新奇事件簿 科学家发现世界最快的蚂蚁

Scientists have discovered the world's fastest ant. It is the Saharan silver ant. It runs at a speed of just over 3kph, but that is the same ant speed as a human running 580kph. The ant runs 108 times the length of its own body every second. This is quicker than an Olympic 100-meter runner. The world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, ran the 100 meters using 4 strides a second. The Saharan silver ant uses up to 50 strides a second. The scientists say this much movement almost breaks the limits of what is physically¹ possible for a living thing. Each of the ants' feet makes contact with the ground for a very short time. The ants' feet touch the ground for just seven milliseconds before they take the next stride.

科学家们发现了世界上最快的蚂蚁—撒哈拉银蚁。它以每小时3公里的速度奔跑，但这和人类跑580kph的速度是一样的。蚂蚁每秒钟奔跑的距离是自己身体长度的108倍，比奥运会百米跑运动员的速度还快。世界上跑得最快的人—尤塞恩·博尔特，以每秒4步的速度跑完100米。撒哈拉银蚁一秒钟可走50步。科学家们表示，这种长距离的运动几乎打破了生物在物理上的极限。这些蚂蚁的每只脚与地面接触的时间都非常短。它们的脚接触地面的时间只有7毫秒，之后它们就会迈出下一步。

The scientists said the Saharan silver ant runs so fast because it lives in the hot desert. The sand can reach temperatures of up to 60 degrees Celsius², so the ant wants to spend as little time as possible with its feet on the scorching³ ground. Another reason is that if the ants' feet spend a longer time on the sand, they will sink a little and slow the ant down. Professor Harald Wolf wrote about why the ants' feet move so fast. He said: "These features may be related to the sand dune⁴ habitat. They could prevent the ants' feet from sinking too deeply into the soft sand." Professor Wolf told CNN: "We knew these ants would be fast, but nobody knew how fast exactly, and how they would achieve that speed."

科学家表示撒哈拉银蚁跑这么快是因为，它们生活在炎热的沙漠。沙子的温度可以达到60摄氏度，所以蚂蚁想要在灼热的地面上花尽可能少的时间。另一个原因是，如果蚂蚁的脚在沙子上停留的时间更长，它们会下沉一点，速度会慢下来。Harald Wolf教授曾写过，为什么蚂蚁的脚移动的这么快。他表示：“这些特征可能和沙地栖息环境有关。它们可以防止蚂蚁的脚在松软的沙子里陷得太深。”Wolf教授告诉CNN：“我们知道这些蚂蚁的速度快，但没人知道到底有多快，也不知道它们如何达到这样的速度。”

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

4 dune   

n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘

参考例句：

• The sand massed to form a dune.沙积集起来成了沙丘。
• Cute Jim sat on the dune eating a prune in June.可爱的吉姆在六月天坐在沙丘上吃着话梅。