(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
Nature may be red in tooth and claw. But one plucky caterpillar dresses in orange and black to avoid becoming somebody's lunch. What's really surprising, though, is that this distinctive set of stripes can serve as both a warning or as camouflage, depending on how far away it is from the viewer.
Animals can deploy color as a defense mechanism in a couple of ways. Some shades and patterns help potential prey blend into the background. Whereas bold markings often serve as a signal that an animal is unpalatable—for example, chock full o' toxins.
"So, these two strategies have often been considered in isolation and often seen as mutually exclusive and alternative mechanisms. But under natural conditions you find this distinction is less clear cut."
Jim Barnett of the University of Bristol, who led the study to explore whether the same coloration might do double duty, allowing an animal to be obvious under some conditions but unseen in others.
They focused their attention on the caterpillars of cinnabar moths. These larvae sport bright orange and black stripes. Their vivid appearance was believed to remind the birds who may have eaten others of their kind that they are none too tasty, thanks to their diet of alkaloid-rich ragwort plants.
The researchers snapped photos of the caterpillars in suburban green spaces around Bristol. And they used a visual modeling program to give them a "bird's-eye view" of what the caterpillars look like, either close-up or from farther away.
"And what we found is that although at close range the caterpillar's stripes are highly conspicuous—these bright colors distinguish it quite easily from its ragwort background—but when viewed from a distance they blend together to form a color which is actually quite difficult to discern from the background color. So, what we think is going on is that the caterpillar is getting the best of both worlds."
Close up, the stripes say keep your distance. But from a distance, they allow the caterpillars to hide in plain sight. The results can be seen in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
The finding is a reminder: Don't forget to step back and see things from a different perspective.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
参考译文
这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。
大自然可能是腥牙血爪。但一种橙黑色条纹的勇敢毛毛虫则可以避免成为别人的午餐。而真正令人惊讶的是，这种与众不同的条纹能依据毛毛虫与观察者之间的距离，产生警告或伪装两种作用。
动物可通过多种方式将色彩变为防御机制。一些色彩明暗和图案可以帮助潜在猎物融入环境之中。而明显的斑纹通常则是“此动物不可口”的信号，比如身上布满毒素。
“因此，这两种战略常被认为是孤立和互斥的，被看作是替代机制。但在自然条件下，你会发现这种区别并不明确。”
布里斯托尔大学的吉姆·巴尼特说到，他领导的这项研究旨在探索同一颜色是否会有双重功能，让动物在某种情况下变得显眼，而在其他情况下又可以隐身。
他们将研究重点集中在朱砂蛾毛虫身上。这些幼虫身上布满亮橙色和黑色条纹。它们这种鲜艳的外表被认为是提醒那些可能吃掉同类的鸟类：由于以富含生物碱的狗舌草为食，所以它们一点也不好吃。
研究人员在布里斯托尔郊区绿地上拍下了幼虫的照片。他们用一种可视化建模程序，从近景或远景鸟瞰幼虫的样子。
“我们发现，虽然在近景中幼虫的条纹非常明显——这些鲜艳的颜色使其很容易与背景中的狗舌草区分开来，但是从远处看时，二者融为了一种颜色，很难从背景颜色中分辨出幼虫。因此，我们认为幼虫得到了两全其美的结果。”
从近处看，这些条纹会让潜在捕食者保持距离。但是从远处看，这些条纹则会使幼虫得以在众目睽睽之下隐藏起来。这项研究发表在《英国皇家学会·开放科学》期刊上。
该研究结果提醒我们：别忘了退后一步，从不同的角度去看待问题。
谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
重点讲解
重点讲解：
1. thanks to 幸亏；归因于；
Thanks to his parents 'encouragement and support, he finally realized his dream.
多亏了他父母的鼓励与支持，他终于实现了他的梦想。
2. distinguish from 区分；辨别；分清；
In analysing a situation, it's essential to distinguish the main aspect from the minor ones.
分析形势，要看清主流和支流。
3. the best of both worlds 两头受益；两全其美；
The house combines country surroundings with city convenience, so having the best of both worlds.
这所房子既有乡村的环境又有城市的便利，两全其美。
4. step back 退一步，置身事外(思考) ；
Let's step back and have another look at this.
让我们退一步想想，重新看待这件事。
