Scientific American 60 Second Science听抄（有音频文件）

abstinentUID：137004

American Consumer Groups have expressed concern about the way pharmaceutical companies lavish gifts and speaking fees upon doctors. They say this may influence what drugs doctors may prescribe. But according to recent report that is published by the organization Consumers International, the situation in the developing world is even more extravagant. The study notes that the gifts from drug companies include schools fees, cars, even downpayments on homes. Consumers International says they document  that 50% of the drugs in the developing world are what they called irrationally prescribed. This means the drugs are unnecessary where they prescribed （in）doses that are too large or expensive drugs are prescribed in place of jenaricks (generics). And money spent on unnecessary medicine in poor countries has a much greater impact on overall health than say here in the US. The group worries these over-the-top gifts are at least partly the plane （to blame）. Plus they say this type of behavior violates written ethical policies of drug companies. Though （Those）same companies decline to be involved with the report when it was under development, now it’s been published the South Police and （self-policing） Regulartory （regulatory）Body of the Pharmaceutical Industry says it intends to deal with the issues.

generic --- 一般的东西
expensive drugs in place of generics
prescribe in dose that ...
be to blame
self-policing regulatory body

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-29 14:24 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

先谢谢楼上的；
You might not realize （it）but you were born with more brain cells than you know what to do with, or at least more brain cell connections. As you grow older through childhood to  （and）adlescence, you get rid of that connections that are（aren't）being used to store information in order to tell you which tie goes with that jacket. For years, researchers have known about this cellular pruning, but they didn’t know how it worked. Now scientists from the Standford university’s School of Medicine report that it’s the immune system that carries out this critical brain amidments（maintenance）. In fact, the same protein that helps get rid of uninvited bacteria also eliminates ununsed neuro connections. The findings appeared in the December 14th issue of the journal Cell. This routine celular amidment （maintenance）is important for normal brain development. Mice that’re missing this pruning protein wind up in disorganized abnormal radness（retinas）. And mice that’re prone to get glowghoma（glaucoma） make too much of the protein, particularly later in life. So connections in their radness （retinas）are destroyed when they shouldn’t be. Reining in this over cellers （overzealous ）pruning process could provide treatment for glowghoma or for other diseases where neuro connections are lost. But it probably won’t help you decide whether to go with the solid tie or the stripes.

maintenance（发音？好奇怪）
retinas 视网膜
glaucoma 青光眼
overzealous 过分热心的
cellular 细胞的

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-29 13:15 编辑 ]

wgaggassi34UID：2279352

加油！:handshake

abstinentUID：137004

又是听着想吐血的一篇；看来以后要多练psych

Every year parents painstakingly crop （craft）new year gifts that are equal in quality and quantity for each child. And still every year they’re shocked when they’re forced to listen to hours of debate over “who got the better gift?”. According to the classic 1970s’ theory of parent-offspring conflict, children know that there was limited brasmile xxx （breast milk）and heritance （inheritance,其实意思一样）at the grade（grave）. So each child is programmed to warant （want）the line is shared（lion's share）. Parents on the other hand, strive to lavish attention equally among offspring in order to maxmize  survival of all genes. But new research from the university of Manchester found that parents distinctively （instinctively）favor the oldest sybling. At least, in …（Nicrophorus burying） beetle who shares the byprint（biparental） quality with us humans. Researchers found that the oldest offspring received the most girgitated （regurgitated）animal flesh from their parents. Researchers say that parents value the older growups （grubs）because they’ve established a better chance of survival, or the older syblings are simply stronger, and so xxx  （grab parental）attention. Eitherway, the researchers say, proof （it proves）that the familiar （familial）conflict is still alive and well. Did we really need any reminding?

Useful expressions
========
craft new year present
breast milk
parent-offspring conflict
heritance = inheritance at the grave 在墓地的遗产
lion's share 最大的一份
lavish 浪费的；慷慨给予
parental/biparental/multiparental
regurgitate -- 涌回；pour/rush back
                        feed through the beak（鸟嘴） by regurgitating previously swallowed food
grub --- [动]蛆
grab one's attention
familial 家族的；
either way = anyway


[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-26 13:49 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

This holiday season, many of us will take to the roads, which means many of us are also about to face rather unpleasant traffic jams. The most frustrating one seemed to occur for no reason at all. You’re stuck positive something catastraphic must have happened up ahead. Then for no apparent reason, the traffic clears. Now mathematicians from England’s university of Exiter believed they’ve solved the mystery. They modeled the effect of various highway events such as a truck slowly pulling out from a merge lane. If the truck’s approach causes the car behind to quickly drop below a certain speed, then the next driver back also hits his/her brakes. This continues in a braking chain that the authors call a backward travelling wave. It could stretch back miles. So it is not necessarily the volume of traffic but rather a sudden interuption in the flow that causes delays. The authors advise drivers to pay attention, and when necessary, brake gently and slowly. If you suddenly overreact and hit the brakes, you could be causing someone to grimace in frustration in a car many miles away.

