科学美国人60秒 SSS 2014-07-01_在线英语听力室

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Getting malaria¹ stinks². Literally³. According to a new study, malaria victims give off odors that attracts mosquitoes. And the insects that feed on the infected sufferer are then more likely to spread the disease. The work appears in the Proceedings⁴ of the National Academy of Sciences.

Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasites⁵, which are transmitted by mosquitoes. A decade ago, scientists found that Kenyan kids infected with plasmodium were more attractive to mosquitos than were kids who were parasite-free. But they did not know what drew the bloodsuckers to the unfortunate infected children.

To find out, researchers took mice that harbored the rodent⁶ version of malaria and put the animals in a wind chamber⁷. And they found that mosquitos flocked toward the infected animals, attracted by their smell alone.

By chemically analyzing⁸ the animals’ scents⁹, the researchers found that the parasites boost the levels of a variety of odorous compounds that attract mosquitoes. So plasmodium is manipulating both its victim and its carrier to get itself spread far and wide.

The finding may help with malaria prevention: if we can mask or harness the eau d’ infection, maybe we could nose the mosquitoes away from people.

Thanks for the minute, for Scientific Americans 60-Second Science. I am Karen Hopkin.

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1 malaria
n.疟疾
参考例句：
He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。 Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 stinks
v.散发出恶臭( stink的第三人称单数 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透
参考例句：
The whole scheme stinks to high heaven—don't get involved in it. 整件事十分卑鄙龌龊——可别陷了进去。来自《简明英汉词典》 The soup stinks of garlic. 这汤有大蒜气味。来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 literally
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
参考例句：
He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。 Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 proceedings
n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报
参考例句：
He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。 to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

5 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。

6 rodent
n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的
参考例句：
When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜，这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。 This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。

7 chamber
n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所
参考例句：
For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。 The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 analyzing
v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析
参考例句：
Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。来自辞典例句 He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。来自辞典例句

9 scents
n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉
参考例句：
The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。 The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。来自《简明英汉词典》

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科学美国人60秒 SSS 2014-07-01