☊ 碧瓏司の→ßeℒongŚ

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🎁 中英文稿：
Extinction. When species go bye-bye forever, we usually blame things like climate change, volcanic eruption or asteroid impact. But for the giant flightless birds that once roamed the Australian outback, it was an omelet station what did ‘em in. A new study finds evidence that about 47,000 years ago, humans helped to wipe out this avian leviathan by collecting and cooking its eggs. The study is in the journal Nature Communications.
滅絕。當一些物種永遠和我們說再見時，我們通常會將責任歸咎於氣候變化、火山噴發或者行星碰撞。但是一種曾經生活在澳大利亞的鳥類，這種不會飛行的鳥滅絕的原因是它們成為了煎蛋的材料。一項新的研究發現，在大約47,000年前，人類採集並烹飪這種鳥類的蛋而加速了它們的滅絕。該研究結果發表在《自然通訊》雜誌上。
Before humans swept over the land down under, animals of enormous proportions were not uncommon. A two-ton wombat, a thousand-pound kangaroo, and a 500-pound bird now known as Genyornis newtoni were spread across the continent. But most of these so-called megafauna disappeared once humans hit the scene.
在人類席捲新奧大陸之前，這種大型動物非常的常見。兩噸重的袋熊、千磅重的袋鼠以及500磅重的鳥，人們現在稱之為牛頓巨鳥，在當時的新奧大陸上隨處可見。但是人類出現在該地區之後，這些所謂的巨型動物就消失了。
Coincidence? Well, it could be. Which is why researchers set out to look for proof that human predation played a role in the demise of Genyornis. (Which only coincidentally sounds like ginormous.)
這是巧合?可能是吧。這就是為什麼研究人員們開始著手搜集證據，希望查找人類捕獵對於牛頓巨鳥的滅亡的影響。
They collected eggshells from hundreds of sites around the country. And they found that the shell fragments exhibited scorch marks that suggested that the eggs had been purposefully cooked over an open flame. Marks that were not consistent with the eggs getting, say, burned up in a wildfire.
研究人員從澳洲數百個地方收集了鳥蛋的化石。他們發現，這些蛋殼碎片燒焦的痕跡表明這些蛋可能經過明火的烹調。同時這些痕跡與野火灼燒的痕跡不同。
Three different dating methods put the eggs’ age in the correct era, and thus place the smoking gun—or in this case, firepit—directly in the hands of hungry humans. Which suggests that our ancestral appetite for over-easy compromised the fitness of this species. Ultimately leading to its egg-stinction.
研究人員採用三種方法追溯這些蛋正確的時代背景，並且找到確鑿的證據——或者說，火坑就是人類採取的方法。這表明我們的祖先放棄了物種的生存，而選擇了雙面煎蛋。最終導致了物種蛋的滅絕。

