美国科学60秒 SSS 2015-04-03_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

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Body odor. The smell of BO is unmistakable. And the culprit(犯人) behind that signature stench(恶臭) is a molecule¹ called thioalcohol(硫醇). Our noses are so attuned(理解的) to it, we can pick up quantities as small as one part per trillion. But here’s the mystery. How does that stinky substances get there in the first place? Well, it turns out bacteria named Staphylococcus hominis is the major perpetrator, along with a few of its relatives. Their genes³ code for enzymes⁴ that snip(剪断) the molecules⁵ in our sweat to pieces, creating the offensive thioalcohols along with bits of food for the bacteria. Hey, bacteria gotta eat, too, right?

When innocuous(无害的) E. coli bacteria were given the genes that our BO perpetrators have naturally, they too could achieve the stink². These findings were presented at the annual meeting of the society for general microbiology in Birmingham, in the UK.

Not surprisingly, this work was partially⁶ found by Unilever(联合利华). Because now we have identified these microbial targets, the researchers say, it might be possible to design more effective deodorants(除臭剂), which instead of crippling all underarm(腋下) bacteria, dispatch only the most dastardly(卑鄙的) denizens(居民). Smells like profit to me.

Christopher Intagliata.

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1 molecule
n.分子，克分子
参考例句：
A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。 This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

2 stink
vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭
参考例句：
The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。 The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

3 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

4 enzymes
n. 酶，酵素
参考例句：
It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。 Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

5 molecules
分子( molecule的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。 Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 partially
adv.部分地，从某些方面讲
参考例句：
The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。 The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。