科学美国人60秒 SSS 全球科学简讯

Hi, I'm Scientific American assistant news editor Sarah Lewin Frasier.

大家好，我是《科学美国人》助理新闻编辑莎拉·莱温·弗雷西尔。

And here's a short piece from the August 2020 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Science, Technology and Medicine.

下面是本杂志2020年8月刊的一篇短文，摘自“进展：科学、技术和医学前沿快报”版块。

The article is titled "Quick Hits," and it's a rundown of some noncoronavirus stories from around the globe.

这篇文章名为《要闻快讯》，汇集了全球各地非新冠病毒报道的摘要。

From Canada:

加拿大：

A new study models how a gigantic, morphing blob of liquid iron in Earth's outer core underneath¹ the Canadian Arctic is losing its grip on the North magnetic pole.

一项新研究模拟了加拿大北极下的地球外核中一个巨大变形液态铁团如何失去对北磁极的控制。

A second, intensifying² blob below Siberia is pulling the pole away.

西伯利亚地下另一个不断加强的液态水团正在将磁极拉远。

From Scotland:

苏格兰：

A geologic-dating effort suggests the fossil of a millipedelike creature found on the island of Kerrera formed 425 million years ago,

一项地质年代测定工作表明，在科雷拉岛上发现的千足虫类生物化石形成于4.25亿年前，

making it possibly the oldest-known fossilized land animal. (Older land animals have been spotted³ indirectly⁴, through preserved tracks.)

使它成为可能是已知最古老的陆地动物化石（人们通过保存下来的足迹间接发现了更古老的陆地动物。）

From Tanzania:

坦桑尼亚：

Researchers discovered Africa's largest-ever collection of fossilized human footprints, left in volcanic⁵ mud about 10,000 years ago.

研究人员发现了非洲有史以来最大的人类脚印化石群，这些脚印在大约1万年前留在火山泥中。

Many of them came from a group of 17 people, mostly women, all walking in the same direction.

许多脚印来自一个由17人组成的团体，成员大多是女性，都朝着同一个方向行走。

From Norway:

挪威：

Archaeologists are excavating⁶ a 20-meter Viking ship, buried below a farmer's field, to stop a wood-eating fungus⁷ from destroying it.

考古学家正在挖掘一艘埋在农民田地下面的20米长的海盗船，以阻止一种食木真菌破坏它。

Ground-penetrating radar⁸ had found the ship in 2018, and a new wood sample analysis revealed that it could not be preserved underground.

探地雷达在2018年发现了这艘船，新的木材样本分析显示它无法保存在地下。

From Zambia and Mongolia:

赞比亚和蒙古：

This spring a satellite-tagged cuckoo completed an epic⁹ 12,000-kilometer journey from one country to the other.

今年春天，一只被卫星追踪的布谷鸟完成了从一国到另一国的1.2万公里壮丽旅程。

It had originally been tagged in Mongolia in 2019 and traversed 16 countries in its round-trip migration¹⁰.

它最初于2019年在蒙古被标记，并在往返迁徙中穿越了16个国家。

From Antarctica:

南极洲：

Scientists found that king penguin¹¹ excrement¹² releases nitrous oxide–also known as laughing gas.

科学家发现，帝企鹅的排泄物会释放出一氧化二氮——也就是笑气。

It forms as soil bacteria eat the droppings' nitrogen-rich compounds.

它由土壤细菌吃掉粪便中富含氮的化合物而形成。

That was "Quick Hits." I'm Sarah Lewin Frasier.

以上是《要闻快讯》，我是莎拉·莱温·弗雷泽。

1 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

2 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

3 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。

4 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

5 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

6 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

7 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

8 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

9 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

10 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

11 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

12 excrement   

n.排泄物，粪便

参考例句：

• The cage smelled of excrement.笼子里粪臭熏人。
• Clothing can also become contaminated with dust,feathers,and excrement.衣着则会受到微尘、羽毛和粪便的污染。