科学美国人60秒 SSS 全球科学简讯

Hi, I'm Scientific American podcast editor Steve Mirsky. And here's a short piece from the February 2020 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Science, Technology and Medicine.

The article is titled "Quick Hits," and it's a rundown of some science and technology stories from around the globe, compiled by assistant news editor Sarah Lewin Frasier.

From the U.S.:

Off the California coast, scientists measured a blue whale's heart rate for the first time, using a device attached to the animal's skin by suction cup. The heart, likely weighing hundreds of pounds, beats from two to 37 times per minute, varying dramatically between diving, feeding and surfacing.

From Peru:

Researchers analyzing¹ satellite and imaging data have found 143 new Nazca lines—large line drawings of humans, animals and symbols etched into the Peruvian landscape millennia² ago. The drawings include a humanoid figure 16 feet across, spotted³ by IBM's Watson AI system.

From Brazil:

Despite the long dry spells in Brazil's Caatinga region, scientists found the tree Hymenaea cangaceira drizzles⁴ copious⁵ nectar from flowers to attract pollinating bats; a full-size tree can release 240 gallons of the stuff, with 38 distinct scent⁶ compounds, over a single dry season.

From Norway:

Archaeologists' ground-piercing radar⁷ found a Viking-era ship, surrounded by a filled ditch, lurking⁸ below the soil of a western Norway farm. The ship was once within a burial mound⁹.

From Jordan:

Researchers uncovered a two-horned figure in early Islamic ruins that may be the earliest chess piece ever found. The roughly 1,300-year-old object matches a rook found in an Iranian chess set from about 400 years later.

And From Ethiopia:

Microbes thrive in many of Earth's harshest environments, but researchers found no life at all in briny¹⁰, scorching¹¹, acidic pools near Ethiopia's Dallol volcano. Knowing boundaries for life's adaptation helps to narrow the search for Earth-like life on other planets.

That was "Quick Hits," by Sarah Lewin Frasier.

大家好，我是《科学美国人》播客编辑史蒂夫·米尔斯基。下面是本杂志2020年2月刊的一篇短文，摘自“进展：科学、技术和医学前沿快报”版块。

这篇文章名为《要闻快讯》，汇集了全球各地科学和技术新闻报道的摘要，由助理新闻编辑莎拉·莱温·弗雷西尔汇总。

美国：

在加利福尼亚州海岸附近，科学家用吸盘将设备附着在蓝鲸皮肤上，首次测量蓝鲸的心率。这头蓝鲸的心脏可能重达数百磅，在潜水、进食和浮出水面时，跳动会发生剧烈变化，心跳在每分钟2次到37次之间。

秘鲁：

分析卫星和成像数据的研究人员发现了143条新的纳斯卡线条，即数千年前蚀刻在秘鲁地貌上的、绘有人类、动物和符号的大型线条画。其中包括一个16英尺宽的人形画像，由IBM的沃森人工智能系统发现。

巴西：

尽管巴西卡廷加地区长期干旱，但科学家发现Hymenaea cangaceira树的花会流下大量花蜜来吸引传粉的蝙蝠；在一个旱季中，一棵完全长大的树可以释放出240加仑的含有38种不同独特气味化合物的花蜜。

挪威：

考古学家的探地雷达发现了一艘维京时代的船，该船埋葬于挪威西部一个农场的地下，由一个被填平的阴沟所包围。这艘船曾在古代坟冢之中。

约旦：

研究人员在早期伊斯兰遗迹中发现了有两个角的人像，这可能是迄今为止人类发现的最早的国际象棋棋子。这个大约有1300年历史的物体与约400年后在伊朗象棋中发现的“车”样貌相匹配。

埃塞俄比亚：

微生物能在地球上许多最恶劣的环境中繁衍生息，但研究人员在埃塞俄比亚达洛尔火山附近的含盐、灼热和酸性的水池中未发现任何生命。了解生命适应的界限有助于人们缩小在其他行星上寻找类地生命的搜索范围。

以上是莎拉·莱温·弗雷西尔汇总的《要闻快讯》。

1 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

2 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

3 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

4 drizzles   

蒙蒙细雨，毛毛雨( drizzle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• "Grain lain" day-bringing gentle drizzles-was not far off. “谷雨”节一天近一天了。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
• It drizzles sometimes, moistening the thirsty fields lightly and selflessly. 它大多是毛毛细雨，轻柔而又无私地滋润着干涸的大地。

5 copious   

adj.丰富的，大量的

参考例句：

• She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
• Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。

6 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

7 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

8 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

10 briny   

adj.盐水的；很咸的；n.海洋

参考例句：

• The briny water is not good for the growth of the trees.海水不利于这种树木的生长。
• The briny air gave a foretaste of the nearby sea.咸空气是快近海的前兆。

11 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评