SSS 2010-04-01_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Spotted¹ hyenas² grunt³ and growl⁴. But you know what they're famous for. So what's all the laughing about?

Well, field researchers have noticed that groups of hyenas tend to giggle⁵ around a kill, while they're waiting for their hunk of meat. Now a study in the journal BMC Ecology says the chuckles⁶ may communicate things like age, identity and social status. Which is important stuff for figuring out who gets the tastiest cut of zebra.

Researchers studied a clan⁷ of spotted hyenas living in a sanctuary⁸ behind the U.C. Berkeley campus. They enticed⁹ 17 hungry hyenas with bones or pieces of meat, and recorded about 250 bouts¹⁰ of giggling¹¹. Then they ran those sound bites through various computer algorithms, running statistical¹² analyses and drawing up spectrograms.

The result? They say a giggle's pitch and timbre¹³ establish a hyena's identity, and that pitch indicates age. But the giggle also tells you who is boss. A relatively¹⁴ monotone giggle and you're first to the meat. A more erratic¹⁵, variable giggle? Get back in line.

The researchers’ next plan to study hyenas in the wild. Just for laughs.

—Christopher Intagliata

点击

收听单词发音

1 spotted
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。 Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 hyenas
n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )
参考例句：
These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。来自辞典例句 We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。来自辞典例句

3 grunt
v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝
参考例句：
He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。 I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

4 growl
v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣
参考例句：
The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。 The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

5 giggle
n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说
参考例句：
Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。 All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。

6 chuckles
轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Father always chuckles when he reads the funny papers. 父亲在读幽默报纸时总是低声发笑。 [Chuckles] You thought he was being poisoned by hemlock? 你觉得他中的会是芹叶钩吻毒吗？

7 clan
n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派
参考例句：
She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。 The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

8 sanctuary
n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区
参考例句：
There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。 Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

9 enticed
诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He enticed his former employer into another dice game. 他挑逗他原来的老板再赌一次掷骰子。 Consumers are courted, enticed, and implored by sellers of goods and services. 消费者受到商品和劳务出售者奉承，劝诱和央求。

10 bouts
n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作
参考例句：
For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。来自《简明英汉词典》 It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 giggling
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )
参考例句：
We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。来自《简明英汉词典》 I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 statistical
adj.统计的，统计学的
参考例句：
He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。 They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

13 timbre
n.音色，音质
参考例句：
His voice had a deep timbre.他嗓音低沉。 The timbre of the violin is far richer than that of the mouth organ.小提琴的音色远比口琴丰富。

14 relatively
adv.比较...地，相对地
参考例句：
The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。 The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 erratic
adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的
参考例句：
The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。 The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。