托福听力TPO11精听讲义 | 讲座1: Distraction Display

Part I

Pro: OK, today we are going to continue our discussion of the parenting behaviors of birds. And we are going to start by talking about what are known as distraction displays. 

Now if you were a bird and there's a predator around. What are you gonna do? Well, for one thing you are gonna try to attract as little attention as possible, right? Because if the predator doesn’t know you are there, it is not going to try to eat you. But sometimes certain species of birds do the exact opposite when a predator approaches, they do their best to attract the attention of that predator.

Now why would they do that? Well, they do that to draw the predator away from their nest, away from their eggs or their young birds. And the behaviors that the birds engage in to distract predators are called distraction displays.

但有时，当捕食者靠近的时候，有些鸟类的行为却恰恰相反，它们会尽最大努力吸引捕食者的注意。

1. parenting|ˈpeərəntɪŋ|

noun. the process of caring for your child or children 养育；抚养；教养

E.g.: The goal of parenting is to prevent the adolescent from making mistakes.

        教养的目的是防止青少年犯错。

2. distraction display

anti-predator behaviors used to attract the attention of an enemy away from something, typically the nest or young, that is being protected by a parent. 引离（天敌）行为是一种反捕食行为，用于将捕食者的注意力从父母保护的幼崽或巢穴上引开。  

3. for one thing

used to introduce one of two or more reasons for doing sth （用以引出两个以上的理由之一）一来，一方面

E.g.: ‘Why don't you get a car? ’ ‘Well, for one thing, I can't drive! ’

        “你为什么不买辆汽车呢？”“啊，首先，我不会开车！”

4. engage in

to take part in sth; to make sb take part in sth （使）从事，参加

E.g.: Even in prison, he continued to engage in criminal activities.

        他甚至在监狱里还继续从事犯罪活动。

Part II

And there are a number of different kinds of distraction displays. Most of the time, when birds are engaging in distraction displays, they are going to be pretending either that they have an injury or that they’re ill or that they’re exhausted, you know, something that’ll make the predator think “Hum…here is an easy meal”.

One pretty common distraction display was called the broken wing display. And in a broken wing display, the bird spreads and drags its wing or its tail, and while it does that, it slowly moves away from the nest. So it really looks like a bird with a broken wing. And these broken wing displays can be pretty convincing.

大多数时候，当鸟类进行引离行为时，它们会假装自己受伤或者生病或者筋疲力尽，你懂的，这会让捕食者觉得“ 嗯…这是一顿容易得手的饭”

1. convincing |kənˈvɪnsɪŋ|

adj. that makes sb believe that sth is true 令人信服的；有说服力的

E.g.: She sounded very convincing to me (= I believed what she said).

        我觉得她的话很有说服力。

Part III

Another version of this kind of distraction display is where the bird creates the impression of a mouse or some other small animal that’s running along the ground. A good example of that kind of displays is created by a bird called the purple sandpiper. 

Now what the purple sandpiper does is when a predator approaches, it drags its wings, but not to give the impression that its wings are broken, but to create the illusion that it has a second pair of legs.

And then it raises its feathers, so it looks like it’s got a coat of fur. And then it runs along the ground, swirling left and right, you know like it’s running around little rocks and sticks. And as it goes along, it makes a little squealing noise. So from a distance, it really looks and sounds like a little animal running along the ground, trying to get away. Again to the predator, it looks like an easy meal.

紫鹬所做的是当捕食者靠近时，它会拖着翅膀，但不是为了给人一种翅膀断了的印象，而是制造它有第二双腿的假象。

1. impression|ɪmˈpreʃn|

noun. an appearance that may be false （虚假的）外观；假象

E.g.: Clever lighting creates an impression of space in a room.

        巧妙的照明会让人有屋子空间增大的感觉。

2. sandpiper 矶鹞, plover 鸻, warbler 莺, thrush 画眉, lark 百灵, pigeon 鸽, eagle 雕, hawk 鹰, peacock 孔雀, quail 鹌鹑, ostrich 鸵鸟, seagull 海鸥, cuckoo 杜鹃, crow 乌鸦, swallow 燕, swift 雨燕, sparrow 麻雀, nightingale 夜莺, canary 金丝雀, owl 猫头鹰, penguin 企鹅

3. swirl |swɜ:rl|

verb. to move around quickly in a circle; to make sth do this （使）打旋，旋动，起旋涡

E.g.: She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass.

    她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。

4. go along

to continue with an activity 继续

E.g.: He made up the story as he went along.

       这个故事是他现编现讲的。

5. squeal |skwi:l|

verb. to make a long, high sound 尖声长叫；发出长而尖的声音

E.g.: Children were running around squealing with excitement.

       孩子们跑来跑去，兴奋地尖叫着。

Part IV

Now what’s interesting is that birds have different levels of performance of these distraction displays. They don’t give their top performance, their prime time performance every time. What they do is they save their best performances, their most conspicuous and most risky displays, for the time just before the baby birds become able to take care of themselves. And they time it that way because that’s when they have made the greatest investment in parenting their young.

他们之所以选择这个时机，是因为那正是他们在养育下一代上做出最大投入的时候。

1. prime time

noun. the time when the greatest number of people are watching television or listening to the radio 黄金时段;收视（或收听）高峰时间

E.g.: a prime-time television show

        黄金时段的电视节目

2. conspicuous |kənˈspɪkjuəs|

adj. easy to see or notice; likely to attract attention 易见的；明显的；惹人注意的

E.g.: Mary's red hair always made her conspicuous at school.

玛丽的红头发在学校里总是很惹眼。

3. time |taɪm|

verb. to arrange to do sth or arrange for sth to happen at a particular time 为…安排时间；选择…的时机

E.g.: Publication of his biography was timed to coincide with his 70th birthday celebrations.

        他的传记特别安排在他的70寿诞庆典时出版。

Part V

So they are not gonna put on their best performance just after they laid their eggs because they haven’t invested that much time or energy in parenting yet. The top performances are gonna come later.

Now you have some birds that are quiet mature, are quite capable almost as soon as they hatch. And in that case, the parent will put on the most conspicuous distraction displays just before the babies’ hatch because once the babies are hatched they can pretty much take care of themselves, and then you have others birds that are helpless when they hatch. In that case, the parent will save its best performances until just before the babies get their feathers.

所以他们不会在产卵后就上演最好的引离行为表现，因为那时他们还没有在培养下一代上投入那么多时间或精力。

1. put on

to produce or present a play, a show, etc. 举办；上演；展出

E.g.: The local drama club is putting on ‘Macbeth ’.

        当地的剧社正在演出《麦克白》。

2. hatch |hætʃ|

verb.  (of a young bird, fish, insect, etc. 小鸟、小鱼、小虫等) to come out of an egg 孵出；出壳

E.g.: Ten chicks hatched (out) this morning.

  今早有十只小鸡出壳了。