【英语时差8,16】鸟类的饮食与羽毛（上）

 Sometimes it’s easy to understand how an evolutionary¹ change took place, but it’s more difficult to understand why. For example, consider the beautiful birds of paradise which live in the forests of New Guinea. The males of many bird-of-paradise species have evolved colorful plumage, used for dramatic courtship displays. How this plumage evolved is no mystery: The healthiest males usually have the most spectacular plumage, so females choose whichever male has the gaudiest² feathers. With this criterion, it’s not surprising that male plumage would grow more and more elaborate over the generations. Understanding WHY the plumage evolved is a little trickier³. After all, there are some bird-of-paradise species that are really quite drab. These birds devote most of their energy to finding food and raising their young, instead of wasting it on courtship. What makes these near neighbors so different?

1 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

2 gaudiest   

adj.花哨的，俗气的( gaudy的最高级 )

参考例句：

• The witch doctors were bedizened in all their gaudiest costumes. 女巫医穿上她们最绚丽的衣服，打扮得俗不可耐。 来自辞典例句

3 trickier   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的比较级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• This is the general rule, but some cases are trickier than others. 以上是一般规则，但某些案例会比别的案例更为棘手。 来自互联网
• The lower the numbers go, the trickier the problems get. 武器的数量越低，问题就越复杂。 来自互联网