精美英文欣赏:植物拟态

Mimicry² in Plants

Plant adaptations can be remarkably³ complex. Certain species of orchids⁴, for instance, imitate female bees, other plants look and smell like dead animals, and still others have the appearance of stones. These strange adaptations to life represent just a few of the sophisticated means by which plants enhance their chances of survival. Mimicry in plants or animals is a three part system. There is a model: the animal, plant or substrate being initiated⁵. There is a mimic¹: the organism that imitates the model. And there is a signal receiver or dupe: the animal that cannot effectively distinguish between the model and the mimic. Mimetic traits may include morphological structures, color patterns, behaviors or other attributes of the mimic that promote its resemblance to a model.That model may be either an unrelated species or an inanimate object, such as the background against which an organism spends most of its time. Mimicry is not an active strategy on the part of an individual plant; flowers do not deliberately⁶ trick or deceive animals into visiting them.Mimicry arises as the result of evolution through natural selection and the occurrence of random⁷ genetic⁸ mutations that lead over many generations to the appearance of favorable characteristics. If such traits help to camouflage⁹ a plant, for example, the plant is likely to have a survival advantage over other plants that are less well camouflaged¹⁰.The plant will leave more descendants, thereby¹¹ passing the advantage to the next generation. For natural selection to favor the evolution of mimicry, the mimicry must derive¹² a reproductive advantage from modeling itself after another organism or object: its fitness, measured as the number of offspring produced that survive into the next generation, must be increased as the result of deception¹³.

植物拟态

植物的适应性极为复杂。 某种兰花模仿雌蜂，还有些植物看上去或嗅起来象死去的动物，更有些植物具有石头的外表。 这些稀奇古怪的适应性不过是植物的众多求生手段中的一小部分罢了。 动植物的拟态包括三方面的内容：一是被模仿者，动物，植物或是生态基层，二是模仿者，即那些去模拟其它东西的生物，三是上当受骗者，即不能分辨模仿者与被模仿者的动物。 被模仿特征包括形态结构，色彩花纹，动作习性或其它模仿者实现它与被模仿者相似的特点。 被模仿者可以是其它种类的生物或非生命物，如栖居地的环境。 拟态并非某个植物主动的策略。 花朵并非故意诱骗动物来访。 拟态是无数代自然选择和遗传变异的进化而获得的有利特征的结果。 比如，有些特征有利于伪装，那么具有这些特征的植物就比不具有的易于生存。 这种植物就会有更多的后代，并把这些特征代代相传。 要让自然选择惠顾模仿者的进化，模仿者必须在模仿其它生物或物体中得到繁殖优势：它的适应能力，以存活至下一代的幼兽的数目来衡量，必定因为欺骗而加强了。

1 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。

2 mimicry   

n.（生物）拟态，模仿

参考例句：

• One of his few strengths was his skill at mimicry.他为数不多的强项之一就是善于模仿。
• Language learning usually necessitates conscious mimicry.一般地说，学习语言就要进行有意识的摹仿。

3 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

4 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

6 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

7 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

8 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

9 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

10 camouflaged   

v.隐蔽( camouflage的过去式和过去分词 )；掩盖；伪装，掩饰

参考例句：

• We camouflaged in the bushes and no one saw us. 我们隐藏在灌木丛中没有被人发现。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They camouflaged in bushes. 他们隐蔽在灌木丛中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

12 derive   

v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。

13 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。