为什么有些动物是黑白色的？

这个BBC播客由英国境外的广告支持。

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside The UK.

这并不是我们曾被承诺的未来。

This is not the future we were promised.

比如，这作为节目的标语怎么样？

Like, how about that for a tagline for the show?

来自BBC，这里是《界面》，一档探讨科技如何重塑你的一周和整个世界的节目。

From the BBC, this is the interface, the show that explores how tech is rewiring your week and your world.

这与季度收益或科技评测无关。

This isn't about quarterly earnings or about tech reviews.

它关注的是科技实际上如何影响你的工作、政治和日常生活。

It's about what technology is actually doing to your work and your politics, your everyday life.

以及人们使用互联网的各种奇特方式。

And all the bizarre ways people are using the Internet.

在bbc.com或你收听播客的任何平台收听。

Listen on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

我们的播客系列《职场英语》回归了，每周更新，帮助您提升工作中的英语能力。

Our podcast series Office English is back with weekly episodes to help you improve your English at work.

学习实用短语，助你在英语环境中提升职业发展，从设定目标、使用闲聊到事情出错时道歉。

Learn useful phrases to boost your career in English from setting goals to using small talk to apologising when things go wrong.

关注《职场英语学习》播客收听，或访问 b b c 学习英语点 com。

Follow the Learning English for Work podcast to listen or visit b b c learning english dot com.

六分钟英语

Six Minute English

来自 bbclearningenglish.com。

from bbclearningenglish.com.

你好。

Hello.

这里是BBC学习英语的《六分钟英语》。

This is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

我是尼尔。

I'm Neil.

我是贝卡。

And I'm Becca.

尼尔，以下这些动物有什么共同点？

Neil, what do the following animals have in common?

斑马、大熊猫和喜鹊。

Zebras, giant pandas and magpies.

这很简单啊，贝卡。

That's pretty easy, Becca.

它们都是黑白相间的。

They're all black and white.

对。

Right.

但你知道这些动物为什么进化成黑白颜色吗？

But do you know why these animals evolved to be black and white?

我不太确定。

I'm not so sure.

大概是关于生存吧。

Probably something about survival.

这通常是答案，对吧？

That's usually the answer, isn't it?

确实是。

It is.

动物世界充满了色彩，比如闪亮的蓝色孔雀和鲜绿色的青蛙。

The animal world is full of colour, shiny blue peacocks and bright green frogs.

但事实上，有数百种动物是黑白相间的。

But in fact, hundreds of animal species are black and white.

在本期节目中，我们将尝试找出原因，同时学习一些有用的生词和短语。

In this episode, we'll try to find out why, while also learning some useful new words and phrases.

请记住，本节目中的所有词汇都可以在我们的网站bbclearningenglish.com上找到。

And remember, all the vocabulary from this episode is available on our website bbclearningenglish.com.

好的。

Okay.

该来个问题考考你了，贝卡。

Time for a question for you, Becca.

根据一种理论，一些动物是黑白相间的，目的是警告潜在的捕食者它们很危险或味道不好。

According to one theory, some animals are black and white to warn potential predators that they're dangerous or they taste bad.

但这种现象的科学术语是什么？

But what is the scientific term for this?

是 a) 保护色，b) 拟态，还是 c) 警戒色？

Is it a) camouflage b) mimicry or c) aposematism?

嗯，尼尔，我选 c，因为我以前从来没听过这个词。

Well, Neil, I'm going to go with c just because I've never heard of that word before.

好的。

Okay.

我喜欢你的风格。

I like I like your style.

一些科学家认为，斑马独特的黑白条纹可以防止苍蝇和其他昆虫叮咬。

Some scientists think zebras distinctive black and white stripes prevent bites from flies and other insects.

动物学家马丁·豪博士通过给马——马是斑马的近亲——披上条纹来检验这一理论。

Zoologist Doctor Martin Howe tested this theory by covering horses, a close relative of the zebra, in stripes.

在这里，马丁向BBC世界服务节目《大众科学》的卡罗琳·斯蒂尔介绍了他的实验。

Here, Martin discusses his experiment with Caroline Steele from BBC World Service programme CrowdScience.

我们是否知道条纹究竟是什么让昆虫感到不适？

Do we know what what it is about the stripes that's putting them off?

是某种视觉上的混淆吗？

Is it somehow like visually confusing?

我们最初想测试是否存在某种光学幻觉在起作用。

We originally set out to test whether maybe there were these optical illusions at play.

因此，我们进行了大量测试，尝试了不同图案的毯子。

So we did a whole bunch of tests where we tried different patterns of rugs.

但结果发现，几乎每一种高对比度的图案，每一种黑白图案，我们使用的几乎每一种图案都能有效阻止苍蝇。

But it turned out that practically every high contrast pattern, every black and white pattern we used, almost every pattern was really effective at stopping flies.

马丁进行了大量测试，使用了不同颜色和图案。

Martin conducted a whole bunch of, meaning a lot of tests using different colors and patterns.

黑白条纹制造了一种视觉错觉，这种错觉会让眼睛看到的事物与实际情形不同。

Black and white stripes created an optical illusion, a visual trick that makes your eyes see things differently from how they really are.

因此，苍蝇被吓退了。

As a result, the flies were put off.

它们失去了兴趣，没有叮咬。

They lost interest and didn't bite.

所以斑马的条纹会混淆昆虫，让它们去别处寻找食物。

So zebras' stripes confuse insects, telling them to look elsewhere for food.

但动物呈现黑白配色还有其他原因吗？

But are there other reasons animals are black and white?

任何在动物园见过大熊猫的人都不会难以发现它们。

Nobody who's seen giant pandas in a zoo would find them hard to spot.

在青草背景中，它们非常显眼。

Against a grassy background, they stand out easily.

