斑马的外观很有特色，它身上的条纹看起来就像时髦的衣服。那么，斑马的条纹有什么作用呢？
Why do zebras have stripes?
by Jessica Boddy
Stripes could be camouflage（伪装） for zebras, create herd-wide optical illusions to deter hungry carnivores（食肉动物） like lions, or maybe even help manage the animal's body heat.
stripe /straɪp/ n. 条纹
zebra /ˈzebrə/ n. 斑马
herd /hɜːd/ n. 兽群（herd-wide意思是整个兽群范围的）
optical /ˈɒptɪk(ə)l/ adj. 光学的、视觉的
illusion /ɪˈluːʒ(ə)n/ n. 错觉、幻象
deter /dɪˈtɜː(r)/ v. 劝阻、使打消念头
Despite so many plausible solutions, biologists from UC Davis finally cracked the case back in 2014. Their comprehensive study found zebra stripes effectively repel bloodthirsty, biting flies, many of which carry lethal diseases.
plausible /ˈplɔːzəb(ə)l/ adj. 貌似合理的
biologist /baɪˈɒlədʒɪst/ n. 生物学家（由biology加上表示人的后缀-ist）
UC = University of California 加利福尼亚大学（Davis是它的校区之一）
crack /kræk/ v. 解决（问题）、找到答案
comprehensive /ˌkɒmprɪˈhensɪv/ adj. 详尽的
effectively /ɪˈfektɪvli/ adv. 有效地（由effective加后缀-ly变成副词）
repel /rɪˈpel/ v. 驱逐、赶走
bloodthirsty /ˈblʌdθɜːsti/ adj. 嗜血的（由blood和thirsty组成）
fly /flaɪ/ n. 飞虫
lethal /ˈliːθ(ə)l/ adj. 致命的、致死的
Despite having the why of it all, the team couldn't help but wonder how exactly the stripes worked. To find out, they devised a handful of experiments to reveal the behavior and flight patterns of the flies as they circle and land on zebras.
find out 弄清楚
devise /dɪˈvaɪz/ v. 想出
a handful of 几个
reveal /rɪˈviːl/ v. 揭示
flight /flaɪt/ n. 飞行
pattern /ˈpæt(ə)n/ n. 模式、方式
circle /ˈsɜːk(ə)l/ v. 转圈、盘旋
land /lænd/ v. 着陆、降落
Their new study, published Wednesday in PLOS ONE, shows horseflies zoom straight toward their striped meals, and after getting close, wham into them so hard they bounce off like tiny cannonballs（炮弹）.
publish /ˈpʌblɪʃ/ v. 发表（文章）、出版
horsefly /ˈhɔːsflaɪ/ n. 牛虻（会叮咬牛、马等动物）
zoom /zuːm/ v. 快速移动
striped /straɪpt/ adj. 有条纹的
wham /wæm/ v. 猛烈撞击
bounce /baʊns/ v. 弹开
"Just like when you're flying on an airplane, a controlled landing is extremely important for flies," says Tim Caro, a behavioral ecologist at UC Davis and lead author on the new study. "They don't want to break a leg or damage an eye. So when a fly comes in looking for a blood meal they need to slow down. Somehow stripes are preventing that from happening."
behavioral /bɪˈheɪvjərəl/ adj. 行为的（由behavior加后缀-al变成形容词）
ecologist /ɪˈkɒlədʒɪst/ n. 生态学家
lead /liːd/ adj. 领衔的、领头的
slow down 放慢、慢下来
somehow /ˈsʌmhaʊ/ adv. 出于某种原因
Caro and his colleagues figured this out by studying a motley herd of three captive plains zebras and nine horses on a farm in the United Kingdom. First, they did a purely observational experiment. The team put zebras in one pen and horses in another, and counted the flies that attempted to land on each animal. While around the same number of flies bumped into both species, significantly more managed to actually land and linger on horses. That made Caro think that flies can't really see stripes from far away – and get confused by them up close.
figure out 查明、弄清
motley /ˈmɒtli/ adj. 混杂的
captive /ˈkæptɪv/ adj. 被捉住的
plains zebra 草原斑马
purely /ˈpjʊəli/ adv. 纯粹地、仅仅（由pure加后缀-ly变成副词）
observational /ˌɒbzəˈveɪʃ(ə)n(ə)l/ adj. 观察性的（由observation加后缀-al变成形容词）
pen /pen/ n. （关牲畜的）厩、圈
bump /bʌmp/ v. 猛撞
species /ˈspiːʃiːz/ n. 物种（单数和复数都是species）
significantly /sɪɡˈnɪfɪk(ə)ntli/ adv. 显著地（由significant加后缀-ly变成副词）
linger /ˈlɪŋɡə(r)/ v. 停留、逗留
confuse /kənˈfjuːz/ v. 迷惑、困惑
up close 近距离地
The researchers took the next logical step: they dressed both species in stylish little black, white, and black-and-white striped coats to see how the flies would react. Again, they found that significantly fewer flies were able to successfully land on the zebra coats compared to the solid ones. And flies had no problem landing on the bare heads of horses wearing zebra coats, suggesting it really is the stripes giving the flies trouble.
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
logical /ˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l/ adj. 合乎逻辑的
stylish /ˈstaɪlɪʃ/ adj. 时髦的、新潮的
react /riˈækt/ v. 做出反应
successfully /səkˈsesf(ə)li/ adv. 成功地（由successful加后缀-ly变成副词）
solid /ˈsɒlɪd/ adj. 无空隙的（这里指没有条纹的）
bare /beə(r)/ adj. 裸露的、光着的
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 表明
Finally, the researchers took some high-speed video footage to really dissect how stripes turn flies into miniature bloodthirsty projectiles（抛射物）. Caro says it came down to the final 500 milliseconds before the flies made contact with zebra skin. "They just totally broke down in that last half second," he says. "There was absolutely no deceleration compared to how they'd decelerate to land on a horse."
footage /ˈfʊtɪdʒ/ n. 视频片段
dissect /daɪˈsekt/ v. 解剖、剖析
turn A into B 把A变成B
miniature /ˈmɪnətʃə(r)/ adj. 微型的、微缩的
come down to 归结于、归根结底在于
millisecond /ˈmɪlɪˌsekənd/ n. 毫秒（千分之一秒；前缀milli-表示千分之一）
contact /ˈkɒntækt/ n. 接触、身体接触
break down 发生故障（这里指判断失误）
absolutely /ˌæbsəˈluːtli/ adv. 绝对地（表示强调）
deceleration /ˌdiːseləˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 减速
decelerate /diːˈsel(ə)reɪt/ v. 减速
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