英语听力文摘 English Digest 271、鬣狗的手足之争

　　A Hyena¹’s Sibling² Rivalry³
鬣狗，学名Hyaenidae，哺乳动物，是体型中等、生活在非洲、阿拉伯半岛、亚洲和印度次大陆的陆生肉食性动物。它们同属于一科：鬣狗科。外形略像狗，头比狗的头短而圆，毛棕黄色或棕褐色，有许多不规则的黑褐色斑点，食用兽类尸体腐烂的肉维生。
If you grew up with a brother or sister, you probably know what sibling rivalry is like.  For a spotted⁴ hyena(黑斑鬣犬) though, sibling rivalry is a matter of life and death.

　　Spotted hyena mothers usually have twins.  They give birth in a private burrow⁵ where the newborns live for the first few weeks of life.  By the time the mother moves her offspring from the natalburrow to the community den⁶ however, there’s a fifty-fifty chance that one of her infants will be dead.  What’s more, her children always emerge from their nursery covered with wounds.
A look inside the burrow reveals what’s going on.  After a long gestation⁷ cycle, newborn hyenas⁸ are remarkably⁹ well developed.  Like Red Riding Hood’s wolf, they have big, open eyes and full sets of(一整套) teeth.  They won’t hunt for many months to come, so what are these adaptations for?
Hyena infants fight each other from the moment they’re born, and often begin their struggles inside the amniotic sac(羊膜囊).  Same sex newborns fight to the death, while brother-sister struggles usually leave both cubsbattered but alive.
You might wonder why this behavior evolved in the first place?  What possible advantage could there be in killing¹⁰ off your closest relative?
The answer might have to do with adult hyena table manners(饭桌礼仪).  Hyenas hunt together, but once they’ve brought down their prey¹¹ it’s every hyena for itself in a violent feeding frenzy¹², where the most vicious hyenas steal away the most food.Fighting to the death at its mother’s teats might give an infant hyena some good practice for this adult behavior.

1 hyena   

n.土狼，鬣狗

参考例句：

• African hyena noted for its distinctive howl.非洲鬣狗，以其特别的嚎叫而闻名。
• The hyena's public image is not aided by its ridiculous appearance.鬣狗滑稽的外表无助于改善它在公众心中的形象。

2 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

3 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

4 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

5 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。

6 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

7 gestation   

n.怀孕；酝酿

参考例句：

• The gestation period can be anything between 95 and 150 days.妊娠期从95天至150天不等。
• This film was two years in gestation.这部电影酝酿了两年。

8 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

9 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 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。

12 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。