但在它们生活的雪山森林中，从远处看，黑白配色却是完美的伪装。

But seen from a distance in the snowy mountain forest where they live, black and white makes the perfect disguise.

以下是动物行为学世界权威蒂姆·卡罗教授向BBC世界服务节目《大众科学》的卡罗琳·斯蒂尔所做的进一步解释。

Here's professor Tim Carrow, a world authority on animal behavior, explaining more to Caroline Steele for BBC World Services CrowdScience.

让我意识到这一点的是15张大熊猫的照片，有些是近距离拍摄的，有些是远距离拍摄的。

The giveaway for me was 15 photos of giant pandas taken either fairly close-up or at a distance.

在这15张照片中，有两张我完全看不到任何东西，只看到岩石和积雪。

And in two of those photos, I was unable to see anything in picture other than rocks and snow.

后来我才意识到，原来照片中央远处有一只大熊猫。

And then later on, I realized that in fact there was a giant panda in the center of that picture, some distance away.

但那一刻，我突然明白了。

But immediately, that that that clicked in my mind.

大熊猫的伪装实在太好了。

The pandas were so well camouflaged.

蒂姆在照片里根本找不到它们。

Tim couldn't spot them in the photos.

就在那时，他脑海中突然闪现了一个想法——当一个人长时间努力后突然理解了某事，我们就会这么说。

That's when something clicked in his mind, a phrase used when you suddenly understand something after trying for a long time.

蒂姆意识到熊猫利用颜色来隐藏自己。

Tim understood that pandas use color to hide.

他称之为线索，即某种让人容易发现秘密或未知事物的特征。

He calls this a giveaway, something that makes it easy for people to discover something secret or unknown.

那么，动物是像斑马一样黑白相间以驱赶昆虫，还是像熊猫一样用于伪装呢？

So are animals black and white to repel insects like zebras, or for camouflage like pandas?

让我们听听研究另一种黑白动物——企鹅的汉娜·罗兰德的最后看法。

Let's give the final word to Hannah Rowland, a researcher into another black and white animal, penguins.

事实上，科学从来就没有非黑即白的答案。

Really, science never has a black and white answer.

开个玩笑。

Excuse the pun.

对于企鹅来说，它们之所以是黑白相间的，通常是因为多种复杂原因的混合。

With penguins being black and white, there's it's often a very complex mixture of reasons.

动物为何是黑白相间的，这个问题的答案本身也不是非黑即白的。

The answer to why animals are black and white is not black and white.

所谓黑白分明的情况，是指容易分清对错的情形。

A situation described as black and white means one where it's easy to understand what's right and wrong.

事实上，动物之所以是黑白配色，并没有单一的原因。

In fact, there's no one reason why animals are black and white.

斑马为了避免叮咬，熊猫为了躲避捕食者，而一些动物如臭鼬则警告其他动物它们很危险。

Zebras avoid bites, pandas hide from predators, and some animals like skunks warn other animals they're dangerous.

这一切都取决于具体的动物。

It all depends on the specific animal.

说到臭鼬，让我想起了我的问题，贝卡。

And talking of skunks reminds me of my question, Becca.

根据一种理论，一些动物是黑白配色，是为了警告潜在的捕食者它们具有危险性或味道不好。

According to one theory, some animals are black and white to warn potential predators they're dangerous or taste bad.

但这个科学术语是什么？

But what is the scientific term?

我选了C选项，反荫蔽，因为我以前从来没听说过这个词。

And I chose c, opposomatism, because I'd never heard of it before.

嗯，这是个很棒的选择方式。

Well, that's a great way of choosing.

而且你选对了，效果很好。

And it's done well for you because you're correct.

好的。

Okay.

让我们回顾一下我们学到的词汇，首先是视觉错觉。

Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned starting with optical illusion.

一种视觉上的把戏，让你的眼睛对事物的感知与实际情况不同。

A visual trick where your eyes perceive things differently from how they really are.

一大群某物意味着很多某物。

A whole bunch of something means a lot of something.

如果某事让你反感，它会令你不喜欢或失去兴趣。

If something puts you off, it causes you to dislike it or lose interest.

一个破绽是指某事物让人容易发现隐藏或未知的秘密。

A giveaway is something that makes it easy for people to discover something secret or unknown.

当某事突然让你明白过来时，就会用到‘我脑子里突然明白了’这个表达。

The phrase something clicked in my mind is used when you suddenly understand something at last.

最后，如果你把某事描述为黑白分明，意思是很容易分辨对错。

And finally, if you describe something as black and white, you mean it's easy to understand what is right and wrong.

再次提醒，我们的六分钟时间到了，但请前往我们的网站 bbclearningenglish.com，获取本集的测验和练习 worksheet。

Once again, our six minutes are up, but head over to our website, bbclearningenglish.com for a quiz and worksheet for this episode.

我们很快再见，但现在，再见了。

See you there soon, but for now, it's goodbye.

再见。

Goodbye.

六分钟英语。

Six Minute English.

来自 bbclearningenglish.com。

From bbclearningenglish.com.

这并不是我们曾经被承诺的未来。

This is not the future we were promised.

这作为节目的标语怎么样？

Like, how about that for a tagline for the show?

来自BBC，这是《界面》节目，探讨科技如何重塑你的每周生活和整个世界。

From the BBC, this is the interface, the show that explores how tech is rewiring your week and your world.

这并不是关于季度收益或科技评测。

This isn't about quarterly earnings or about tech reviews.

而是关于科技实际上如何影响你的工作、政治和日常生活。

It's about what technology is actually doing to your work and your politics, your everyday life.

以及人们使用互联网的各种奇特方式。

And all the bizarre ways people are using the Internet.

在bbc.com或你收听播客的任何平台收听。

Listen on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.