綜合類：閱讀理解How Animals Hear

　　1. When we talk about ears， we usually mean the oddly wrinkled appendages on the sides of our heads.

　　1、當我們提到耳朵，通常指那個生長在我們頭部兩側的奇怪的褶皺的附屬肢體。

　　2. We are aware that at the end of the central hole in this outer ear there is something called the middle ear， with an eardrum and a few little bones. Even deeper lies the inner ear， the organ with which we "hear".

　　2、我們知道，在外耳中孔的底部有東西稱為中耳，它由一個耳鼓和一些小骨骼構成。而真正能使我們“聽”的器官在更深處的內耳。

　　3. Animals such as dogs and cats also have conspicuous outer ears， but few of us probably ever stopped to think whether there might be such a thing as a middle and inner ear beneath those pointed tips. Yet， we know very well that these animals hear.

　　3、諸如貓和狗這樣的動物也有引人注目的外耳，但很少人能夠停下來去想，在豎立的尖兒下面，是否那里也有類似于中耳和內耳的東西。但是我們很清楚地知道這些動物都能夠聽到。

　　4. Birds are even more mysterious， because here we do not even see an outer ear. The same is true to still a larger degree of such animals as frogs and fishes， although in the frog we can at least see an eardrum.

　　4、鳥類甚至更為神秘，因為我們甚至看不到它們有一個外耳。還有很大數量的動物如青蛙和魚類也是如此，雖然我們至少可以看到青蛙有一個鼓膜。

　　5. Again， at one time or another， you may have found that all such animals hear. Hunters know that birds are attracted by artificial calls， and fishermen emphasize that you should be as quiet as possible if you dont want to go home empty handed. And if you ever hunted frogs in your childhood， you know how softly you had to tread！ Moreover， it seems absurd that birds should sing and frogs croak， if they could not even hear their own voices.

　　5、此外，你可能曾經發現所有的這些動物都在聽。獵人們知道鳥類會被人造的聲音所吸引，漁夫們則強調，如果你不想空手而歸的話就要盡可能的安靜。如果你在童年抓過青蛙，你應該知道要多么輕柔地走動。說實在，青蛙在叫，鳥兒在唱，如果它們甚至聽不到自己發出的聲音，豈不荒謬。

　　6. By direct observations and many experiments， biologists have discovered that practically all animals have some sense of hearing or vibration. Earthworms feel vibrations in the soil， fish can be trained to respond to certain tones， male mosquitoes are attracted by the sound of the female， and frogs will respond to a tape recording of their own voices.

　　6、通過直接觀察和許多試驗，生物學家已經發現，實際上所有的動物都具有某種聽覺或振動感。蚯蚓在土壤里能感覺震動，魚類可以訓練的對特定的音調有反應，雄性蚊子可以被雌性蚊子的聲音所吸引，青蛙對它們自己的聲音的錄音有所反應。

　　7. The inner ear is composed of delicate membranes which bear dense patches of specialized cells called maculae. Each of these collections of cells can carry a message to the brain. What message is carried by a macula depends upon how it is affected. The message which is carried is not， however， always connected with the hearing sense. For instance， a certain kind of tadpole can tell the depth of the water it is swimming in by the pitch of a tone which is produced by its own lungs.

　　7、內耳由脆弱的薄膜構成，它承載著密集的由被稱作斑疹的特殊細胞構成的片。每個這樣的細胞群都能夠把信息傳遞給大腦，而斑疹承載怎樣的信息依賴于它是怎樣受影響的。但是被承載的信息并不總是與聽覺相連。舉個例子，有一種蝌蚪能感知它所游泳之處水的深度，它是通過某種自己肺部產生的聲音的音調來判定的。

　　8. In the human and all other mammals， the macula has developed into an organ which can easily be seen. This organ is called the cochlea. This spiral shaped organ contains the macula itself and it is called "organ of Corti" after its discoverer. If you have ever seen a snail shell， you know how a cochlea looks.

　　8、對于人類和其他所有哺乳類動物來說，斑疹已經進化成為一種很容易看見的器官，這種器官稱作“耳蝸”。這一螺旋形的器官包括了MACULAE本身，以及后來被其發現者稱為“CORTI”的器官。如果你看到過蝸牛的殼，你就知道耳蝸的形象。

　　9. When sound waves enter the cochlea， which is really a tube coiled around， they set a membrane into a back and forth motion and cause a new wave. This is something like the way in which high and low sounds are produced by a flute or whistle. The high sounds are produced when the air is prevented by the holes from going through， while the low sounds are produced by allowing more of the air to pass. All this is what produces the differences between high and low sounds. The loudness of a sound is evidently produced by how much the membrane is cause to move.

　　9、當聲波進入耳蝸這條盤旋的管道，它令薄膜前后移動并且產生新的波動。這種方式類似于長笛或是哨子所產生的高低音。當洞穴被阻擋導致空氣不能通過通道時就產生高音，而有更多空氣通過通道時則產生低音。這些造成了高音和低音的不同。而聲音的大小則明顯的決定于耳膜運動。

　　10. Whether or not hearing is really produced in all animals by the effect of pressure is not definitely known by scientists as yet. We do know， however， that nature has set up some very delicate hearing mechanisms for its creatures. Scientists must explore much further for more knowledge about how animals use their ears.

　　10、對于所有的動物來說，聽覺是否真的因為氣壓的影響而產生，至今科學家們仍然沒有明確的了解。但是我們知道，自然界已經為它的生物們建立了一些非常精細的聽覺機制。科學家們必須進行更加深入地探討才能夠對動物如何應用它們的耳朵獲得更多的知識。