英语听力文摘 English Digest 733 寄生蝇的耳朵给人类的启示

What We Can Learn From A Fly’s Ears

This may come as a surprise to you, but most flies don’t have the ability to hear. However, certain parasitic¹ flies have a hearing system that is so exact in pinpointing³ a sound’s origin that it rivals the exceptional ears of owls⁴ and cats.

This fly’s superb hearing surprised scientists because its tiny body is too small to use the same kind of hearing system that larger animals use. And yet they discovered that the fly was using its hearing to locate the chirps⁵ of crickets in order to then deposit parasitic larvae⁶ onto the crickets’ bodies.

What they found was unlike any other known ear structure, this fly’s eardrums are connected by a bridge of stiff material. Vibrations⁷ that travel between the two eardrums enable the fly to pinpoint² the origin of a sound as accurately⁸ as any other sound system we know of.

And what’s more, this fly’s exceptional hearing system is influencing microphone and hearing aid technology. For instance, it could lead to hearing aids that hide within a person’s ear canal and yet are able to gather sound primarily from the direction the listener is facing.

这可能会让你大吃一惊，但大多数苍蝇都没有听力。然而，某些寄生苍蝇的听觉系统非常精确地定位声音的来源，足以与猫头鹰和猫的特殊耳朵媲美。

这只苍蝇高超的听觉让科学家们感到惊讶，因为它小小的身体太小，无法使用大型动物所使用的那种听觉系统。然而，他们发现，这只苍蝇利用它的听觉来定位蟋蟀的叫声，以便将寄生幼虫沉积到蟋蟀的身体上。

他们发现，与其他已知的耳朵结构不同，这只苍蝇的耳膜是由坚硬的材料连接起来的。在两个耳膜之间传播的振动使苍蝇能够像我们所知的任何其他声音系统一样准确地定位声音的来源。

更重要的是，这只苍蝇独特的听觉系统正在影响麦克风和助听器技术。例如，这可能会导致助听器隐藏在人的耳道内，但能够主要从听众所面对的方向收集声音。

1 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

2 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

3 pinpointing   

准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的现在分词 )； 为…准确定位

参考例句：

• The difficulty of pinpointing primitive and derived characters remains. 要正确地指出原始性状和次生性状仍然感到困难。
• Pinpointing the true source of power in Japan is a notoriously slippery task. 要准确指出日本真正的权力来源，是一项非常困难的任务。

4 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

5 chirps   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的第三人称单数 )； 啾； 啾啾

参考例句：

• The linnet chirps her vernal song. 红雀吱喳鸣叫着她春天的歌。
• She heard nothing but the chirps and whirrs of insects. 除了虫的鸣叫声外，她什么也没听见。

6 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

7 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。