这篇还不错，除了拼写错了1个；^_^
catastrophe, catastrophic

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-25 09:27 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

As we look back at 2007, it’s the time to judge the best books, the best movies and the best scientific discoveries. The procedures （prestigious）journal science came up with its breakthrough of the year in the December 21st edition. The ran-rurup （runner-up）was the discovery that skin cells can be manipulated to behave like embroymatic （embryonic）stem cells. The number one pick(？) --- human genetic variation. Scientists have been learning increasing amounts about how genes influence trades （traits）and diseases. At the same time, we hear about how little difference there is between us and our not-so-distant cousins --- chipsin （chimps and）gorillas. But these years researchers sequenced the genums （genomes）of thousands of individual people. They looked at variations in short stretches of DNA called Single Nuclear itied （nucleotide）poly-morphisms, or SNIPS（SNPs）. We each have millions of SNIPS rDNA（in our DNA）. Scientists discovered how much we vary from one another on a specic level, crucial info for understanding everything from who gets diabetes to who’s at risk for breast cancer, to maybe even why I can stand a  xx（can't stand cilantro）. For more information and breakthroughs of the year, go to sciencemag.org

runner-up --- 第二名
the number one pick --- （估计是第一名了）
embryonic
chimp --- 非洲黑猩猩
genome
nucleotide --- 核苷
polymorphism --- 多变性
(生物)单核苷酸多态性(Single nucleotide polymorphism)
cilantro --- parsley-like herb used as seasoning or garnish

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-25 08:52 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

12-20
The most practiced performers make little mistakes even after repeating something a thousand of （X）times. You could write off these solo （subtle）variation as just system noise, proved （proof）that muscles are （aren't）just machines. But California research team has a different idea. They proposed that such mistakes could be part of a try on air （trial and error）procedure that continue in（continually） improved performance. Their finding appear in the December 20th issue of the Journal Nature. The scientists were studying a bird’s song. Bangoly’s finches, like many birds, use jaunty ditty like this one to attract to mate. Each song is practiced untile it’s almost exactly the same every time. But the birds can still change their tune. Working with（X） one bird at a time, the researchers played some loud wide （white）noise every time when the bird sang a particular note. If the bird had been singing （happened to sing）that note lower, the scientists kept that noise coming; but if the bird sang that note higher, the noise would stop. Over time, the birds learned that higher is better, and they’d lock in the new pitch. If only the females who （would）take a liking into this melodious mistake, Bangoly’s finches might soon be singing a whole new song.

subtle（发音，b 的音是没有的）
write off ---  to lower the price or value of 贬低，depreciate
aren't （发音） ---- aren't 比 are 音重
continually （拼写）
white noise
a thousand times
trial and error procedure



[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-21 01:57 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

If you woke up this morning and the news paper headlines screamed “the mediore（meteor） headed for earth,” You （You'd）think “that’s not good”, and you’d probably be right. But sometimes a little cosmic bombardment can be just  what the doctor ordered. In a study published online in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers in Sweden say that 470 million years ago, mediore （meteor）shower might have boosted our biodiversity. The scientists were studying rocks from China and Sgand and Navia.（Scandinavia） And they were looking for two things, first they were counting the number of different clam-like species  they could find; second they were searching for chemicals that were carried here by  mediore rites（meteorites） --- achestraquomie （extrterrestrial chromite）, stuff like that. They found that the huge burst of  diversification coincides exactly with the time when mediores amilwild （a mile wide）were raining down on the planet.  But wait, didn’t they ask why the （an asteroid）wipe out of the dinosaurs?  Well yes, but without all those early impact promoting diversity, maybe there wouldn’t have been a dinosaur in the first place.  And if mediores have （hadn't）slammed the dinosaurs, mammals like gossmile（us might） never have made the scene.  So when it comes a space rock, one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor（flora）, and fall off （fauna）

meteor （发音）
meteorite --- 陨星
Scandinavia --- 斯堪的纳维亚
extraterretrial
chromite --- 铬铁矿,亚铬酸盐

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-21 01:03 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

唉，这一篇拖了太长时间，一直不想写，因为听了N遍，都听不全，很多单词都不懂；
只听了个大概意思，就是“在紧急危机时刻人们通常感到时间被延长，但是实际上没有；只不过是跟更多的记忆有关”

