口译双语：园丁鸟求偶有新招

2010-09-19 00:00:00来源：上海新东方口译研究中心

　　凌凌教你学口语：每日一句系列
　　备战口译：原创双语时事汇总

　　上海中高级口译考试分为笔试和口试，在笔试考试通过后会颁发笔试证书，通过一次笔试可以获得四次口试的机会。中高级口译的笔试和口试虽然是分开进行的，但其笔试的证书在社会上却有很高的认可度。

口译双语：园丁鸟求偶有新招

　　园丁鸟求偶有新招：精心“装修”鸟巢

　　作者：刘丰祎（译）来源：新东方

　　Male bowerbirds are famous for the elaborate settings they create. Now researchers have found that one purpose of the setting is to make the bird appear bigger.
　　雄性园丁鸟因为布置出精致的鸟巢而著名。现在，研究者们发现它们布置鸟巢的一个目的是使它们显得个头更大。

　　Bowerbirds Arrange Objects to Make Themselves Look Bigger

　　The first time you visit your boyfriend’s place, he no doubt tidies up, to give you the illusion that he doesn’t live like an animal. Well, animals, too, can use optical illusions to woo a mate. Take the bowerbird.

　　Male bowerbirds build elaborate shelters to try to attract a female. They decorate these bachelor pads with shells, bones and pebbles, and even lay a pathway of sticks along which the female can walk to get the best view. But that path provides more than just a welcome mat. It allows the male bird to set the stage so that the décor will accentuate—even exaggerate—his size, a typical sign of good genes.

　　See, male bowerbirds line their courtyards with objects arranged from smallest to largest. Viewed from the walkway, this layout makes the court seem smaller and the bird sitting at its center look larger. When scientists went in and reversed the gradient, the male bowerbirds restored it within days, results published in the journal Current Biology.

　　Of course, the females may be on to the trick. And rather than being fooled about size, a female may be selecting a male based on how clever he is to make himself look so swell. Or so swelled.

　　园丁鸟布置鸟巢让自己显得个头更大

　　当你第一次到你男朋友的住处去的时候，他毫无疑问会整理一下房间，从而给你一个他不像动物一样生活的假象。不过，动物照样也会利用这种视觉上的假象来求偶。这种鸟就是园丁鸟。

　　雄性园丁鸟为了吸引雌性建造出了精致的鸟巢。它们用贝壳、骨头以及小石子来装饰它们的“单身宿舍”，它们甚至用小树枝修起一条小道，这样雌性园丁鸟就可以沿着这条小道走过，以看到最好的风景。但是这条小道的作用不仅仅是表示欢迎的地毯，它还能为雄性园丁鸟准备好“表演的场景”，因此鸟巢的装饰会凸显?—甚至是放大—它的个头，而大个头是具备良好基因的象征。

　　瞧，雄性园丁鸟装饰后院的时候，它们把东西按照从小到大的循序安放。从过道上看，这种布局使得院子小一些，而使坐在中间的鸟显得大一些。当科学家们走进去把这种顺序掉过来后，雄性园丁鸟在几天之内又使其恢复到原来的状况。该项研究结果发表在《当代生物学》（Current Biology）。

　　当然，雌性园丁鸟可能会中这个小小的伎俩。不过，雌性园丁鸟可能并不会被雄性鸟的个头所迷惑，它们可能因为雄性园丁鸟能聪明地让自己显得如此之大而选择它，或者是因为它们如此的自负。

　　Vocabulary:

　　Bowerbird：园丁鸟
　　Elaborate：精致的
　　Illusion：错觉
　　Woo：追求（异性）
　　Decorate：装饰
　　Décor：(房间、舞台等的)布置, 装饰
　　Accentuate：加强
　　Exaggerate：夸张
　　Gradient：梯度

　　英语原文来自SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN《科学美国人》http://www.sciam.com 作者：Karen Hopkin