中英双语新闻 蜣螂用天空快照导航

Scientists say that dung beetles¹ have developed a complex method of navigation that relies on the position of the sun, the moon and the stars. It’s hoped that understanding the beetles’ navigational skills could eventually aid the development of driverless vehicles. Here is our environment correspondent Matt McGrath.

Previous studies have shown that these beetles navigate² by the light of the milky³ way. But now researchers say they understand how the process works. The beetles record an image of the sky while dancing on top of the dung ball including the information that humans just can’t see, such as the colors of cosmic light. When the beetles start rolling away their manure⁴, they compare their mental snapshot of the sky in front of them and use that comparison to navigate in a straight line. The scientists say that this ability is unique to these dung beetles and they believe it could have implications for the designer of robots or rather autonomous⁵ vehicles.

One of the last human links to the 19th century has died. Susannah Mushatt Jones was born on a farm in the American state of Alabama in 1899. She’s just died in New York at the age of 116.

“A remarkable⁶ lifetime of exceptional achievement”, comments that US congress would normally reserve for a great statesman. But a long life often draws out reflections on how far a nation has progressed as a whole. And Susannah Mushatt Jones lived through many many changes. The sharecropper’ s life she was born into in rural Alabama was incredibly tough. When cotton prices slumped⁷ as they often did, Susannah and her ten brothers and sisters would go hungry. But resilience and good genes⁸ ran in the family. Her grandmother, an ex-slave is said to have lived until she was 117. It was the social upheaval⁹ and economic boom after the first world war that gave Susannah and many other African Americans the chance to move north in search of a better life, away from the entrenched¹⁰ racial discrimination of the South. 

She moved to New York in 1922 where she found work as a housekeeper¹¹ for seven dollars a week. Remarkably¹², she was able to save some of her salary. She set up a college scholarship fund for African American students at her high school back in Alabama. Life there was still largely segregated¹³ along racial lines. But two year before she retired¹⁴, after President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, Susannah became active in her Brooklyn community. She ran a tenant¹⁵ patrol team well into her 80s.

蜣螂用“天空快照”导航 世界最长寿老人逝世

科学家称，蜣螂拥有一套依赖日、月、星位置导航的复杂方法。理解甲壳虫的导航技巧有望最终助力无人驾驶汽车的发展。本台环境记者马特·麦克格拉报道。

以往研究表明，这些甲壳虫借助银河光线导航。但现在研究人员称他们理解了整个工作原理。甲壳虫在粪球上跳动的时候会记录天空的图像，包含人类看不到的信息，例如宇宙光的颜色。甲壳虫开始滚动它们粪球的时候，会比较前方天空在大脑中的快照，利用对比结果直线前行。科学家称，这种能力是蜣螂独有的，而且认为它能给机器人或更确切地说无人驾驶汽车的设计人员以启示。

马特·麦克格拉报道。

出生于19世纪的最后一批健在的人中又有一个去世。苏珊娜·穆莎特·琼斯1899年出生于美国阿拉巴马州的一个农场，她刚刚在纽约去世，享年116岁。

“她的一生是卓越的一生，是成就杰出的一生”，美国国会给出了一般用于伟大政治家的评价。但漫长的人生经常引人反思一个国家整体前进了多远。苏珊娜·穆莎特·琼斯经受过许许多多的变数。她出生于阿拉巴马州农村的佃农家庭，生活很艰苦。棉花价格经常下跌的时候苏珊娜和她的10个兄弟姐妹就会挨饿，好在这家人适应能力强、基因好。苏珊娜的母亲曾经是一名奴隶，据说活到了117岁。一战后的社会动乱和经济腾飞使苏珊娜和其他许多非裔美国有机会迁到北方，寻求更好的生活，远离南方根深蒂固的种族歧视。1922年，苏珊娜搬到纽约居住并在那里找到一份女管家的工作，周薪7美元。引人注目的是，她攒下了一部分工资，在阿拉巴马州她曾就读的高中创立学院奖学金，帮助非裔美国学生。当地的生活仍然受到种族界限的隔离，但在她退休两年前，1964年约翰逊总统签署《民权法案》后，苏珊娜在她的布鲁克林社区活跃起来。她80多岁还在为佃户巡检队奔走。

1 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

3 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

4 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

5 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

8 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

9 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

10 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

11 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

12 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

13 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。