英语听力精选进阶版 7222

Background: 招潮蟹在英语里被称为 fiddle¹ crab². 这是因为它们拥有一只特别大的螯，就像小提琴一样。现在科学家们采用了一个机械螃蟹来说明雌蟹喜欢那些能够以最大舞蹈动作来显佩自己的雄蟹。

To the fiddler crabs³, the Australian mudflats in the north of the country are a heaving dance floor, where a male must rely on his moves to attract a mate.

Male crabs attract passing females by waving their large yellow claws. If a female fancies a male, she will disappear down his burrow⁴ in the sand, and if she likes the hole as much as she likes the wave, she'll stay and mate.

But how do females choose between all of these waving suitors? Now a team from the Australian National University in Canberra have worked out what female crabs are looking for in a mate.

Sat beneath the unforgiving Australian sun, the researchers set up three fully⁵ adjustable⁶ robotic arms, that they are calling the Robocrab. Robocrab allows the researchers to vary the speed of the waves and the size of the claws.

The team showed that females prefer males with larger claws, and more vigorous waves, especially if the male is flankedby two less athletic⁷ wavers.

It seems, for the fiddler crabs at least, it pays to beef up, but hang outwithweedy friends.

Glossary⁸ 词汇表

mudflats 泥滩 

heaving 繁忙的，熙熙攘攘的 

moves 舞蹈动作 

a mate 性伙伴 

a claw 爪子 

to fancy someone  喜欢某人 

a burrow 洞穴，地道 

a suitor 追求者 

unforgiving 持续炎热的，不能原谅的 

vigorous 生龙活虎，精力旺盛的 

to be flanked by something 一边一个 

to beef up 强壮 

to hang out with 与他人一起消磨时间 

weedy 软弱的

Questions:

1. Are there are a lot of crabs in the Australian mudflats? 

Yes, the mudflats are described as a "heaving dance floor".

2. How do male fiddler crabs attract female crabs? 

By waving their large claws.

3. What were the researchers testing in this study? 

How the speed of a male crab's wave and the size of its claw changes its appeal to a female crab.

4. Why does it pay for fiddler crabs to "hang out with weedy friends"? 

Because they are more appealing if they have weaker crabs next to them.

1 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

2 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

3 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 adjustable   

adj.可调整的，可校准的

参考例句：

• More expensive cameras have adjustable focusing.比较贵的照相机有可调焦距。
• The chair has the virtue of being adjustable.这种椅子具有可调节的优点。

7 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

8 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。