英语听力文摘 English Digest 181、蛇的视力

　　Snake Vision
即使在晚上，蛇也能凭借它超常的视力抓到食物。究竟为什么，听听就知道了。
Time for True or False.We 'A Moment of Science' gives you a scientific claim that you may have never heard before and then tells you whether it's on the level.Ready?
Snakes have heat-vision that allows them to catch their dinners in the dark. True or false?
True! It isn’t quite right to call it “vision,” though–more accurate would be to say that certain species, such as rattlers, have pits just under their eyes that contain specialized¹ heat-sensing organs.

　　This ability to spot heat comes in handy in the desert, especially if you’re out looking for a quick-moving mouse to make into a snack and there isn’t enough light to see by. Rattlers are amazingly good at catching² prey³ because of their heat-seeking ability.
New studies have actually shown that the same sense organs are used for seeking cold as well. This is just as important when you live in a desert; overheating is always a possibility. Two researchers at Indiana State University in Terre Haute found this out by covering some rattlers’ facial pits with little plastic balls temporarily glued in place.
With these organs blocked, the rattlers were no better at finding the cool spot in a maze⁴ than if they had been moving around by chance. They were “cool-blind.” Take the balls out and the rattlers quickly found their way to the cooler spot. Their thermal⁵ vision, so to speak, had been restored.
Now researchers debate this, but it’s possible that the ability to find a cool spot in a desert actually came first, in terms of evolutionary⁶ history. Get that, and the ability to snag a hot mouse might come as a tasty bonus.

1 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

2 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

5 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

6 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。