托福听力荟萃 10

Before moving on to a new topic, I want to finish up ourunit on______by looking at what may seem a very unusual aspect of_____behavior, a______where the young spiders actually_______the body of their mother. Unlike most other spiders, this species lays one, and only one,______of 40 eggs in her lifetime.The young spiders hatch in mid-spring or early summer, inside a nest of______leaves. Their mother spends the warm summer months bringing home large insects—often 10 times her weight—for meal. The______is always significantly more than her young spiders can eat. So, the mother_____herself up on this extra prey¹ and stores the______in her extra______eggs. As the weather turns colder, there are fewer insect prey to hunt. That's when the nutrients³ stored in those extra eggs begin to seep⁴ into the mother's______.So, when there are no more insects to feed to the young spiders, they attach themselves to the mother's leg______and draw_____by sucking the nutrient²-rich blood. After several weeks, the mother is depleted⁵ of all nutrients and shedies. But then how do the young get nourishment⁶? They start to feed on one another. Now, if you recall our discussion of Darwin, you'll see the evolutionary⁷ value of this: Only the strongest spiders of the clutch will survive this "_______," and the mother spider will have ensured that her genes⁸ have an increased chance of survival through future generations.

 

 

【填空答案】

arachnid⁹: n. ［C］蜘蛛类动物(包括蜘珠、蝎子、虱子等)

spider: n. ［C］蜘蛛

species: n. ［C］种类

consume: v. 吃

clutch: n. ［C］一次产的或孵的蛋

eucalyptus¹⁰: n. ［C］桉树

catch: n. ［C］捕获物

fatten¹¹: v. 养肥，使肥胖

nutrient: n. ［C］营养物

unfertilized: adj. 未受精的

bloodstream: n. ［C］血流

joint¹²: n. ［C］接合处

nourishment: n. ［C］食物，营养品

cannibalism¹³: n. ［C］嗜食同类，自相残杀

【听力原文】

Before moving on to a new topic, I want to finish up our unit on arachnids by looking at what may seem a very unusual aspect of spider behavior—a species where the young spiders actually consume the body of their mother.

Unlike most other spiders, this species lays one, and only one, clutch of 40 eggs in her lifetime. The young spiders hatch in mid-spring or early summer,inside a nest of eucalyptus leaves. Their mother spends the warm summer months bringing home large insects, often 10 times her weight, for meal. The catch is always significantly more than her young spiders can eat. So, the mother fattens¹⁴ herself up on this extra prey and stores the nutrients in her extra unfertilized eggs. As the weather turns colder, there are fewer insect prey tohunt. That's when the nutrients stored in those extra eggs begin to seep into the mother's bloodstream. So, when there are no more insects to feed to the young spiders, they attach themselves to the mother's leg joints¹⁵ and draw nourishment by sucking the nutrient-rich blood.

After several weeks, the mother is depleted of all nutrients and she dies. But then how do the young get nourishment? They start to feed on one another. Now,if you recall our discussion of Darwin, you'll see the evolutionary value of this: Only the strongest spiders of the clutch will survive this"cannibalism," and the mother spider will have ensured that her genes have an increased chance of survival through future generations.

1 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

2 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

3 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 seep   

v.渗出，渗漏；n.渗漏，小泉，水（油）坑

参考例句：

• My anger began to seep away.我的怒火开始消下去了。
• If meteoric water does not evaporate or run overland,it may seep directly into the ground.如果雨水不从陆地蒸发和流走的话，就可能直接渗入地下。

5 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

6 nourishment   

n.食物，营养品；营养情况

参考例句：

• Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
• He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。

7 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

8 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

9 arachnid   

n.蛛形纲动物

参考例句：

• I want that wall-crawling arachnid prosecuted!我要起诉那个在墙上爬的八脚怪物！
• The tiny arachnid,found in Australia,shows off a rainbow of colours to impress nearby females.这只在澳大利亚的小蜘蛛，向附近的雌性炫耀其华丽的色彩。

10 eucalyptus   

n.桉树，桉属植物

参考例句：

• Eucalyptus oil is good for easing muscular aches and pains.桉树油可以很好地缓解肌肉的疼痛。
• The birds rustled in the eucalyptus trees.鸟在桉树弄出沙沙的响声。

11 fatten   

v.使肥，变肥

参考例句：

• The new feed can fatten the chicken up quickly enough for market.新饲料能使鸡长得更快，以适应市场需求。
• We keep animals in pens to fatten them.我们把动物关在围栏里把它们养肥。

12 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

13 cannibalism   

n.同类相食；吃人肉

参考例句：

• The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。
• They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。

14 fattens   

v.喂肥( fatten的第三人称单数 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值

参考例句：

• The weekly with large fattens on sex, crime and scandal. 这家发行量甚大的周刊靠宣染性、罪和丑闻打开销路。 来自互联网
• It boosts consumers' real incomes and fattens firms' profit margins. 这将增加消费者的收入提高企业的利润幅度。 来自互联网

15 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。