美国科学60秒 SSS 2012-10-17_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

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Researchers have known about these high-pitched squeaky songs for years. But they only recently discovered that mice can learn the songs of other mice. Such vocal¹ learning is a rarity among animals. We know of only three kinds of birds—parrots, hummingbirds² and songbirds—and some mammals—like humans, whales, dolphins, sea lions, bats and elephants—that have demonstrated the ability to learn the vocal patterns of other animals. That is, until now.

Scientists at Duke University observed that when two male mice of different lineages were kept together, the animals gradually learned to match the pitch of their songs to one another. And when the researchers examined the mice, they found that the rodents³ can also form the correct brain-to-vocal-cord connections to control the sounds they make. The research is published in the journal PLoS ONE.

The mouse songs are admittedly primitive⁴. But the findings left scientists on a high note.

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收听单词发音

1 vocal
adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目
参考例句：
The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。 Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

2 hummingbirds
n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious. 蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。 Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨？

3 rodents
n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。来自《简明英汉词典》 Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。来自辞典例句

4 primitive
adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物
参考例句：
It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。 His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。