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🎁 中英文稿：
Chimpanzees. They’re notoriously social creatures. They snack together, snooze together and work hard to keep each other flea- and tick-free. But this simian intimacy does more than just spread the love. It also helps to spread the bacteria that inhabit their guts—which is a good thing. That’s according to a new study in the journal Science Advances.
黑猩猩。眾所周知，是社會性動物。黑猩猩一起吃、一起睡，努力保持彼此跳蚤活躍。但是它們之間這種親密的關係傳播的不僅僅是愛意，同時有助於傳播寄居在內臟中的病毒——而這是一件好事。該研究結果發表在《科學進步》雜誌上。
When we think about the germs that get swapped during social interactions, we tend to focus on the bad guys: the bugs that cause everything from Ebola to the common cold. But could togetherness also promote the exchange of health-promoting microbes, like those in the intestine?
在談及社會交往過程中所交換細菌，我們常常會想到壞的方面：如埃博拉病毒、感冒病毒等。但是聚集在一起是否會促進對健康有益的細菌的傳播呢，例如腸道細菌?
To find out, researchers spent eight years scooping the poop from a troop of 40 chimpanzees in Tanzania. And they analyzed the bacteria present in the samples. What they found was that during the rainy season, when food is plentiful and the chimps are more chummy, the apes harbor an increased number of different bacterial species in their bellies—more microbiodiversity, if you will. Which could make them more resistant to infections.
為了查明結果，研究人員耗時8年搜集了坦尚尼亞群居在一起40只黑猩猩的糞便。他們分析了糞便中的細菌樣本。研究人員發現，在雨季時，食物比較充足，這是黑猩猩之間相處更加愉快，這時這些猿類肚子內的微生物種類就會增多——生物多樣性增多。而這就會增加黑猩猩對傳染病的抵抗能力。
And the chimps' increased microbe load was not due to them all eating the same stuff. In fact, the more time the animals spent together, the more varied they were in terms of how much fruit they consumed.
黑猩猩的微生物負荷增加，並不是因為它們都食用相同的食物。事實上，這些動物在一起的時間越多，它們食用的水果種類也就越多。
The researchers say it’s thus likely the hobnobbing chimps are indeed sharing the microbial wealth while they’re grooming or mating. Or when they’re otherwise too busy to watch where they step.
研究人員稱，事實上，這些關係親密的黑猩猩在梳洗或者交配時才會分享這些微生物財富。而在平時它們太忙了，根本無暇顧及此事。

  
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👯 中英文稿：
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Alice…
大家好，歡迎收聽六分鐘英語，我是愛麗絲。
And I’m Neil.
我是尼爾。
The BBC’s 100 Women season is back this week. It will explore women’s stories of defiance. And it will include stories of women who inspired us.And that’s what we are going to talk about today.
BBC巾幗百名這周回歸了。該節目探索了女性反抗的故事。其中包含那些讓我們備受鼓舞的女性故事。這也是我們今天節目的主題。
And which woman has inspired you, Alice?
哪位女性曾經激勵過你，愛麗絲？
Oh, well, I have many female role models – and this means people looked to by others as examples to be followed. But I must say I have a great admiration for the suffragettes.
我有很多女性偶像，偶像是指人們將其視為榜樣，並追隨、學習榜樣。我必須說我很羡慕婦女參政權論者。
Ah, the women who fought for the right to vote in the UK!Yes, I think they were very brave.

🎁 MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽)：
http://online1.tingclass.net/voaspe/…/20161221sa_science.mp3

🎁 中英文稿：
You may have spotted V-shaped squadrons of geese heading south this fall. But for many migrants—like smaller songbirds—nighttime is the right time, when it comes to migration. Winds are gentler. And darkness helps them avoid airborne attacks. Of course darkness also makes it harder for us to see them. Which is where weather radar comes in.
今年冬天你會發現擺成V行隊的飛往南方的鴻雁.但是,對於許多遷徙的動物而言——如一些小的鳴禽——在遷徙的時候，夜晚是合適的時間。風更加柔和。同時黑暗幫助它們避免遭遇空中襲擊。當然，黑暗也增加了我們在黑夜看見它們的難度。這也就氣象雷達的所用之處。
"These radars were designed to detect water drops in the air, precipitation in the air." Jeff Buler, an ornithologist and aeroecologist at the University of Delaware. "They also detect any other large object that will reflect back radio energy. It essentially sees insects and bats and birds as large drops of water."
“這些雷達是用來檢測空氣中的水珠、空氣懸浮物。”Jeff Buler 是德拉瓦大學的鳥類學家和空氣學家。“這些雷達還可以檢測了可以反射無線能量的其他大型物體。它會把昆蟲和鳥類視為大型的水滴。”
Buler and his team used three weather surveillance radars to track migratory birds near the Great Lakes—observing four spring migrations in a row. And what they found was, as the night migration ended, and dawn broke, many birds in flight over the lakes turned back. Decided to quit for the day. Which meant crowded real estate on the south shore of the lakes, as the birds piled up there to wait out the day.
Buler和他的團隊使用了三個氣象監視雷達跟蹤五大湖附近的候鳥——連續觀察四個春季遷徙。最後研究結果發現，晚上遷移結束後,破曉時分,許多鳥兒在湖泊上方的鳥兒就會轉身。決定白天放棄飛行。這就意味著，鳥兒白天在這裡等待一天，五大湖的南岸房地產緊張啊~
The study is in the journal The Auk.
該研究結果發表在《海雀》雜誌上。
The message for conservators? "Restoring one hectare of forest along the shoreline of Lake Michigan might be able to support more migrants than a hectare of forest 50 km away from the shoreline." Because birds—just like humans—like that lakefront property.
“對於保護者這是什麼意思呢?”恢復1公頃的沿湖岸的森林可能會幫助鳥類遠離海岸多飛行50千米。因為鳥類——跟人類一樣——也喜歡海景別墅呢。

