【英语时差8,16】自负自大的人都好战

Yaël: What's with the ten-gallon hat, Don? Don: Haven't you heard, Yaël? Males with big heads are better fighters. Y: I'm sure males with big heads think they are better fighters. D: It's true. The Chinese have been betting on cricket fights since the Sung Dynasty. As far back as 800 years ago they claimed that bigger-headed males were better fighters . It wasn't until recently that scientists put that idea to the test. In their experiments, they tested male field crickets in competitions where they paired males with similar body mass and size, but different head sizes. They found that males with larger heads won more fights than males with smaller heads. Y: Why do they think that happened? D: Because crickets with bigger heads have bigger weapons. Y: Weapons? What kind of weapons? D: Insects have mouthparts called maxillae and mandibles. Maxillae are used for swallowing and mandibles for grasping, crushing or cutting food. The size of these mouthparts depends on head size. They stick out from the front of their head and make great pincher-like weapons for grappling. Y: So, what is all the fighting for? D: Males live in small burrows¹. I like to think of them as bachelor pads. Only instead of paying rent, they have to fend² off males who may be interested in taking their territory. The male that gets the bachelor pad, then gets a chance to attract females.He does this by singing. Y: I see. Always thinking about getting the girls aren't you, Don? D: Right now I'm thinking about hats. Y: Hats? D: I think I need one of those hats with horns.

1 burrows   

n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
• A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句

2 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。