When a car gets out on black ice, or when the tifiny vaze and free fall to marble floor, or when you watch the north teragraph and flames, you know, time appears to go in slow motion. But whitswhere our brains percieve time differently during crisis, but is it true?  Scientists at the Balor College of Medicine say no, perception remains the same whether or not you by the fire side of being attacked by a bison.  There are twenty volunteers free fall, a hundred and fifty feet into a net. And to test individual distortion caused by slowed perception of terrifying fall, researchers strapped  kilometers onto the subjects’ wrist that flash number too fast to read.  They theorized that if  we actually see more due to slow time in a less xxx disaster , then subjects should be real to read the numbers.  But last, they could not. During frightening even, they mate of a kicks end, and lathe down next sector of memories. The more memory you have on an even, the longer you believe it tuks.  So while we’re back to life, the time appears to expand in our immediate experience of scary event. Really  we’re being tricked the immediate memory of that event. Wow, that’s pretty trippy

唉，这篇就不改了，直接贴原文，错的太多了；惨不忍睹

====================================================================
原文：
When a car skids on black ice, or when the Tiffany vase is in free fallto the marble floor, or when you watch the north tower go up inflames...time appears to go in slow motion.

We’d swear our brains perceive time differently during crisis, but is it true?

Scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine say no… perception remainsthe same, whether we’re lounging by the fireside or being attacked by abison.

They had 20 volunteers free fall 150 feet into a net.

To test for visual distortion caused by slowed perception of aterrifying fall, researchers strapped chronometers onto subjects’wrists and flashed numbers too fast to read.

They theorized, that if we actually see more, due to slowed time, inthe midst of disaster, then subjects should be able to read thenumbers.  But alas they could not.

During a frightening event the amygdala kicks in, and it lays down anextra set of memories. The more memory you have of an event, the longeryou believe it took.

So while we’d bet our life that time appears to expand in our immediateexperience of a scary event – really we’re being tricked by theimmediate memory of that event.

Wow, pretty trippy

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-20 09:34 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

Last time you thought about mud might have been when you were making pies out of it. But scientists just cleared some muddy ideas. It might have been thought that mud forms only in still water, but researchers writing in the December 14th issue of the journal Science report  that muds still can occur when the water is moving.  To sift out the conclusion, the scientists got down and dirty.  They built a flum（flume）, a channel for moving water, and they suspended fine clay particles in the liquid. Mud of course formed when the water was not moving, but when they motorized pettle（a motorized paddle） , created a current, mud also formed.  Cleaning up misconceptions about mud is interesting on its own, but the researchers say that the findings should also help engineers who have to maitain harbors, shipping lanes, and canals, because they now have the real dirt on the conditions that lead to mud. And since the mud is big part of  the geological record,  we may have to reexamine ideas about the conditions that existed millions of years ago, and let to the rough （led to the rock）formations refined （we find）today.

flume --- 水道
lane --- 小路,小巷,行车道
paddle --- 划桨

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-19 08:45 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

有两句听不出来，唉……

It’s that time of the year when many of us ponder deep questions, like what’ve I done with my life? Where’am I going? And why are pigmies so small? Well you’re on your own with the first two questions, but researchers at the University of Cambridge may be able to help with the third.  They published their conclusions in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Acadamy of  Sciences. For years, scientists have theorized the definitive （diminutive）stature of pigmies, populations with （where）men never topped （top）five feet.  The current theories hold that pigmies have evolved to be short in response to a scarcity of nutrients. Or, maybe, get this, because (Jesus’ll make your way through dumb forests) （it's eaiser to make your way through dense forests）, if you’re not so tall.  But somehow these theories never quite fit.  The Masine, canine-orso-faced fat men （Masai, in kenya also face famine）, and they are among the tallest people on the planet. As reducking （ducking）under branches, not all pigmies live in the woods. What the Cambridge researchers find is that pigmies are pigmies because they live fast and die young.  And adolescent  years that are usually spent  growing taller are instead used to have babies, usually by the age of 15.  So the research confirms what we always knew: pigmies lead short lives.

