囧研究：熊猫什么会这么懒

 　　When they’re not making sweet love in the zoo or dodging¹ poachers in the wild, giant pandas sit around and munch² on bamboo. Their metabolic³ ability to take it easy has long baffled scientists.

　　除了在动物园里交配以及在野外躲避偷猎者，大熊猫总是在无所事事地啃竹子，而它们那可以将竹子消化的代谢能力长久以来一直困扰着科学家们。

　　Thanks to a study coming out of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and published in Science, we finally have some answers. For starters, giant pandas expend⁴ about 38 percent of the same energy as compared to other creatures of the same body mass. To maintain such a low metabolism⁵, they do indeed move slowly. In the wild, pandas spend just half of their time in motion; when they forage⁶, they average just 50 feet per hour. According to the study’s authors, that’s “very low.”

　　中国科学院刊载在科学杂志上的一项研究成果使我们有了些头绪。首先，和相同体型的其他生物相比，大熊猫只需消耗其38%的热量，而为了维持尽可能低的新陈代谢，它们确实是行动缓慢。在野外，大熊猫只花一半的时间用于运动，当它们觅食的时候，它们的平均速度只有每小时50英尺，研究负责人表示这个速度“非常慢”。

　　囧研究：熊猫什么会这么懒

　　How’d they get their data? As Discovery reported:

　　那他们是怎么得到这些数据的呢？探索频道曾有过报道：

　　The researchers followed five captive and three wild giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) for about a year. By using GPS trackers and analyzing⁷ chemicals excreted in the pandas’ poop, they were able to measure the amount of energy the pandas spent each day. Surprisingly, the pandas expended⁸ only about 38 percent of the energy that an animal with the same body mass would require.

　　研究员们跟踪观察了五只圈养大熊猫和三只野生大熊猫约一年时间，通过定位追踪和分析熊猫粪便，他们得以估算出熊猫每天消耗的热量总和。令人诧异的是，大熊猫只需消耗与它同等体型的动物所需热量的38%。

　　“We thought the metabolism of the panda would be low because the bamboo diet contains low energy,” said senior author Fuwen Wei, a professor of zoology⁹ at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. “But it is very surprising that it is this exceptionally low, equal to the three-toed sloth¹⁰, and much lower than the koala.”

　　“我们认为熊猫的新陈代谢很低，因为竹子中含有的热量很少，”研究负责人魏福文（音译）说道，他是中国科学院动物学的专家，“但是我们没想到竟然会这么低，和三趾树懒差不多，比考拉要低三分之二。”

　　In addition to highly evolved behavior, biology comes into play, too. Autopsies¹¹ revealed low-energy wetware inside those big puffy bodies. Specifically, panda livers, kidneys and even their brains are smaller than those of other bears. This saves energy. Finally, their metabolic-managing thyroid hormones¹² are also lower than those seen in other similarly sized mammals. According to the researchers, the levels were lower than even those in hibernating¹³ black bears.

　　除了熊猫自身高度进化的行为以外，生物学也起了很大作用，研究员对熊猫的尸体进行了研究，发现在它们庞大的身躯中湿件的耗能非常低，特别是它们的肝脏、肾、甚至它们的大脑都比其他熊要小，这样就能节省热量，因此它们体内负责新陈代谢的甲状腺激素也比其它同等体型的哺乳动物要来的低，研究员说，这甚至比冬眠中的黑熊还要低。

　　So, in summary, pandas -- cute? Yes. Delicious? Maybe. Lazy and stupid? Definitely.

　　那么问题来了，熊猫萌吗？当然。好吃吗？不好说。又傻又懒？这是肯定的。

1 dodging   

n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
• I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

2 munch   

v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼

参考例句：

• We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
• Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。

3 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

4 expend   

vt.花费，消费，消耗

参考例句：

• Don't expend all your time on such a useless job.不要把时间消耗在这种无用的工作上。
• They expend all their strength in trying to climb out.他们费尽全力想爬出来。

5 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

6 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

7 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

8 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 zoology   

n.动物学，生态

参考例句：

• I would like to brush up my zoology.我想重新温习一下动物学。
• The library didn't stock zoology textbooks.这家图书馆没有动物学教科书。

10 sloth   

n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散

参考例句：

• Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。
• The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。

11 autopsies   

n.尸体解剖( autopsy的名词复数 )；验尸；现场验证；实地观察

参考例句：

• Autopsies cannot be performed and thus no recent histological examinations have been reported. 不能进行尸体解剖，因此没有新近的组织学检查的报道。 来自辞典例句
• I told you to supervise autopsies, not to set up a lot of fancy rules. 我叫你监督解剖室，不是去制定一些空想的规定。 来自辞典例句

12 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

13 hibernating   

（某些动物）冬眠，蛰伏( hibernate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The hibernating animals reduce movement to far below the ordinary level. 冬眠的动物把活动量大大减少到低于一般的水平。
• People find hibernating animals asleep. 人们发现冬眠动物处于休眠状态。