VOA标准英语2014--3-D X-ray Provides Detailed Images of How Living Insects Move

 

3-D X-ray Provides Detailed¹ Images of How Living Insects Move

German researchers have now developed a 3-D x-ray machine that can look inside living insects for a detailed picture of how they move, as they move.  

The mechanics of insects’ bodies has long intrigued² scientists and engineers, as it can often be applied³ in robotics. 

They try to create robots that imitate insects’ movements, as their bodies are perfectly⁴ adapted for their natural habitats. 

The new x-ray machine will help scientists see precisely⁵ how insects move.

“More than a million insects are known of, but we don't know at all how their internal movement dynamics⁶ work," said Thomas Van De Kamp, a biologist at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. "And with this technology we can look at the movements and can, for example, look at what technical application possibilities there would be for this type of joint⁷.”

In the past, scientists have used x-ray cameras to capture the motion of living insects, but some of the movements were hard to analyze⁸ without the third spatial⁹ dimension this technology provides. 

A granary weevil is placed on top of a rotating platform and scanned by a 3-D x-ray camera, which creates cross-section images of its body.

Taking up to 100,000 two-dimensional pictures per second, scientists created three-dimensional sequences that show the beetle's movements in incredible detail.

Van De Kamp says it's better than a 3-D movie.

“In contrast to 3-D cinema which we know with the glasses, we not only have a perspective here through two eyes, so virtual 3-D, but we have real 3-D, this means we have the three dimensional information of complete data records and can zoom¹⁰ into each part to look at the details of organs and therefore have the complete 3-D information.”

Scientists say the process they call cine-tomography enables them to look at tiny specimens¹¹ in 3-D, not from only two directions but from 1000 directions.

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

6 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

9 spatial   

adj.空间的，占据空间的

参考例句：

• This part of brain judges the spatial relationship between objects.大脑的这部分判断物体间的空间关系。
• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。

10 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

11 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》