(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Hi, I'm Scientific American podcast editor Steve Mirsky. And here's a short piece from the February 2020 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Science, Technology and Medicine.
The article is titled "Quick Hits," and it's a rundown of some science and technology stories from around the globe, compiled by assistant news editor Sarah Lewin Frasier.
From the U.S.:
Off the California coast, scientists measured a blue whale's heart rate for the first time, using a device attached to the animal's skin by suction cup. The heart, likely weighing hundreds of pounds, beats from two to 37 times per minute, varying dramatically between diving, feeding and surfacing.
From Peru:
Researchers analyzing satellite and imaging data have found 143 new Nazca lines—large line drawings of humans, animals and symbols etched into the Peruvian landscape millennia ago. The drawings include a humanoid figure 16 feet across, spotted by IBM's Watson AI system.
From Brazil:
Despite the long dry spells in Brazil's Caatinga region, scientists found the tree Hymenaea cangaceira drizzles copious nectar from flowers to attract pollinating bats; a full-size tree can release 240 gallons of the stuff, with 38 distinct scent compounds, over a single dry season.
From Norway:
Archaeologists' ground-piercing radar found a Viking-era ship, surrounded by a filled ditch, lurking below the soil of a western Norway farm. The ship was once within a burial mound.
From Jordan:
Researchers uncovered a two-horned figure in early Islamic ruins that may be the earliest chess piece ever found. The roughly 1,300-year-old object matches a rook found in an Iranian chess set from about 400 years later.
And From Ethiopia:
Microbes thrive in many of Earth's harshest environments, but researchers found no life at all in briny, scorching, acidic pools near Ethiopia's Dallol volcano. Knowing boundaries for life's adaptation helps to narrow the search for Earth-like life on other planets.
That was "Quick Hits," by Sarah Lewin Frasier.
参考译文
大家好，我是《科学美国人》播客编辑史蒂夫·米尔斯基。下面是本杂志2020年2月刊的一篇短文，摘自“进展：科学、技术和医学前沿快报”版块。
这篇文章名为《要闻快讯》，汇集了全球各地科学和技术新闻报道的摘要，由助理新闻编辑莎拉·莱温·弗雷西尔汇总。
美国：
在加利福尼亚州海岸附近，科学家用吸盘将设备附着在蓝鲸皮肤上，首次测量蓝鲸的心率。这头蓝鲸的心脏可能重达数百磅，在潜水、进食和浮出水面时，跳动会发生剧烈变化，心跳在每分钟2次到37次之间。
秘鲁：
分析卫星和成像数据的研究人员发现了143条新的纳斯卡线条，即数千年前蚀刻在秘鲁地貌上的、绘有人类、动物和符号的大型线条画。其中包括一个16英尺宽的人形画像，由IBM的沃森人工智能系统发现。
巴西：
尽管巴西卡廷加地区长期干旱，但科学家发现Hymenaea cangaceira树的花会流下大量花蜜来吸引传粉的蝙蝠；在一个旱季中，一棵完全长大的树可以释放出240加仑的含有38种不同独特气味化合物的花蜜。
挪威：
考古学家的探地雷达发现了一艘维京时代的船，该船埋葬于挪威西部一个农场的地下，由一个被填平的阴沟所包围。这艘船曾在古代坟冢之中。
约旦：
研究人员在早期伊斯兰遗迹中发现了有两个角的人像，这可能是迄今为止人类发现的最早的国际象棋棋子。这个大约有1300年历史的物体与约400年后在伊朗象棋中发现的“车”样貌相匹配。
埃塞俄比亚：
微生物能在地球上许多最恶劣的环境中繁衍生息，但研究人员在埃塞俄比亚达洛尔火山附近的含盐、灼热和酸性的水池中未发现任何生命。了解生命适应的界限有助于人们缩小在其他行星上寻找类地生命的搜索范围。
以上是莎拉·莱温·弗雷西尔汇总的《要闻快讯》。
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. a rundown of 解释；描述；
Please give me a rundown of last week's news.
请你给我简要地总结一下上周的新闻。
2. for the first time 第一次；首次；
I'll never forget hearing this piece of music for the first time.
我永远不会忘记第一次听到这首曲子的情景。
3. attach to 缚上；系上；贴上；
We attach labels to things before we file them away.
存档前，我们先贴上标签。
4. be etched into 蚀刻；凿刻；
Crosses were etched into the walls.
墙壁上刻着十字架。
