Snowshoe Hare托福听力原文翻译及问题答案

Snowshoe Hare托福听力原文翻译及问题答案

一、Snowshoe Hare托福听力原文：

Narrator:Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class.

Female Professor:Now James,you said you've been to the state of Maine,right?Male Student:Yeah,actually,I lived in western Maine till I was about 16.Female Professor:Great.So why don't you tell everybody what it's like there in the winter.Male Student: In the winter?Well,it's cold…and there's lots of snow.You wouldn't believe how much snow we used to get.

Female Professor:Actually,I would.I did field research up there a couple of winters,and it really is an incredible environment.And to survive in that sort of environment,animals have to adapt…to evolve in response to their surroundings.

As you'll recall,an adaptation is any feature—uh,physical or behavioral feature—of a species that helps it survive and reproduce.And in adapting to extreme climates—like Maine in the wintertime—animals can evolve in pretty interesting ways.Take,for example,the snowshoe hare.

OK,the snowshoe hare—and of course that’s“H-A-R-E,”like a rabbit…though I probably should mention that technically a hare is not exactly the same as a rabbit,even though it is very similar.The primary difference is that a rabbit’s young are born blind and without fur,while a hare’s babies are born with a full coat and able to see.Now,this snowshoe hare…tell me…what sort of adaptations do you think it's developed that help it survive the Maine winters?I’ll give you a hint.Food isn't an issue.The hare actually has abundant food in the small twigs it finds.Male Student:Well,I don't know.I mean,I know we used to try to look for those rabbits,…uh hares,when we went hiking in the winter,but it was often hard to find them in the snow.Female Professor:Yes,that's exactly right.The major concern of the snowshoe hare in the winter is predators,and now that includes humans.So one of its adaptations is basically camouflage.In other words,its coat—its fur—turns from brown in the summer to white in the winter,which makes it harder for the hare’s predators to see it against the white snow.

Male Student:Yeah,but I could swear I remember seeing rabbits in the snow a couple of times…I mean hares…that were brown.

Female Professor:Well,you may very well have.Timing is really important,but the snowshoe hare doesn’t always get it exactly right.Its chances for survival are best if it turns white about the time of the first snowfall.And,it’s the amount of daylight that triggers the changing of the hare’s coat.As the days get shorter—that is,as the Sun is up for a shorter and shorter time each day—the snowshoe hare starts growing white fur and shedding its brown fur.

The hare does a pretty good job with its timing,but sometimes—when there’s a really early or late snow—it stands out.Plus,it takes about a month for the snowshoe hare's coat to completely change color,so if there's a particularly early snowfall,it's very likely that the hare’s fur would not yet be totally white.And that would make this a particularly dangerous time for the hare.OK,what else?Other adaptations?Susan?

Female Student:Well,it’s called a hare.So are its feet somehow protected from the cold?Female Professor:Well,this animal's name does have to do with an adaptation of its feet,though not like it has warm furry boots or something,to keep its feet from getting cold.You’ve probably never needed to wear snowshoes,but…well,snowshoes are not like thick furry shoes designed to keep the feet warm.They’re actually quite thin,but very wide.

What they do is spread out the weight of the foot coming down on the snow.See,the problem with walking on snow is that you sink in with every step.But with snowshoes,you don't sink in,you walk on top of the snow.It makes walking through the Maine countryside in the winter much easier.Anyway,the snowshoe hare has an adaptation that plays on this same idea—it has hind feet that act like snowshoes.I mean,its paws are wide,and they allow the hare to hop and run just at the surface of deep snow.And this is a huge advantage for the snowshoe hare,since,by contrast,the feet of its predators usually sink right down into the snow.Now,another advantage related to this is that,unlike many animals in winter,snowshoe hares can stay lean and lightweight—they accumulate essentially no body fat.Can anyone guess why this is so?Female Student:They don't eat very much?Female Professor:Well,yes.But not because there isn't enough food around.It's because,like I said,food is almost always within reach and they don't have to store up a lot of food energy for the harsh winters.

二、Snowshoe Hare托福听力中文翻译：

旁白：在生物课上听一节课的一部分。

女教授：詹姆斯，你说你去过缅因州，对吗？男学生：是的，事实上，我在缅因州西部一直住到16岁左右。女教授：太好了。那你为什么不告诉大家那里冬天的情况呢。男学生：；在冬天？嗯，天气很冷……而且雪很多。你不会相信我们过去下了多少雪。

