新奇事件簿 蚂蚁利用太阳位置确定方向

Ants are some of the most impressive creatures on this planet. There are so many things we do not know about them. Scientists have just discovered an amazing new fact about these tiny insects. It is about the way ants navigate¹ – the way they get from A to B without getting lost. An international group of scientists say ants can go in a straight line along a compass route, whatever direction they are facing. The BBC said it is the same as, "trying to find your way home while walking backwards² or even spinning round and round". Scientists say ants do this by using the position of the Sun, their past memories, and what they can see around them. Professor Barbara Webb said ants get around like a self-driving car.

蚂蚁是这个星球上给人印象最深刻的生物之一。关于蚂蚁有很多未解之谜。科学家刚刚发现了关于这些微小的昆虫一些令人惊叹的事实。该事实与蚂蚁辨别方向的方法有关——它们能从一个地方移动到另外一个地方而不会迷路。一些国际科学家表示，蚂蚁可以沿着指南针路线走直线，无论他们朝向什么方向。BBC表示，就好像“向回走找到回家的路或者不断旋转一样。”科学家表示，蚂蚁通过太阳的位置，过去的记忆，以及它们看到的周围的事物来确定位置。Barbara Webb教授表示，蚂蚁就像自动驾驶的汽车一样运动。

The scientists studied desert ants near Seville, Spain. They published their report in the journal 'Current Biology'. They said: "Ants can navigate over long distances between their nest and food sites using visual clues." They did this even when the scientists put obstacles in their way and when they had to drag food while walking backwards. Professor Webb said: "Ants have a…tiny brain, less than the size of a pinhead. Yet they can navigate successfully under many difficult conditions, including going backwards." She said we can learn many things from ants: "Understanding their behaviour gives us new insights³ into brain function and has inspired us to build robot systems that mimic⁴ their functions."

科学家研究了西班牙塞维利亚附近的沙漠蚂蚁。他们在《当前生物学》杂志上发表了这篇报告。他们说：“蚂蚁可以利用视觉线索导航，在巢穴和食物之间移动很长的距离。”他们说，即使在前进途中放置障碍，即使他们返回途中拖着食物倒退行走，他们也能辨别方向。Webb教授说：“蚂蚁的大脑非常小，比大头针的针头还小。然而，他们可以在许多非常艰难的环境下成功辨别方向，包括倒退行走的时候。”她说，我们可以从蚂蚁身上学到很多东西：“了解他们的行为为我们研究大脑功能提供了新的视角，激励我们建立模仿它们功能的机器人系统。”

1 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。

2 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

3 insights   

洞察力( insight的名词复数 )； 洞悉； 领悟； 顿悟

参考例句：

• This is a book full of profound, original and challenging insights. 这本书充满了深刻、新颖、令人深思的见解。
• Because his judgement was prudent, his insights were central to any consultation. 因为他考虑问题很慎重，所以他的意见在每次磋商时都最受重视。

4 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。