跟读练习: The surprising reasons animals play dead - Tierney Thys - 通过YouTube学习英语口语
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Imagine you’re being attacked by a ferocious predator.
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Imagine you’re being attacked by a ferocious predator.
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With no chance of escape, you do what any courageous, self-respecting possum would do: curl into an immobile state called catatonia, stick out your tongue, drool, and ooze some foul-smelling liquid from your anal glands.
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Disgusted, your assailant loosens its grip, decides you’re not the dinner it was looking for, and departs.
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After 10 minutes, you resurrect and merrily saunter on.
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From lemurs to lizards, ants to amphibians, sharks to chickens, hundreds of animals "play dead" as a survival tactic.
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Nicknamed "playing possum" after its star performer, feigning death is also called thanatosis.
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That’s from Thanatos, the ancient Greek deity of death.
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But most scientists call it tonic immobility, or TI.
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How and why TI occurs depends on the species and situation.
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Spewing stench and adopting odd postures are common and often play important roles.
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Other animals sacrifice their neighbors: quail chicks that freeze while their kin run amok have a better chance of survival when pursued by a cat.
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Speaking of cats, feline mothers can pinch the napes of their kittens’ necks and induce another kind of immobility called clipnosis.
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This keeps their kittens quiet and easy to transport.
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Most of the physiological mechanisms underlying these theatrics originate in the parasympathetic nervous system, better known for controlling cycles of resting and digesting.
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In possums, the parasympathetic nervous system causes their heart rates to drop by nearly half, respiration by a third, and body temperatures by more than half a degree Celsius for up to an hour.
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The neurotransmitter dopamine also plays a part.
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Flour beetles with low dopamine levels play dead more frequently than those with high levels, and anything blocking dopamine receptor sites can lengthen catatonia.
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But maintaining a death ruse isn’t easy.
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The performers are constantly gauging their surroundings for cues on when it’s safe to rise.
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Chickens, for instance, can sense when a predator’s eyes are upon them.
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Researchers know this because when they used a stuffed hawk in an experiment, their chicken subjects came out of their catatonia quicker when the hawk’s eyes were averted.
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Other animals use TI for purposes other than defense.
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When the sleeper cichlid feels peckish, it sinks to the lake floor and lies motionless, its splotchy coloration making it seem like a rotting carcass.
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If a small scavenger investigates, this undead trickster strikes.
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Some animals even feign death as a sexual ploy.
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Male nursery spiders offer gifts of silk-wrapped insects in hopes of wooing females.
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But those females are known to eat love-seeking males.
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By playing dead while the female eagerly devours her snack, these males can cautiously revive and improve their chances of successfully mating.
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So TI can work to an animal’s advantage, unless someone else knows its secret.
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California orcas can flip over young great white sharks, inducing TI for so long the immobilized sharks, who must move to respire, essentially suffocate.
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Humans can also flip sharks into TI.
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By stroking a shark’s electrically-sensitive snout and gently turning it over, researchers can induce TI that lasts up to 15 minutes.
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That’s enough time to insert tags, remove hooks, and even perform surgeries.
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There are risks however: TI can hamper respiration and induce hyperglycemia, a sign of stress.
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So this technique should only be used when necessary.
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Humans can also experience TI when they freeze with fear during violent assaults.
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Recognizing this ancient, involuntary form of self-defense has significant implications when trying to understand why some victims don’t flee or fight in the face of danger.
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So, studying TI in non-human animals not only helps us better understand some odd behaviors, it can also help us better understand our own, sometimes counterintuitive, responses to violence.
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为什么练习用这个视频说话？
观看这段关于动物“装死”的视频是提高英语口语的绝佳方式。通过模仿演讲者的发音和语调，您将能够提升自己的英语口语表达能力。视频中讨论的生动的话题不仅有趣，而且涉及了多种动物的生存策略。这种内容丰富的讨论让您在看YouTube学英语时，能够更主动地参与，从而提高您的英语口语练习效果。此外，通过这种方式，您还可以培养自己的听力理解能力，从而更好地理解和使用英语表达。
语法与表达在语境中的应用
在视频中，演讲者运用了多种有趣的句型和表达方式。以下是几个关键结构：
- “称为”（called）：用于介绍某种概念或现象，比如“被称为装死（playing possum）”。这种结构可以帮助您在雅思口语练习中更好地描述不同的主题。
- “取决于”（depends on）：用于说明某件事情的结果依赖于某个条件，例如“TI的发生取决于物种和情况”。使用这种结构可以让您的表达更加精确。
- “能够（can）”：用于表示能力或者可能性，比如“这些动物可以以假死方式求生”。这种表达适用于各种情境，能够增加您的口语灵活性。
- “通过（by）”：强调方法或手段的使用，比如“通过假死来逃避捕食者”。这在英语口语练习中是一个非常实用的结构。
常见发音陷阱
在视频中，有一些容易产生发音困难的词汇和音调。例如，“predator”（掠食者）的重音以及“thanatosis”的发音可能会让学习者感到困惑。您在观看时可以尝试重复这些单词，与视频中的发音进行比较。此外，细腻的语调变化和连读现象也是需要注意的地方，比如“play dead”在快速说话时可能听起来像一个词。在进行英语口语练习时， “shadow speech”技法可以帮助您掌握这些发音技巧，以便在真实对话中更自然地应用。
什么是跟读法？
跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。