Part I
Professor: Almost all animals have some way of regulating their body temperature; otherwise they wouldn’t survive extreme hot or cold conditions-sweating, panting, swimming to cooler or warmer water; ducking into somewhere cool like a burrow or a hole under a rock; these are just a few. And that spot is colder or warmer than the surrounding environment, because it’s a microclimate.
A microclimate is a group of climate conditions that affect a localized area, weather features like temperature, wind, moisture and so on. And when I say localized, I mean really localized, because microclimates can be, as the name suggests, pretty small, even less than a square meter.
当我说小范围的时候，我的意思是真的很小，因为顾名思义，小气候可以非常小，甚至小到不足一平方米。
1. regulate|ˈregjuleɪt|
verb. to control the speed, pressure, temperature, etc. in a machine or system 调节，控制（速度、压力、温度等）
E.g.: This valve regulates the flow of water.
这个阀门调节水流。
2. pant|pænt|
verb. to breathe quickly with short breaths, usually with your mouth open, because you have been doing some physical exercise, or because it is very hot 气喘；喘息
E.g.: He found her panting for breath at the top of the hill.
上到山顶他发现她上气不接下气。
3. duck |dʌk|
verb. if you duck into a place, you move there quickly, often in an attempt to avoid danger or to avoid being seen 躲避;逃避
E.g.: Matt ducked into his office.
马特慌忙躲进他的办公室。
4. burrow |ˈbɜ:roʊ|
noun. a hole or tunnel in the ground made by animals such as rabbits for them to live in （动物的）洞穴，洞穴通道
E.g.: The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.
狗把兔子追进了洞穴。
5. microclimate |ˈmaɪkrəʊklaɪmət|
noun. the weather in a particular small area, especially when this is different from the weather in the surrounding area （尤指有别于周围地区的）小气候
E.g.: Micro means small, and microclimate refers to the climate conditions over a small area.
“Micro”这个词的意思是“小”, Microclimate"是指小区域里的气候条件。
6. localized |ˈləʊkəlaɪzd|
adj. happening within one small area 在小范围内的；局部的
E.g.: Few officers thought that a German-Czech war could be localized.
没几个军官认为德捷之战可被控制为局部战争。
7. moisture |ˈmɔɪstʃə(r)|
noun. very small drops of water that are present in the air, on a surface or in a substance 潮气；水汽；水分
E.g.: When the soil is dry, more moisture is lost from the plant.
土壤干燥时，植物会流失更多的水分。
Part II
And microclimates are affected by huge number of other variables. Obviously weather conditions in the surrounding area are a factor. But other aspects of the location like, um…the elevation of the land, the plant life nearby, and so on, have a substantial effect on microclimates. And of course the human development in the area, um, a road will affect a nearby microclimate. It’s also interesting to note that microclimates that are near each other can have very different conditions. In the forest, for example, there can be a number of very different microclimates close to each other, because of all the variables I just mentioned.
Student: So how does a hole in the ground, a burrow, stay cool in a hot climate?
Professor: Well, since cold air sinks, and these spots are shaded, they are usually much cooler than the surrounding area. And these spots are so important because many animals rely on microclimates to regulate their body temperature.
值得注意的是，彼此接近的小气候各自的状况也可能非常不同。例如，在森林里，由于我刚才提到的所有的那些变量，可能会出现许多非常不同的彼此紧邻的小气候。
1. variable |ˈveəriəbl|
noun. a situation, number or quantity that can vary or be varied 可变情况；变量；可变因素
E.g.: The temperature remained constant while pressure was a variable in the experiment.
做这实验时温度保持不变，但压力可变。
2. elevation|ˌelɪˈveɪʃn|
noun. the height of a place, especially its height above sea level （某地方的）高度；（尤指）海拔
E.g.: The city is at an elevation of 2000 metres.
这座城市海拔2000米。
3. substantial|səbˈstænʃl|
adj. large in amount, value or importance 大量的；价值巨大的；重大的
E.g.: That is a very substantial improvement in the present situation.
在当前形势下这是一个非常巨大的进步。
4. shade |ʃeɪd|
verb. to prevent direct light from reaching sth 给…遮挡（光线）
E.g.: The courtyard was shaded by high trees.
庭院荫庇在大树下。
Part III
Um, for instance, there is a species of squirrel, in the Western part of the United States that can get really hot when they are out foraging for food. So they need a way to cool down. So what do they do? They go back to their own burrow. Once they get there, their body temperatures decrease very, very quickly. The trip to the burrow prevents the squirrel from getting too hot.
