VOA慢速英语2015 动物武器对人类军备竞赛的启发

Animal Weapons Offer Lessons for Human Arms Race 动物武器对人类军备竞赛的启发

When animals fight for mates, food and territory, they use the weapons they were born with: teeth and claws, horns and hooves. Human animals can use their hands and feet, but they also fight with knives, guns and bombs.

A new book looks at the comparisons between human weapons and that of the animal world. It tells about some weapons that reduce the likelihood of battle. And other weaponry that, if uncontrolled, could end the arms race for everyone.

Insects fill the night with a low continuous sound as two male stag beetles² prepare to fight. They are competing for the interest of a female beetle¹. They battle with their mandibles, mouth parts that are pointy and sharp like the antlers of a deer. The stag beetle’s mandibles can extend to half their body length.

Doug Emlen is a scientist at University of Montana. He says that while animal weapons are common, extreme weapons, like the beetle’s, are not, and for good reason.

"Just about every animal out there has some kind of a weapon. You can look at cats in your house or dogs have claws and eagles have talons³. But when you look across animals most of the time, these weapons are pretty small. They're light weight, they're portable. They don't slow you down, they're not very expensive to produce.  But here and there, every now and then, we find these animal lineages where something has changed.  And in these special species, the weapons start to get really big."

Doug Emlen explores these extremes in his new book, “Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle.” He says animals always evolve for a reason, such as ambushing⁴ – or a surprise attack – on their prey⁵.

Mr. Emlen says the ancient saber tooth cat is an example. It had long, curved teeth that came to a sharp point well below the animal's lower jaw⁶. The huge, heavy fangs⁷ made the cat slow and clumsy. So instead of chasing prey, it probably hid in trees to wait for prey. Then the cat would jump on the back of its victim and sink its fangs in for the kill.

"These animals experience a very different pattern of selection. For them, it's not the overall running speed of their body or flying speed or swimming speed that matters, because they sit and they wait."

Another place where extreme weapons have developed is in termite⁸ colonies. Among these insects, the worker termites⁹ are small and quick. The soldier termites that guard the colony have very powerful jaws¹⁰.

"There are soldiers in these guys that can slice through a pencil."

Doug Emlen says most of these extreme weapons are on the male of the species. He adds that the most common driver of their development is battle. Like the elks¹¹ that crash, head to head, with their huge antlers.

"These are things that look like they should tip over, trip, or get tangled¹² up in branches."

Another animal that packs an extreme weapon is the very small fiddler crab¹³. There can be thousands of them running around a single beach. Most of the males do so while waving a huge claw in the air.

"Fiddler crabs¹⁴ actually are, as far as we know, the most extreme animal weapon anywhere. In some of the most extreme cases, the biggest males of these fiddler crab populations produce a claw that is literally¹⁵ the entire weight of the rest of the body of the male."

The crab with the biggest "claw" almost always wins. Doug Emlen says the main point of the claw is communication to avoid battle, not win battle.  

"The males can go right up to an opponent, they wave their claws, they size each other up, and the smaller male walks away. And so this odd sort of paradox¹⁶ that arises in these animal species with these huge weapons is a lot of times, they hardly ever fight."

Doug Emlen says that, in some ways, humans are no different. Size of weapons counts a lot in military services like the U.S. Navy.

"Our aircraft carriers absolutely work as deterrents¹⁸.  There aren't any other countries that have navies as big as the one the United States has for example today and we use those aircraft carriers as deterrents."

Doug Emlen says this is when human behavior moves in a very dangerous direction. He says our most powerful weapons are now widely available. He adds, if everyone has a nuclear bomb, how can enemies measure each other’s strength and know when to surrender?

"The cost of the weapons of mass destruction actually went down. They started making smaller and smaller warheads that could be packaged on smaller and lighter¹⁹ missiles.”

Mr. Emlen says the number of warheads grew hugely. Now he says the problem is keeping watch on all of them.

The biologist says there is no comparison in the animal kingdom for weapons of mass destruction.  And those could destroy the world. So, Doug Emlen says, he hopes all nations will learn from the natural world.

Words in This Story

mate – n. either one of a pair of animals that are reproduction partners

evolve – v. to change or develop slowly often into a better, more complex, or more advanced state; to develop by a process of evolution

prey – n. an animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food

fangs – n. a long, sharp tooth

clumsy – adj. badly or awkwardly made or done

beach – n. an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake

deterrent¹⁷ – n. something that makes someone decide not to do something

warhead – n. the part of a missile that contains the explosive

1 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

2 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 talons   

n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部

参考例句：

• The fingers were curved like talons, but they closed on empty air. 他的指头弯得像鹰爪一样，可是抓了个空。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• The tiger has a pair of talons. 老虎有一对利爪。 来自辞典例句

4 ambushing   

v.埋伏( ambush的现在分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The militia succeeded in ambushing the invading enemy soldiers. 民兵们成功地伏击了入侵的敌军。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

7 fangs   

n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座

参考例句：

• The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 termite   

n.白蚁

参考例句：

• The termite control was also probed into further in this text.本文还进一步探讨了白蚁的防治方法。
• Termite often destroys wood.白蚁经常破坏树木。

9 termites   

n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Termites are principally tropical in distribution. 白蚁主要分布在热带地区。 来自辞典例句
• This spray will exterminate the termites. 这种喷剂能消灭白蚁。 来自辞典例句

10 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

11 elks   

n.麋鹿( elk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• So I arranged for a gathering at the local Elks Club on January 25. 1月25日我安排在当地慈善互助会见面。 来自互联网

12 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

13 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。

14 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》

15 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

16 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

17 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

18 deterrents   

制止物( deterrent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Whereas attractants, repellents, and many incitants are olfactory substances, stimulants, and deterrents are usually gustatory. 引诱剂，排斥剂还是其他的兴奋剂都是嗅觉物质，但刺激剂和阻抑剂常常是味觉物质。
• A lack of empathy for and knowledge of foreign business practices are deterrents to one's success. 投入不够以及对对外商业惯例知识的不足会对一个人成功造成很大的威胁。

19 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。