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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Cigarettes are bad for your health. But that’s only if you smoke ‘em. If you use them to line your nest, they might actually do you some good. Because birds that decorate their digs with discarded cigarette butts² are less bothered by parasites³. That’s according to a study in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

When building a nest, birds tend to make do with the materials at hand—or at beak⁴. Twigs⁵ and leaves are popular choices. But what about city birds? Some reach for cigarettes, or at least the fluffy⁶ white fibers⁸ found in their filters.

Scientists got to wondering whether this habit might provide the birds benefits other than comfy bedding. So they grabbed the nests of finches and sparrows that were living on the campus of the National University of Mexico. That’s in the heart of Mexico City. And they found that the nests that were festooned with the most filter fiber⁷ had the lowest numbers of mites⁹.

Could be that the little bloodsuckers are turned off by nicotine¹⁰. Or maybe they’ve heard about the dangers of secondhand smoke. But for the birds, a butt¹ a day might just keep mites away.

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1 butt
n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶
参考例句：
The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。 He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

2 butts
笑柄( butt的名词复数 )；（武器或工具的）粗大的一端；屁股；烟蒂
参考例句：
The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 The house butts to a cemetery. 这所房子和墓地相连。

3 parasites
寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )；靠他人为生的人；诸虫
参考例句：
These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。 Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

4 beak
n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻
参考例句：
The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。 This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

5 twigs
细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。 Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

6 fluffy
adj.有绒毛的，空洞的
参考例句：
Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。 The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

7 fiber
n.纤维，纤维质
参考例句：
The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。 The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

8 fibers
光纤( fiber的名词复数 )；（织物的）质地；纤维，纤维物质
参考例句：
Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。 Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

9 mites
n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨
参考例句：
The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。来自辞典例句 Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。来自辞典例句

10 nicotine
n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱
参考例句：
Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。 Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。