How dung beetles navigate

　　蜣螂如何導(dǎo)航

　　Stars in their eyes

　　眼里有星辰

　　An insect that steers by the Milky Way

　　觀天識途的昆蟲

　　THE number of animals that navigate by the stars is small.

　　靠觀察星辰行走的動物不多。

　　Only some birds, a few seals and, of course, humans have the ability.

　　僅僅有某些鳥類、海豹，當(dāng)然人也有這個本事。

　　It had been assumed that other creatures that might do this would need reasonablywell-developed brains.

　　過去人們設(shè)想其他具備這種能力的生物很可能擁有發(fā)達的大腦。

　　That notion has now been proved wrong as thecelestial-navigation club welcomes its latest member: the humble dung beetle.

　　現(xiàn)在這種見解被推翻了，因為天文導(dǎo)航俱樂部迎來了自己最新的成員不起眼的蜣螂。

　　Life in the world of dung beetles is fiercely competitive.

　　蜣螂在這個世界上過著你爭我奪的生活。

　　After rolling up a ball of highly nutritious dung, the beetle must race off with it or riskhaving the ball stolen by other beetles.

　　蜣螂必須把自己團好的極富營養(yǎng)的糞球搬走，否則勞動成果會被其他的蜣螂偷走。

　　Strength is important, but so too is the route taken.

　　力量很重要，運輸路線也不能輕視。

　　The ideal tactic on the open plains where many dung beetles live is to move in a straightline.

　　很多生活在廣闊平原上的蜣螂采用走直路的理想策略。

　　This is easy enough during the day, but at nightwhen the beetles are most activeit ismore challenging.

　　這在白天不難辦到，然而晚上才是蜣螂最活躍的時間，此時走直路對它們來說就是挑戰(zhàn)了。

　　Previous work has shown that dung beetles can make use of the moon to help themnavigate, yet some still set a straight course on moonless nights.

　　以前人們發(fā)現(xiàn)蜣螂利用月亮導(dǎo)航，如果晚上沒有月亮，也有蜣螂走直路。

　　To find out how, a team working in South Africa led by Eric Warrant and Marie Dacke, of LundUniversity in Sweden, designed an intriguing experiment.

　　為了找到蜣螂夜里能走直路的原因，Eric Warrant和Marie Dacke領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的瑞典隆德大學(xué)工作團在南非設(shè)計了一個有意思的試驗。

　　They made caps for 19 dung beetles.

　　他們給19只蜣螂做了帽子。

　　Ten wore caps made of cardboard to prevent them seeing the sky and, as a control, ninewore caps made of transparent plastic.

　　10只蜣螂戴著薄紙板做的帽子，這樣他們就看不到天空了。作為對比，其他9只蜣螂戴上了透明塑料制成的帽子。

　　The beetles and their dung balls were then released in the centre of a circular arena madeof flattened sand and enclosed by a featureless circular wall.

　　這些蜣螂和它們的糞球都被放在了一個平鋪著沙子圓形場地的中央，場地的圍墻也沒有什么特別之處。

　　As the beetles rolled away under a moonless night sky they were filmed by infra-redcameras.

　　在沒有月亮的晚上，紅外線攝影機記錄蜣螂搬運糞球的活動。

　　The team found that the beetles prevented from seeing the sky by their caps had path lengthsthat averaged 476.7cm, much longer than the average of 143.4cm travelled by the beetleswearing clear hats.

　　試驗人員發(fā)現(xiàn)被帽子遮擋了天空的蜣螂平均行走476.7cm，遠遠超出戴著透明帽子的蜣螂的平均路程143.4cm。

　　As the beetles might have used other overhead landmarks, like trees,

　　因為蜣螂可能使用位于高處的其他地標。

　　a second arena was built with a high black wall and a small, dry moat around it.

　　第二個場地是黑色高墻圍起來的，

　　This time the beetlesminus their hatswere timed to see how long it took them to roll theirballs from the centre to the point where they could be heard falling into the moat.

　　附近有一條干涸的壕溝這次蜣螂沒有戴帽子實驗人員要看看他們從場地中央滾糞球到跌入壕溝能用時多久。

　　Under a full moon the beetles took an average of 21.4 seconds to reach the moat.

　　滿月之夜蜣螂抵達壕溝平均耗時21.4秒。

　　On a moonless, starry night, their speed was somewhat reduced, but not significantly so.

　　在繁星滿天的無月之夜，它們的速度有所下降，但降得不多。

　　However, under overcast conditions, when neither moonlight nor the stars were visible, thebeetles took an average of 117.4 seconds.

　　如果晚上陰天，看不到星星和月亮，蜣螂抵達目的地要平均耗時117.4秒。

　　Curious as to what it was in the sky that the beetles were using to navigate, the teammoved their arena inside the Johannesburg planetarium and reran their experiments.

