国外媒体:吃得太多可能会撑死

平时，贪吃的朋友们总是觉得多吃一点没有关系，满足自己的嘴馋最要紧。然而，你们知道吗？贪吃、吃得过多有可能会导致死亡。所以，大家还是要合理饮食。

Yael: Hey Don, do you know why over-eating can be lethal¹ for a squid?

Don: Obese² squid are prone³ to heart disease, Yael?

Y: No. In fact, it would only take a single oversized meal to kill or cause brain injury to a squid.

D: Brain injury? I'm stumped⁴.

Y: Squid are part of a diverse group of highly evolved invertebrates⁵ called cephalopod mollusks. Cephalopods, which also include octopus⁶ and cuttlefish⁷, have the largest and most complex brains of all the invertebrates. Like all invertebrates, squid don't have a bony skeleton. And squid even lack a hard outer shell like many other mollusks have. But squids' brains are protected by a capsule of flexible cartilage.

D: Yael, what does this have to do with over-eating?

Y: Oh right. Well, the squid's digestive system passes right through its brain!

D: Whaaaaat?

Y: Yep. Although the cartilage surrounding the brain is flexible, it doesn't stretch. However, the esophagus running through the middle of the brain does stretch. If a squid tried to swallow too large a piece of food, the esophagus would expand, squashing its brain into the sides of its head. But squid are well adapted to avoid this problem. They have hard chitinous beaks⁸, sort of like parrots' beaks, that break up even hard-shelled food into manageable pieces. The food is further broken down by strong enzymes⁹ in their saliva¹⁰, and a hard, raspy tongue-like structure called a radula. The radula is covered with rows of small sharp teeth specially¹¹ adapted to grinding and shredding¹². So the squid's dinners are reduced to tiny particles before swallowing.

D: An esophagus through the brain! Who knew squid were so fascinating!?

1 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

2 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

3 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

4 stumped   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活，然后很艰难地走出房间。
• He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌，半天说不出话来。

5 invertebrates   

n.无脊椎动物( invertebrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Insects and worms are all invertebrates. 昆虫和蠕虫都是无脊椎动物。 来自辞典例句
• In the earthworm and many other invertebrates, these excretory structures are called nephridia. 在蚯蚓和许多其它无脊椎动物中，这些排泄结构称为肾管。 来自辞典例句

6 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

7 cuttlefish   

n.乌贼，墨鱼

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters.我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• The cuttlefish spurts out dark ink when it is in danger.乌鲗遇到危险的时候会喷出黑色液体。

8 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

9 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

10 saliva   

n.唾液，口水

参考例句：

• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
• Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。

11 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

12 shredding   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的现在分词 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Like the Tehran experience, the shredding may be all for naught. 如同德黑兰事件中的情况一样，切碎文件可能是徒劳的。 来自时文部分
• How shredding began is subject to some guesswork. 粉碎处理行业的起源是个有争议的问题。 来自时文部分