60秒科学:想要求婚,可以学学造园鸟~~~

The first time you visit your boyfriend’s place, he no doubt tidies up, to give you the illusion that he doesn’t live like an animal. Well, animals, too, can use optical illusions to woo a mate. Take the bowerbird. 
 
你第一次去男朋友的家里，他势必会打扫干净，这会给你一个假象，他没有像个动物一样住着。是的，动物也是如此，用视觉假象来求婚。以造园鸟举例。

Male bowerbirds build elaborate shelters to try to attract a female. They decorate these bachelor pads with shells, bones and pebbles¹, and even lay a pathway of sticks along which the female can walk to get the best view. But that path provides more than just a welcome mat. It allows the male bird to set the stage so that the décor will accentuate—even exaggerate—his size, a typical sign of good genes².  

雄性造园鸟精心筑巢就是为了吸引雌性。这些单身汉们用果壳、骨头、卵石把自己垫高，装饰自己。甚至用枯枝铺一条小路，让雌造园鸟走过来好好参观。但这条路不仅仅只是作为欢迎的地毯。同时也可以是雄造园鸟的舞台，使得周遭布置能够突出装饰——甚至能让他看上去更大——大小是雄造园鸟优秀基因的典型标志。

See, male bowerbirds line their courtyards with objects arranged from smallest to largest. Viewed from the walkway, this layout makes the court seem smaller and the bird sitting at its center look larger. When scientists went in and reversed the gradient, the male bowerbirds restored it within days, results published in the journal Current Biology.

看看，雄造园鸟布置庭院的东西，从最小的到最大的都准备了。从通道上看去，这种布局是比庭院看上去更小，而造园鸟坐在中间则显得更大。当科学家们进去，改变了路的坡度，雄造园鸟几天内又把它改正回来。研究结果刊登在《当代生物学》杂志上。

Of course, the females may be on to the trick. And rather than being fooled about size, a female may be selecting a male based on how clever he is to make himself look so swell³. Or so swelled⁴.

当然，雌造园鸟或许会中计。但雌造园鸟与其被尺寸所蒙骗，不如在挑选“郎君”时立足于他是多么聪明的使自己看上去如此强壮。或者就是这么的高大
 

1 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

2 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

3 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

4 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。