　　因為試驗人員急于了解蜣螂到底利用天上的什么物體導(dǎo)航，他們到約翰內(nèi)斯堡天文館做室內(nèi)實驗。

　　As they report in Current Biology, the beetles presented with a full starlit sky, including theMilky Way or just the Milky Way, took statistically the same amount of time to exit thearena.

　　他們在《當(dāng)代生物學(xué)》雜志上統(tǒng)計了蜣螂在繁星滿天的夜空下走出場地用的時間在統(tǒng)計學(xué)上是相同的，

　　Under a sky full of dim stars they were only a little slower.

　　天上的星光不亮，它們要稍微慢一點。

　　This, speculates Dr Warrant, is because they were still able to spot the cluster that forms theMilky Way.

　　通過試驗Warrant,博士推測，這是因為蜣螂還能認出銀河系形成的星團。

　　When allowed to see only the 18 brightest stars or immersed in total darkness, the beetlestook more than twice as long to exit the arena.

　　如果暗夜里只有18顆最亮的星星，蜣螂離開場地的時間要高出兩倍以上。

　　The team now wonders how many other animals might be able to use the glowing strip oflight created by the Milky Way to guide them.

　　這個團隊的工作人員現(xiàn)在想知道到底有多少動物可以利用銀河系形成的發(fā)光帶活動。

　　詞語解釋

　　1.roll up 卷起; 卷成圓筒形

　　We are going to have to roll up sleeves together.

　　我們必須一起卷起袖子。

　　Women, place pens behind your ears and roll upyour sleeves.

　　女士們，耳朵后面加根筆、還要挽起袖子。

　　2.race off 引誘

　　Sailboats race each other off the coast of england near cowes.

　　英格蘭海岸附近的考斯帆船比賽。

　　In the ensuing arms race to show off and get a mate it has been exaggerated in the waythat a peacock s tail is.

　　在炫耀自己并獲得伴侶的追求競爭中，這種適應(yīng)性會以像孔雀尾巴這種夸張的形式出現(xiàn)。

　　3.make use of 使用，利用;假借

　　Now we need to make use of them.

　　如今，我們需要對它們加以利用。

　　Researches make use of online surveys to complete their assignments.

　　研究人員利用網(wǎng)上調(diào)查來完成他們的任務(wù)。

　　4.made of 由...制成

　　Is your shirt made of cotton?

　　你的襯衫是用棉布做的嗎?

　　Modern clock made of small plate pieces assembled at random.

　　用小碟片隨意拼湊而成的時尚時鐘。

　　How dung beetles navigate

　　蜣螂如何導(dǎo)航

　　Stars in their eyes

　　眼里有星辰

　　An insect that steers by the Milky Way

　　觀天識途的昆蟲

　　THE number of animals that navigate by the stars is small.

　　靠觀察星辰行走的動物不多。

　　Only some birds, a few seals and, of course, humans have the ability.

　　僅僅有某些鳥類、海豹，當(dāng)然人也有這個本事。

　　It had been assumed that other creatures that might do this would need reasonablywell-developed brains.

　　過去人們設(shè)想其他具備這種能力的生物很可能擁有發(fā)達的大腦。

　　That notion has now been proved wrong as thecelestial-navigation club welcomes its latest member: the humble dung beetle.

　　現(xiàn)在這種見解被推翻了，因為天文導(dǎo)航俱樂部迎來了自己最新的成員不起眼的蜣螂。

　　Life in the world of dung beetles is fiercely competitive.

　　蜣螂在這個世界上過著你爭我奪的生活。

　　After rolling up a ball of highly nutritious dung, the beetle must race off with it or riskhaving the ball stolen by other beetles.

　　蜣螂必須把自己團好的極富營養(yǎng)的糞球搬走，否則勞動成果會被其他的蜣螂偷走。

　　Strength is important, but so too is the route taken.

　　力量很重要，運輸路線也不能輕視。

　　The ideal tactic on the open plains where many dung beetles live is to move in a straightline.

　　很多生活在廣闊平原上的蜣螂采用走直路的理想策略。

　　This is easy enough during the day, but at nightwhen the beetles are most activeit ismore challenging.

　　這在白天不難辦到，然而晚上才是蜣螂最活躍的時間，此時走直路對它們來說就是挑戰(zhàn)了。

　　Previous work has shown that dung beetles can make use of the moon to help themnavigate, yet some still set a straight course on moonless nights.

　　以前人們發(fā)現(xiàn)蜣螂利用月亮導(dǎo)航，如果晚上沒有月亮，也有蜣螂走直路。

　　To find out how, a team working in South Africa led by Eric Warrant and Marie Dacke, of LundUniversity in Sweden, designed an intriguing experiment.

　　為了找到蜣螂夜里能走直路的原因，Eric Warrant和Marie Dacke領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的瑞典隆德大學(xué)工作團在南非設(shè)計了一個有意思的試驗。

　　They made caps for 19 dung beetles.

