科学美国人60秒 SSS 全球科学新闻简讯2020.09

Hi, I'm Scott Hershberger, with Scientific American as an American Association for the Advancement¹ of Science Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow.

大家好，这里是《科学美国人》，我是斯科特·赫什伯格，是美国科学促进会大众传媒科学与工程研究员。

And here's a short piece from the September 2020 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Science, Technology and Medicine.

下面是本杂志2020年9月刊的一篇短文，摘自“进展：科学、技术和医学前沿快报”版块。

The article is titled "Quick Hits," and it's a rundown of some stories from around the globe.

这篇文章名为《要闻快讯》，汇集了全球报道的摘要。

From Argentina:

阿根廷：

The earliest dinosaurs² laid soft-shelled eggs, paleontologists say.

古生物学家表示，最早的恐龙产的是软壳蛋。

A new chemical analysis of a more than 200-million-year-old fossilized egg from Patagonia—and a clutch of more recent eggs from Mongolia, found in the Gobi Desert—

对巴塔哥尼亚2亿多年前化石恐龙蛋以及蒙古戈壁滩发现的一窝比较近期的恐龙蛋进行最新化学分析后，

revealed a thin film matching the characteristics of modern soft-shelled eggs.

发现了一层与现代软壳蛋特征相匹配的薄膜。

From England:

英国：

Archaeologists found that 20 deep shafts³, previously⁴ thought to be natural sinkholes and ponds, were dug by Neolithic⁵ humans.

考古学家发现，之前被认为是天然天坑和池塘的20个深立井，其实是新石器时代人类挖掘的。

The shafts form a circle two kilometers in diameter, with the Durrington Walls monument at its center, just three kilometers from Stonehenge.

这些立井形成一个直径两公里的圆圈，杜灵顿墙纪念碑位于其中心，距离巨石阵仅三公里。

From Brazil:

巴西：

Researchers documented the largest lightning bolt ever recorded.

研究人员记录了有史以来最大的闪电。

The "mega-flash," which extended for more than 700 kilometers in southern Brazil in 2018,

这个“超级闪电”于2018年在巴西南部延伸了700多公里，

was detected by a new advanced weather satellite in geostationary orbit.

由地球同步轨道上一颗最新的先进气象卫星探测到。

From Israel:

以色列：

Researchers sequenced DNA⁶ samples from the Dead Sea Scrolls⁷, identifying fragments made from sheep skin and others made from cow hide.

研究人员对死海古卷的DNA样本进行了测序，确定了一些片段由羊皮制成，而其他片段则由牛皮制成。

The technique could help match fragments together and unravel⁸ the artifacts' geographic⁹ origins.

这项技术有助于将碎片拼在一起，并解开这一人工制品的地理起源。

From Indonesia:

印度尼西亚：

Scientists identified an elusive¹⁰ nose-horned dragon lizard¹¹ in the forests of North Sumatra.

科学家在北苏门答腊的森林中发现了一种难以捕捉的鼻角龙蜥蜴。

Despite appearing in the mythology¹² of the indigenous¹³ Bataks,

尽管曾出现在当地土著巴塔克人的神话中，

the visually striking species had been spotted¹⁴ by scientists only once before—almost 130 years ago.

但这一视觉上引人注目的物种之前只被科学家发现过一次——大约在130年前。

And from Australia:

澳大利亚：

Submarine drones uncovered an extensive system of underwater "rivers" of dense¹⁵, salty water along Australia's continental¹⁶ shelf.

海底无人机在澳大利亚大陆架沿岸发现了一个巨大的地下水“河流”系统，流着的是稠密的含盐水。

These flows carry organic matter from the coast into the deep ocean, and their volume varies seasonally¹⁷, peaking in winter.

这些水流将有机物从海岸带到深海，其体积随季节变化，在冬季达到峰值。

That was "Quick Hits." I'm Scott Hershberger.

以上是《要闻快讯》，我是斯科特·赫什伯格。

1 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

2 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 shafts   

n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等）

参考例句：

• He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把，摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下，并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 neolithic   

adj.新石器时代的

参考例句：

• Cattle were first domesticated in Neolithic times.新石器时代有人开始驯养牛。
• The monument was Stone Age or Neolithic.该纪念碑是属于石器时代或新石器时代的。

6 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

7 scrolls   

n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕

参考例句：

• Either turn it off or only pick up selected stuff like wands, rings and scrolls. 把他关掉然后只捡你需要的物品，像是魔杖(wand)，戒指(rings)和滚动条(scrolls)。 来自互联网
• Ancient scrolls were found in caves by the Dead Sea. 死海旁边的山洞里发现了古代的卷轴。 来自辞典例句

8 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

9 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

11 lizard   

n.蜥蜴，壁虎

参考例句：

• A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

12 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

13 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

14 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。

15 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

16 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

17 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句