Animals’ Early Warning Systems

Animals’ Early Warning Systems

2

Massive migrations¹

 

Wildlife photographer Mike Blair remembers the day he witnessed how waterfowl can sense change in the weather. That morning the weather was mild, with a few snow geese on the marshes² at the wildlife refuge. But as the day progressed, flight after flight of geese crossed the sky and settled on the wetlands. The next day temperatures plummeted⁴ and a snowstorm hit.

 

“The refuge staff said there were 20,000 geese there at the start of the day,” says Blair. “By the end of the day, they were estimating there were 300,000 or more.”

 

Wildlife biologists believe migrating waterfowl have a built-in sense to detect the approach of large storms and are particularly responsive to changes in barometric⁵ pressure.

 

Fishing frenzy⁶

 

When Steve Hogan pulled out his fishing tackle, he wasn’t expecting great things. He had fished the same pond for years and never caught a bass⁷ weighing more than 2 pounds. “I thought it was just one of those ponds where the bass were stunted⁸,” he says.

 

That day a nasty front approached. The skies turned dark and lightning could be seen in the distance. The dramatic change in weather produced a day of fishing Hogan will never forget. He and a friend caught and released more than 70 bass in a short period, many of them 3 to 5 pounds.

 

Other fishermen have had similar experiences. Lure⁹ manufacturer Tom Mann talks about the day he was out fishing and sighted a tornado¹⁰.

 

“The fish just went crazy,” he says. “They ... just bit everything. It obviously had to do with that rapid change in [barometric pressure].

 

“Now, I’m not telling people to be out on the water before a tornado comes in. That’s dangerous. But it does show how these big storm systems will affect fish.”

Vocabulary Focus

plummet³ (v) [5plQmit] to fall very quickly and suddenly

stunted (adj) [5stQntid] preventing the growth or development of something from reaching its limit

tornado (n) [tC:5neidEu] a strong, dangerous wind that forms itself into a spinning cone¹¹ and is able to destroy nearly

anything in its path as it moves across the ground

 

Specialized¹² Terms

barometric pressure (n) 大气压力 the pressure caused by the weight of the air as recorded by the barometer¹³, a device that measures air pressure and shows when the weather is likely to change; also called “atmospheric¹⁴ pressure”

tackle (n) 全套装备或用具 all the objects needed for a particular activity

front (n) 锋面 the place where two masses of air that have different temperatures meet

lure (n) 钓饵 an artificial insect or other small animal that is attached to the end of a fishing line to attract fish

动物预警系统

2

大举迁移

野生动物摄影家迈克·布莱尔还记得当天亲眼目睹了水鸟如何察觉到气候的转变。那天上午的天气温和，野生动物保护区的湿地上只有少数的雪雁。但随着一天慢慢过去，成群的雪雁飞过天际，都来这里栖息在湿地上。第二天温度骤降，暴风雪来袭。   

“保护区的工作人员说那天刚开始时有2万只雪雁，”布莱尔说：“到了深夜，他们估计那有30万只或更多的雪雁。”   

野生动物生物学家相信随季节迁移的水鸟有一种与生俱来的感应能力，可以察觉到大风雪的前兆，并对大气压力的变化特别有反应。

 

狂乱的垂钓场面   

史帝·霍根取出他的钓具时，并没期待会有什么好事；多年来，他都在这个池塘钓鱼，从来没钓过超过2磅的鲈鱼。“我以为像有些池塘一样，这里的鲈鱼就是发育不良的那种。”他说。

当天，一道恶劣的锋面袭来。天色变暗，远处还看得到闪电。这天天气的戏剧性变化带给霍根一次永远难忘的钓鱼经荡。他和朋友在短短的时间内，钓上来又放走了70多条鲈鱼，其中很多都重达35磅。

其它垂钓者也曾有过类似的经历。钓饵商人汤姆·曼恩提到有一天外出钓鱼时目睹一场龙卷风的经过。

“鱼简直都疯了！”他说：“它们……什么饵都吞，显然跟（大气压力的）快速突变有关。”

“我可不是在鼓励人们龙卷风来袭前还参与亲水活动，那样太危险了。不过以上情况真的可以显示大风暴系统对鱼群的影响。”

1 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

2 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

4 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 barometric   

大气压力

参考例句：

• Electricity compensates for barometric pressure as well as system pressure variations. 用电补偿大气压和系统压力的变化。
• A barometric altimeter indicates height above sea level or some other selected elevation. 气压高度表用以指示海平面或另外某个被选定高度以上的高度。

6 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

7 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

8 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

9 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

10 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

11 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

12 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

13 barometer   

n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标

参考例句：

• The barometer marked a continuing fall in atmospheric pressure.气压表表明气压在继续下降。
• The arrow on the barometer was pointing to"stormy".气压计上的箭头指向“有暴风雨”。

14 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。