科学英语：鸟类可感知强风暴并提前逃离.docx

Golden-winged warblers apparently1 knew in advance that a storm that would spawn2 84 confirmed tornadoes4 and kill at least 35 people last spring was coming, according to a report in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 18. The birds left the scene well before devastating5 supercell storms blew in. The discovery was made quite by accident while researchers were testing whether the warblers, which weigh less than two nickels, could carry geolocators on their backs. It turns out they can, and much more. With a big storm brewing6, the birds took off from their breeding ground in the Cumberland Mountains of eastern Tennessee, where they had only just arrived, for an unplanned migratory7 event. All told, the warblers travelled 1,500 kilometers in 5 days to avoid the historic tornado3-producing storms. The most curious finding is that the birds left long before the storm arrived, says Henry Streby of the University of California, Berkeley. At the same time that meteorologists on The Weather Channel were telling us this storm was headed in our direction, the birds were apparently already packing their bags and evacuating8 the area. The birds fled from their breeding territories more than 24 hours before the arrival of the storm, Streby and his colleagues report. The researchers suspect that the birds did it by listening to infrasound associated with the severe weather, at a level well below the range of human hearing. Meteorologists and physicists9 have known for decades that tornadic10 storms make very strong infrasound that can travel thousands of kilometers from the storm, Streby explains. While the birds might pick up on some other cue, he adds, the infrasound from severe storms travels at exactly the same frequency the birds are most sensitive to hearing. The findings show that birds that follow annual migratory routes can also take off on unplanned trips at other times of the year when conditions require it. Thats probably good news for birds, as climate change is expected to produce storms that are both stronger and more frequent. But there surely must be a downside as well, the researchers say. Our observation suggests that birds arent just going to sit there and take it with regards to climate change, and maybe they will fare better than some have predicted, Streby says. On the other hand, this behavior presumably costs the birds some serious energy and time they should be spending on reproducing. The birds energy-draining journey is just one more pressure human activities are putting on migratory songbirds. In the coming year, Strebys team will deploy11 hundreds of geolocators on the golden-winged warblers and related species across their entire breeding range to find out where they spend the winter and how they get there and back. I cant say Im hoping for another severe tornado outbreak, Streby says, but I am eager to see what unpredictable things happen this time.词汇表：1 apparently adv.显然地；表面上，似乎参考例句：An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。2 spawn n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产参考例句：The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。3 tornado n.飓风，龙卷风参考例句：A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。4 tornadoes n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )参考例句：Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网5 devastating adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的参考例句：It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。6 brewing n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式参考例句：It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。7 migratory n.候鸟，迁移参考例句：Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。8 evacuating 撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空参考例句：The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？9 physicists 物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )参考例句：For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框