1、Unit 3The world of science Drones Could Help Biologists Tally Birds Ecologists crouching quietly amidst vegetation,using binoculars to tally birds in a roost,may soon be a charming relic of the past.Because a new study shows that,when it comes to getting an accurate avian head count,aerial drones ca
2、n do better.In recent years,scientists who study wild populations are increasingly turning to remotely piloted aircraft.otherwise known as drones.to monitor their animal of interest.For example,drones are being used to track pods of whales.or to keep an eye on African elephant herds and watch for si
3、gns of poaching.Such remote surveys are generally considered highly cost-effective.But it wasnt clear whether they are as accurate as old-fashioned,feet-on-the-ground expert evaluations.To find out the answer,researchers in Australia set up a test.“And so what we did was make some replica seabird co
4、lonies where we knew the true number of individuals in each colony.”Jarrod Hodgson of the University of Adelaide led the study.Using decoy-sized rubber ducks,the researchers laid out 10 colonies ranging in size from about 500 to more than 1,000 individuals.“We then had experienced ground counters ma
5、ke independent counts of those birds from nearby,from the optimum vantage point.At the same time,we flew a drone overhead capturing photographs at different heights above the colony.”The drone data were then analyzed two ways.First,a gaggle of citizenscientists was tasked with adding up the number o
6、f birds they could see in each scene.The results of that approach:“We found that on average the drone-derived data or the drone-derived counts made by humans counting the images were between 43 percent and 96 percent more accurate than the traditional ground-based counts.”The better the image,the mo
7、re accurate the count.Then,Hodgson and his team developed a semi-automated computer program to do the counting for them.And they found:“.there was no statistical difference between those counts and the counts completed by our volunteers using exactly the same imagery.”无人机可以帮助生物学家记录鸟类 生态学家安静地蹲伏在植被中间,
8、用双筒望远镜观察并记录栖息地中的鸟类数量,这种方法可能很快就会成为迷人的“老古董”。因为一项新研究表明,在获得鸟类的准确数量方面,空中无人机可以做得更好。近年来,研究野生种群的科学家逐渐使用遥控飞机,即无人机,来监测他们感兴趣的动物。例如:无人机现在被用来追踪鲸群,或观察非洲象群并密切注意偷猎迹象。这种远程调查通常被认为具有很高的性价比。但是并不清楚这种方法是否像老式的实地专家评估那样准确。为了找到答案,澳大利亚研究人员进行了一项测试。“我们所做的就是复制一些海鸟种群,我们知道每个种群真实的个体数量。”阿德莱德大学的杰罗德霍奇森领导了这项研究。研究人员用假鸟大小的橡皮鸭铺开10块聚居地,每块区
9、域的橡皮鸭数量从约500只到1000多只不等。“然后,我们请经验丰富的地面计数员在最佳地点独立计算鸭子数量。同时,我们放飞一架无人机在聚居地上空不同高度拍摄照片。”无人机数据用两种方式进行分析。首先,一组公民科学家把他们在每个照片场景中看到的鸭子数量合计起来。该方法的结果是:“我们发现,平均来说,无人机得出的数据,或者说人工统计无人机所拍摄图片中鸭子数量的准确率,比传统的地面计数方法高43%到96%。”照片拍得越好,计数越准确。随后,霍奇森和团队开发了一种半自动化电脑程序来计算鸭子数量。他们发现:“电脑程序的统计结果与志愿者用完全相同的照片所得出的计数结果没有差异。”【导语】The Big B
10、ang Theory是电视剧The Big Bang Theory(生活大爆炸)的主题曲,该剧是一部以“科学天才”为背景的情景喜剧。注:听音填空The Big Bang TheoryOur whole universe was in a hot dense state,Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started.Wait.The Earth began to cool,The autotrophs began to drool,Neanderthals _,We built a wall(we built the pyram
11、ids),Math,science,history,unraveling the mysteries,That all started with _!“Since the dawn of man”is really not that long,As every galaxy was formed in less time than it takes to sing this song.developed toolsthe big bangA fraction of a second and the elements were made.The bipeds _,The dinosaurs al
12、l met their fate,They _but they were late,And they all died(they froze their asses off),The oceans and pangeastood up straighttried to leapSee ya,wouldnt wanna be yaSet in motion by the same big bang!It all started with the big bang!Its expanding ever outward but one dayIt will cause the stars to go
13、 the other way,Collapsing ever inward,we wont be here,it wont be hurt,Our best and brightest figure that itll make an even bigger bang!Australopithecus would really have been sick of us,Debating out while here theyre catching deer(were catching viruses)Religion or astronomy,Encarta,DeuteronomyIt all
14、 started with the big bang!Music and mythology,Einstein and astrologyIt all started with the big bang!It all started with the big BANG!【词海拾贝】【听力微语系列】失去爆破 英语音标中的6个爆破音:/p/,/b/,/k/,/g/,/t/,/d/,当一个爆破音跟另一个爆破音相遇时往往失去爆破。此时,第一个爆破音不必发出,只需做出发音的准备,但并不发音,稍稍停顿后就发后面的音。如歌曲中a hot dense state的hot和dense;Our best and
15、brightest figure中的brightest和figure等。【即时训练】听下面材料,回答问题。1.What will the speakershave for dinner tonight?A.Chinese food.B.Italian food.C.American food.2.What will the woman do?A.Go swimming with Ray.B.Take a walk around the lake.C.Have lunch with the man.3.What does the man worry about?A.He cant go to t
16、he exhibition.B.Some famous paintings would be destroyed.C.He cant understand the guides language.答案:13.BAC【听力原文】Text 1W:He doesnt want to eat Italian food tonight.M:So what?He doesnt have to come to dinner with us.We can meet up with him later at the bar.Text 2M:Hi,Nancy.Its Paul.The weather is so
17、great today.How about taking a walk around the lake?W:Well,I wish you had asked me this morning.Ray just asked me to hang out during lunch.Im supposed to go swimming with him.Text 3W:Hey,the Metropolitan Museum is holding a special exhibition this week.M:Whats the exhibit?W:44 paintings by Monet,Gau
18、guin,and Van Gogh that set the world on fire!Do you want to go there with me?M:Sure,it sounds like fun.I hope there are some tour guides that can speak Chinese,though.【歌曲译文】宇宙一度又烫又稠密140亿年前终于爆了炸 等着瞧地球开始降温自养生物来起哄尼安德特人发展了工具我们建长城(我们建金字塔)数学 自然科学 历史 揭开神秘一切由大爆炸开始其实人类历史没有多久星系形成时间比唱完这支歌还要短元素在微秒间便形成了两足动物直立行走恐龙都得认命了想要突变 没来得及就死光光了(屁股都冻成了化石)大洋和泛古陆拜拜 才不想学你都是爆炸惹的祸一切从大爆炸开始宇宙向外膨胀 但有一天星球会反方向运动向内坍塌 反正我们不在了 不会觉得疼我们美好光辉的形象将引发一场更大的爆炸南方古猿肯定不爽我们在他们捉鹿时唧唧歪歪(我们现在捉电脑病毒了)宗教 天文 e百科 旧约申命记一切从大爆炸开始音乐 神话 爱因斯坦 占星术一切从大爆炸开始一切从大爆炸开始
