及两者混合气味的木钉放到雄性狐猴面前。
结果研究人员发现雄性狐猴会在混合气体前驻足，这表明相比单独气味，混合气体确实含有更多更有趣的信息。
但在随后静置12小时待气体蒸发后，狐猴对混合气味更感兴趣，它们会舔这些木棍以便更好的接触到这种干燥挥发性的混合气体化合物。
这项观察实验证明了混合分泌物确实会促进狐猴驻足停留的理论。
这项研究已在《皇家社会公开科学》杂志上发表。
因此虽然一支玫瑰就是一支玫瑰而且只会散发出玫瑰的气味时，但环尾狐猴的香水可是极为复杂的混合物，而其中所蕴含的微妙含义只能交由当事者的鼻子品评。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
重点讲解
1.wipe onto 擦上
例句:Wipe the lotion onto your face.
你在脸上搽些护肤液。
2.wave at 朝…挥手（致意）
例句:So why you just wave at her?
为什么你只是对她招招手？
3.find out 发现;使发作
例句:I need to find out who tried to frame me.
我得找出是谁企图诬陷我。
4.stick with 坚持
例句:If you're in a job that keeps you busy, stick with it.
如果你所做的工作能让你很忙，那要坚持下去。
