2015考研英语阅读英昆虫的绝活_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读英昆虫的绝活

　　As they report in the Public Library of Science, cockroaches running towards a gap suddenlygrip the edge with the hooklike claws on their rear legs and swing 180to land firmlyunderneath the ledge, upside down.

　　正如《科学公共图书馆》所报道的那样，蟑螂先迅速冲向缝隙，然后用后腿上的钩状爪子抓住边缘，顺势摆动180，头朝下牢牢抓住平板底部。

　　They can pull off this stunt in a fifth of a secondso fast that the animals bodies are subjectto between three and five times the force of gravity,

　　它们能在0.2秒内完成这项绝技，这么快的速度蟑螂的身体要承受3到5倍的重力加速度，

　　and also so fast that the movement is invisible to the human eye.

　　也正是由于这么快的移动速度才让人类难以发现。

　　Dr Full and his colleagues have since identified similar behaviour in other animals withhooklike toes that are good at escaping pursuit:

　　Full博士和同事后来又发现了其他具有类似特性的生物，它们同样具有钩状的脚趾并擅长逃离追杀，

　　geckos, for example.

　　比如壁虎。

　　They have also teamed up with members of Berkeley s robotics laboratory to program asmall six-legged robot that has strips of Velcro attached to its rear legs to do the same trick.