女教授：事实上，我会的。几年冬天，我在那里做了实地调查，那里的环境真是令人难以置信。为了在这样的环境中生存，动物必须适应……进化以适应环境。

正如你所记得的，适应是一个物种帮助其生存和繁殖的任何特征，呃，生理或行为特征。为了适应冬季缅因州这样的极端气候，动物可以以非常有趣的方式进化。以雪鞋兔为例。

好的，雪鞋兔，当然这是“H-A-R-E”，就像一只兔子……虽然我可能应该提到，从技术上讲，兔子与兔子并不完全相同，尽管它非常相似。主要的区别在于，兔子的幼崽天生失明，没有皮毛，而兔子的幼崽天生就有一身完整的皮毛，能够看见东西。现在，这只雪鞋兔……告诉我……你认为它经过了什么样的适应才能在缅因州的冬天存活下来？我给你一个提示。食物不是问题。事实上，兔子在找到的小树枝上有丰富的食物。男学生：嗯，我不知道。我的意思是，我知道我们过去常常试图寻找那些兔子，…嗯，兔子，当我们在冬天徒步旅行时，但通常很难在雪中找到它们。女教授：是的，完全正确。雪鞋兔在冬天最担心的是捕食者，现在也包括人类。所以它的一个适应基本上是伪装。换言之，它的皮毛在夏天从棕色变成了白色，这使得兔子的捕食者很难在白雪中看到它。

男生：是的，但我可以发誓我记得有几次在雪地里看到兔子……我是说兔子……它们是棕色的。

女教授：嗯，你很可能有。时机确实很重要，但雪鞋兔并不总是完全正确。如果它在第一场雪的时候变白，它的生存机会就最大了。而且，正是日照量触发了兔子皮毛的变化。随着白天越来越短，也就是说，随着每天太阳升起的时间越来越短，雪兔开始长出白色的皮毛，脱落棕色的皮毛。

野兔在时间上做得很好，但有时当雪下得很早或很晚的时候，它会显得很突出。此外，雪鞋兔子的皮毛需要大约一个月的时间才能完全变色，因此，如果降雪特别早，兔子的皮毛很可能还没有完全变白。这对兔子来说将是一个特别危险的时刻。好的，还有什么？其他调整？苏珊？

女学生：嗯，它叫野兔。那么，它的脚是否有某种程度的御寒保护？女教授：嗯，这种动物的名字确实与它的脚的适应有关，虽然不像它有温暖的毛茸茸的靴子之类的东西，以防止它的脚变冷。你可能从来都不需要穿雪鞋，但是……嗯，雪鞋不像厚厚的毛茸茸的鞋子那样可以保暖。它们实际上很薄，但很宽。

他们所做的是分散掉落在雪上的脚的重量。看，在雪上行走的问题是你每走一步都会陷进去。但穿雪鞋，你不会陷进去，你会在雪地上行走。这使得冬天在缅因州的乡村行走变得更加容易。不管怎样，雪鞋兔有一个改编版本，它的后脚就像雪鞋一样。我的意思是，它的爪子很宽，允许兔子在深雪的表面跳跃和奔跑。这对雪鞋兔来说是一个巨大的优势，因为相比之下，它的掠食者的脚通常会直接陷进雪中。现在，与此相关的另一个优势是，与冬天的许多动物不同，雪鞋兔可以保持苗条和轻盈，它们基本上不会积累身体脂肪。谁能猜出为什么会这样？女学生：他们吃得不多？女教授：嗯，是的。但不是因为周围没有足够的食物。这是因为，正如我所说，食物几乎总是唾手可得，它们不必为严冬储存大量食物能量。

三、Snowshoe Hare托福听力问题：

Q1:1.What is the lecture mainly about?

A.Typical features of the snowshoe hare that do not result from adaption

B.Various strategies used by snowshoe hares to find food during the winter

C.Characteristics that snowshoe hares have developed in response to their environment

D.Interactions between snowshoe hares and human populations in the state of Maine

Q2:2.According to the professor,what causes the snowshoe hare’s fur to begin turning white?

A.A decrease in the hours that the Sun is up each day

B.A sudden drop in temperature

C.The increasing amount of snow on the ground

D.The changing nature of the food supply

Q3:3.Why might an early snowfall be a particularlydangerous time for the snowshoe hare?

A.Its feet would not yet have grown to resemble snowshoes.

B.Its babies would not yet be able to keep themselves warm.

C.Its chances of being seen by a predator are much higher.

D.It might not be able to locate whether it stored its food supply.

Q4:4.The professor implies that the snowshoe hare has an advantage over other animals because of its unusual feet.What is that advantage?

A.It can reach food in higher locations better than its competitors.

B.It can stay warm in cold weather longer than its competitors.

C.It can outrun its predators in deep snow.

D.It can dig under the snow to hide from its predators.

Q5:5.The professor explains that the snowshoe hare’s supply is available year-round.What does the availability of the food allow the snow shoe hare to do?

A.Store body fat for the cold months

B.Remain lightweight through the winter

C.Give birth during the winter

D.Grow fur quickly during the first year after birth

Q6:6.Why does the student say this:

A.He wants to support the professor’s point with an example.

B.He is grateful the professor has answered his question.

C.The professor’s explanation contradicts his own experience.

D.The professor may not believe he is telling the truth.

四、Snowshoe Hare托福听力答案：

A1:正确答案：C

A2:正确答案：A

A3:正确答案：C

A4:正确答案：C

A5:正确答案：B

A6:正确答案：C