英语听力精选进阶版 14394

Flies move 'like fighter jets'

Summary

11 April 2014

New research shows that when a threat comes into view, fruit flies make extremely fast turns similar to those made by fighter jets. The study explains why flies are hard to catch, according to the team.

Reporter:

Pallab Ghosh

Report

The research team were astonished by the speed with which fruit flies are able to change direction in mid-flight when faced with a threat.

Like fighter aircraft, they pitch, roll and regain¹ stability, and all in five-thousandths of a second. High speed video shows that this complex and abrupt² manoeuvre³ involves very subtle changes in the insect's wing beat that are barely discernible.

It's a mystery how a creature with a brain the size of a grain of salt is able to process visual information and translate it into precise muscular movements so quickly and precisely⁴. 

But according to the research team, it does help to explain why flies are so difficult to swat.

1 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

2 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

3 manoeuvre   

n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动

参考例句：

• Her withdrawal from the contest was a tactical manoeuvre.她退出比赛是一个战术策略。
• The clutter of ships had little room to manoeuvre.船只橫七竖八地挤在一起，几乎没有多少移动的空间。

4 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。