Student: But squirrels are mammals, right? I thought mammals regulated their temperature internally.
Professor: Mammals do have the ability to regulate their body temperature, but not all can do it to the same degree, or even the same way. Like when you walk outside on a hot day, you perspire, and your body cools itself down, a classic example of how a mammal regulates its own body temperature. But one challenge that squirrels face, well, many small mammals do, is that because of their size, sweating would make them lose too much moisture. They dehydrate. But on the other hand, their small size allows them to fit into very tiny spaces. So for small mammals, microclimates can make a big difference. They rely on microclimates for survival.
哺乳动物确实有调节体温的能力，但并非所有哺乳动物都能达到相同的程度，甚至并非通过相同的方式。
1. squirrel 松鼠; hamster 仓鼠; mole 鼹鼠; mouse 老鼠; kangaroo 袋鼠; guinea pig 豚鼠; chipmunk 花栗鼠
2. forage|ˈfɒrɪdʒ|
verb. to search for food 觅食
E.g.: We disturbed a wild boar that had been foraging by the roadside.
我们惊动了一只一直在路边觅食的野猪。
3. mammal 哺乳动物，rodent 啮齿动物，amphibian 两栖动物，reptile 爬行动物，mollusk 软体动物，arthropod 节肢动物
4. perspire |pəˈspaɪə(r)|
verb. to produce sweat on your body 出汗；排汗；发汗
E.g.: He began to perspire heavily.
他开始大量出汗。
5. dehydrate |di:ˈhaɪdreɪt|
verb. to lose too much water from your body; to make a person's body lose too much water 身体失水，脱水；使身体脱水
E.g.: Runners can dehydrate very quickly in this heat.
天这样热，赛跑运动员很快会脱水。
Part IV
Student: So cold-blooded animals, like reptiles, they can’t control their own body temperature, so I can imagine the effect a microclimate would have on them.
Professor: Yes, many reptiles and insects rely on microclimates to control their body temperature. A lot of reptiles use burrows or stay under rocks to cool down. Of course with reptiles, it’s a balancing act. Staying in the heat for too long can lead to problems, but staying in the cold can do the same.
So reptiles have to be really precise about where they spend their time, even how they position their bodies. And when I say they’re precise, I mean it-some snakes will search out a place under rocks of a specific thickness, because too thin a rock doesn’t keep them cool enough, and too thick a rock will cause them to get too cold. That level of precision is critical to the snake for maintaining its body temperature.
当然，对于爬行动物来说，这是一种权衡行为。长时间待在高温下会导致问题，但长时间待在寒冷中也会导致同样的问题。
1. balance|ˈbæləns|
verb. if you balance one thing with something different, each of the things has the same strength or importance 使（力量、重要性等）相等；使均衡；使持平
E.g.: The reason for this is that the optic nerve is a part of the brain.
这其中的原因在于视神经是大脑的一部分。
2. position|pəˈzɪʃn|
verb. to put sb/sth in a particular position 安放；放置
E.g.: Place the pastry circles on to a baking sheet and position one apple on each circle.
把油酥面圈放到烘烤盘上，每个上面放一个苹果。
Part V
And even microscopic organisms rely on microclimates for survival. Think about this, decomposing leaves create heat that warms the soil; the warm soil in turn affects the growth, the conditions of organisms there, and those organisms then affect the rate of decomposition of the leaves.
So a microclimate can be something so small and so easily disturbed that even a tiny change can have a big impact. If someone on a hike knocks a couple of rocks over, they could be unwittingly destroying a microclimate that an animal or organism relies on.
想一想吧，叶子分解会产生热量使土壤变暖，温暖的土壤反过来会影响那里的微生物的生长和条件，然后这些微生物又会影响叶子的分解速度。
1. microscopic |ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪks|
adj. extremely small and difficult or impossible to see without a microscope 极小的；微小的；需用显微镜观察的
E.g.: microscopic fibres of protein
极为微细的蛋白质纤维
2. decompose |ˌdi:kəmˈpəʊz|
verb. to be destroyed gradually by natural chemical processes 腐烂
E.g.: microscopic fibres of protein
极为微细的蛋白质纤维
3. unwittingly |ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli|
adv. without being aware of what you are doing or the situation that you are involved in 糊里糊涂地；茫然；无意地
E.g.: She had broken the law unwittingly, but still she had broken it.
她并非故意犯法，但毕竟是犯了法。
10个月宝宝每天需要喝多少奶粉？