Masai 马塞族人
Men never top five feet
Famine （发音[fæmən]）
Pigmy
Make one’s through dense forests
Adolescent
ducking under branches ？？？ 什么意思？


[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-18 11:08 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

Health news lately has had one clear recommendation --- eat more foods high in (omega)olmega-3 fatty acids.  And the olmega oil feeding frenzy has driven up the demand for salmon, much of which comes from fish farms. But in the study in the December 14th issue of the journal Science, researchers say these farms could drive  wild salmon populations to extinction. The problem is a parasite called sea lice. They latch onto the salmon skin in the open ocean, and they also threat （thrive in）our fish farms. Adult salmon can stand to have some lice, but the parasites kill off vulnerable juveniles. Usually little ones swimming in the river aren’t exposed to sea lice. But in Britich Cloumbia, the plethora of fish farms near river means that wild juveniles are catching sea lice and dying off  at alarming rates. Scientists say within another four years, just two salmon generations, wild salmon populations could collapse  by 99%. They suggest two options, either put farmed fish in fully enclosed pens instead of the open nets that’s （--）currently used, or move the farms away from rivers. Otherwise wild salmons face an extreme （upstream）battle for survival.

latch onto --- 1. fasten with a latch n. 门闩 v. 上闩
thrive in
upstream battle for survival
lice n. (pl. of louse)虱子
omega-3

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-18 00:04 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

At least a million people die of malaria every year. And one problemwith treating the disease may be treating the disease. The currentdosages of drugs used to fight malaria may sometimes make the problemworse by allowing the malaria causing (malaria-causing,做形容词)parasites to become drug-resistant faster. That’s what evolutionarybiologists said recently in the Proceedings of the National Acadmy ofSciences. Various strenths （strains）ofmalaria parasites compete with each other in an infected patient., soparasites that are easier to kill actually help keep down thepopulations of hardier parasites. But big dose of drugs wipes out theweak players leaving the field open to the resistant bugs. Working withthe infected mice, the researchers found that more drugs and longertreatments tended to actually worsenthe situation. Current public health policies try to kill every lastparasite. But if the condition in people acts like it acts （has）inmice, a better idea may be to try to use the amount of medicine that’llkeep the person healthy, but will also let the parasites continue to duke it out with each other.

duke it out --- 【idiom】to compete against someone or something
strain --- (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups 血统
malaria-causing parasites

想起了前几天的 sweat it out on a treadmill

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-14 10:14 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

这篇难啊；听了一个小时；汗！
Imagine an armadino （armadillo）? Now imagine one weighing in the (at) 200-pounds.  The fossil scull （skeleton）of an extinct ancestor of today’s armadino was recently found in the mountains of northern Chily (Chile). The find represents a new species called paraproperlie harpterforests subterntrealas （Parapropalaehoplophorus septentrionali）.  And it is described in the latest issue of the journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.  This beast and its cousins are known as glipterdance（glyptodonts）.  Wearing a coat of bony （boney）plates, they dieted on （dined on）grass and plants. They mostly lumbered around South America, but did reach the southern US. Other related species could weigh a ton --- think of a four-legged hummer.  The 200-pound subterntrealas is a bonzie （bonsai）version compared to the really big boys.  The find shows that the now high-altitude regions of northern Chily were once low-lying grassland.  Glipterdance became extinct around ten thousands years ago, the exact reason is uncertain but may be because gassue （guess who）arrived. Yes when modern （原稿是human, 我觉得有误）hunters came on the scene, it might be （might have been）the end of the glipterdance. They certainly didn’t share the fate of the many modern armadinos --- road kill.

armadillo --- 犰狳;burrowing chiefly nocturnal mammal with body covered with strong horny plates;
                    像虾一样有角质鳞片的哺乳动物；horny plates, spine, scale
weigh in at ...
glyptodont --- [古生]雕齿兽
boney --- bony  多骨的；瘦骨嶙峋的
bonsai --- 盆栽
may be because 不是 maybe because
guest who arrived （连读音）
dine on --- feed on
dine --- 用正餐


[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-13 20:12 编辑 ]

abstinentUID：137004

It’s an approach to pest control that’s so crazy, it just might work. Convince the femals that they’re virgins. It’ll be useless as human birth control of course, but the difference is that most femal insects completely change their behavior after sex. For example, some mosquitoes suck blood, others lose interest in males and start laying eggs. What’s behind this dramatic change of behavior? Turns out that it’s a peptide in the male’s seminal fluid. And now researchers in Vietnam （Vienna） have found the female’s receptor for this peptide. They report online and (in) Nature that fruit-flies without the receptor lay many fewer eggs and continue to be interested in sex., in other words, they act “like a virgin”. So back to pest control, most female insect should have this sort of receptor, including the kinds that spread disease and devastate crops. If we could deactivate it on a large scale instead of fighting egg-laying blood suckers, we could live in peace with born-again virgins. “Touch for the very first time”.

Mosquito
Vienna --- 维也纳
born-again virgin
receptor
peptide --- 肽

[ 本帖最后由 abstinent 于 2007-12-12 23:37 编辑 ]