  
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👯 中英文稿：
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Sophie…
大家好，歡迎收聽六分鐘英語，我是蘇菲。
And I’m Neil.
我是尼爾。
I see you’re wearing trainers today, Neil.
我看你今天穿了運動鞋，尼爾。
Of course, I don’t wear anything else.
當然了，我也不穿其他的鞋。
Well, trainers – or to use the American term, sneakers – are the subject of today’s show. They are ubiquitous – that means you can find them everywhere! People wear them across the globe – men, women, kids, teenagers and pensioners. And did you know that 85% of people who buy trainers don’t wear them for sport?
運動鞋，美語中稱為sneakers，是今天節目的主題。他們無所不在，也就是說你能在任何地方看到。全世界的人們都穿運動鞋，不論男女老少。你知道85%的人買運動鞋不是為了穿著運動嗎？
That makes sense to me. I wear mine because they’re comfortable.

🎁 MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽)：
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🎁 中英文稿：
Humans aren’t the only creatures who love junk food—many animals are known to enjoy sifting through our garbage to find edible treats. And now we learn that some storks have stopped migrating from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa in the winter—they’d rather feed at landfills.
不僅僅只有人類喜歡垃圾食品——據我們所知，許多動物也非常享受在垃圾箱裡尋找一些可口的免費食物。現在，一些鸛已經不再從歐洲向撒哈拉以南的非洲遷徙——因為它們寧可在垃圾堆裡尋找食物。
“They use landfill sites heavily during the winter and they travel very long distance to get to the sites.”
在冬天，即使要飛行很遠的距離才能到達垃圾站，鸛主要依賴垃圾填埋場來過冬。
Aldina Franco of the University of East Anglia, one of the scientists who studied the storks’ use of landfills in Portugal. GPS tracking devices on 17 birds showed that the landfill life might mean up to 100-kilometer round-trips to feed—healthy distances, but far shorter than their historic migration routes.
來自東安格利亞大學的科學家愛麗娜`弗朗哥研究了葡萄牙鸛們利用的垃圾填埋區。17只鸛安裝的GPS定位儀錶明，去垃圾填埋場覓食意味著要飛行來回100千米，但這與它們以往的遷徙路線相比，這些距離就變得微不足道了。
“And also they use the nests throughout the year and look after the nests. So these resident birds are in perfect condition, they are always ready to start breeding. So as soon as spring arrives they’re ready to go, the nest is in good condition, and they start breeding earlier.”
同時，鸛要需要棲居照顧巢穴。所有，這些沒有遷徙的鳥現在的生活狀態很好，因為它們可以準備隨時餵食幼鳥。所以，春天一到來，它們就可以離開巢穴，提前餵食。
The number of storks overwintering in Portugal has shot up from fewer than 2,000 in 1995 to 14,000 in 2014. The increase appears to reflect both changes in behavior and a booming stork population in general. The study is in the journal Movement Ecology.
在葡萄牙過冬的鸛的數量驟增，從1995年的不足2000只，到2014年的1.4萬隻。數量增長總體上反應了行為的變化以及鸛數量的激增。該研究結果發表在《運動生態學》雜誌。