英语听力精选进阶版 13296

Robocrab's claws key to mating success

Report

To the fiddler crabs¹, 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 burrow² 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 fully³ adjustable⁴ 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 flanked by two less athletic⁵ wavers.

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

Jennifer Carpenter, BBC News

1 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》

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。