　　他們給19只蜣螂做了帽子。

　　Ten wore caps made of cardboard to prevent them seeing the sky and, as a control, ninewore caps made of transparent plastic.

　　10只蜣螂戴著薄紙板做的帽子，這樣他們就看不到天空了。作為對比，其他9只蜣螂戴上了透明塑料制成的帽子。

　　The beetles and their dung balls were then released in the centre of a circular arena madeof flattened sand and enclosed by a featureless circular wall.

　　這些蜣螂和它們的糞球都被放在了一個平鋪著沙子圓形場地的中央，場地的圍墻也沒有什么特別之處。

　　As the beetles rolled away under a moonless night sky they were filmed by infra-redcameras.

　　在沒有月亮的晚上，紅外線攝影機記錄蜣螂搬運糞球的活動。

　　The team found that the beetles prevented from seeing the sky by their caps had path lengthsthat averaged 476.7cm, much longer than the average of 143.4cm travelled by the beetleswearing clear hats.

　　試驗人員發(fā)現(xiàn)被帽子遮擋了天空的蜣螂平均行走476.7cm，遠遠超出戴著透明帽子的蜣螂的平均路程143.4cm。

　　As the beetles might have used other overhead landmarks, like trees,

　　因為蜣螂可能使用位于高處的其他地標。

　　a second arena was built with a high black wall and a small, dry moat around it.

　　第二個場地是黑色高墻圍起來的，

　　This time the beetlesminus their hatswere timed to see how long it took them to roll theirballs from the centre to the point where they could be heard falling into the moat.

　　附近有一條干涸的壕溝這次蜣螂沒有戴帽子實驗人員要看看他們從場地中央滾糞球到跌入壕溝能用時多久。

　　Under a full moon the beetles took an average of 21.4 seconds to reach the moat.

　　滿月之夜蜣螂抵達壕溝平均耗時21.4秒。

　　On a moonless, starry night, their speed was somewhat reduced, but not significantly so.

　　在繁星滿天的無月之夜，它們的速度有所下降，但降得不多。

　　However, under overcast conditions, when neither moonlight nor the stars were visible, thebeetles took an average of 117.4 seconds.

　　如果晚上陰天，看不到星星和月亮，蜣螂抵達目的地要平均耗時117.4秒。

　　Curious as to what it was in the sky that the beetles were using to navigate, the teammoved their arena inside the Johannesburg planetarium and reran their experiments.

　　因為試驗人員急于了解蜣螂到底利用天上的什么物體導(dǎo)航，他們到約翰內(nèi)斯堡天文館做室內(nèi)實驗。

　　As they report in Current Biology, the beetles presented with a full starlit sky, including theMilky Way or just the Milky Way, took statistically the same amount of time to exit thearena.

　　他們在《當(dāng)代生物學(xué)》雜志上統(tǒng)計了蜣螂在繁星滿天的夜空下走出場地用的時間在統(tǒng)計學(xué)上是相同的，

　　Under a sky full of dim stars they were only a little slower.

　　天上的星光不亮，它們要稍微慢一點。

　　This, speculates Dr Warrant, is because they were still able to spot the cluster that forms theMilky Way.

　　通過試驗Warrant,博士推測，這是因為蜣螂還能認出銀河系形成的星團。

　　When allowed to see only the 18 brightest stars or immersed in total darkness, the beetlestook more than twice as long to exit the arena.

　　如果暗夜里只有18顆最亮的星星，蜣螂離開場地的時間要高出兩倍以上。

　　The team now wonders how many other animals might be able to use the glowing strip oflight created by the Milky Way to guide them.

　　這個團隊的工作人員現(xiàn)在想知道到底有多少動物可以利用銀河系形成的發(fā)光帶活動。

　　詞語解釋

　　1.roll up 卷起; 卷成圓筒形

　　We are going to have to roll up sleeves together.

　　我們必須一起卷起袖子。

　　Women, place pens behind your ears and roll upyour sleeves.

　　女士們，耳朵后面加根筆、還要挽起袖子。

　　2.race off 引誘

　　Sailboats race each other off the coast of england near cowes.

　　英格蘭海岸附近的考斯帆船比賽。

　　In the ensuing arms race to show off and get a mate it has been exaggerated in the waythat a peacock s tail is.

　　在炫耀自己并獲得伴侶的追求競爭中，這種適應(yīng)性會以像孔雀尾巴這種夸張的形式出現(xiàn)。

　　3.make use of 使用，利用;假借

　　Now we need to make use of them.

　　如今，我們需要對它們加以利用。

　　Researches make use of online surveys to complete their assignments.

　　研究人員利用網(wǎng)上調(diào)查來完成他們的任務(wù)。

　　4.made of 由...制成

　　Is your shirt made of cotton?

　　你的襯衫是用棉布做的嗎?

　　Modern clock made of small plate pieces assembled at random.

　　用小碟片隨意拼湊而成的時尚時鐘。