翻译题
Peahens, though not as showy as cocks, are by no means plain. Their heads have attractive crests and their necks are bright blue. Such decoration is costly to grow and likely to attract predators. If you do not have to show off your stuff to get a mate, why do you need it? Even more confusingly, in many species both sexes are equally showy. To understand things better James Dale of Massey University, in Auckland, New Zealand, and his colleagues have therefore examined the feathers of both sexes of all 5,983 species of passerine bird (雀形目鸟类) and compared them in exquisite detail. 【F1】The researchers started from the fact that, despite the exceptions, showiness is still more a male than a female phenomenon. 【F2】Their first observation, as they report this week in Nature, was that in species where a few males exclusively control all the females, with a consequent lack of male involvement in parental care, males were more colourful than females. This is what the theory of sexual selection would predict. What it would not predict in its simple form, though, was a second finding—that females in co-operatively breeding species (those in which, for lack of other opportunities, several females collaborate to raise the young of only one of them) are more ornamented than those in which all adult females have a chance of breeding. 【F3】In this case it is females who are competing for the right to reproduce, thus putting themselves in a more male-like position. Another widespread belief Dr Dale and his colleagues confirmed is that tropical species are more colourful than those from temperate climes. But again, there was a twist—the effect was much more marked in females than in males. 【F4】It may be that tropical birds, which face more intense competition for food and nesting sites than temperate ones do because the tropics have more species, form more stable and collaborative pair-bonds than do temperate birds. In these circumstances males also need to be choosy, and females competitive. The final effect the researchers found was that big species are more colourful than small ones. That is true of both sexes, and probably reflects the fact that bigger birds are more difficult prey and thus have less need to hide. When released from the threat of predation, then, females tend to be showy. 【F5】That suggests showiness is always good when it can be got away with and probably explains the decorated necks and heads of peahens, which are among the biggest of birds.
问答题6.【F1】
【正确答案】研究人员从以下这个事实作为切入点：除个别特例外，雄鸟的炫耀现象比雌鸟的表现得更为明显。
【答案解析】①本句主句为五种基本句型中的“主语+谓语”结构，状语from the fact是“介词+名词短语”的结构。②that至句末为同位语从句，解释说明the fact“事实”的具体内容，其中的still more a male than a female作前置修饰语，修饰名词phenomenon“现象”，说明showiness“炫耀”这种现象的性质，即该现象“更多存在于雄性中，而非雌性”。③从句中的despite the exceptions为介词短语，在同位语从句中充当让步状语，说明从句中提到的“事实”的适用范围，体现了科学说明文用词准确的文体风格。
【答案解析】①本句为结构较为复杂的多重复合句，主句为主系表结构，主句主语和系动词之间插入了as引导的非限制性定语从句，修饰主句主语Their first observation“他们的第一个观察结果”，补充说明此结果的刊登时间及刊物名称。②主句表语为that引导的从句，说明Their first observation的具体内容。该表语从句为结构颇复杂的主从复合句，其中嵌套了由where引导的定语从句，对地点状语in species中species进行修饰，限定表语从句中主句所述内容的“鸟类”范围，即“少数雄性对所有雌性占绝对支配权”的鸟类。③with a consequent lack of．．．care为where引导的定语从句的伴随状语，说明在“少数雄性对所有雌性占有绝对支配权”的鸟类中，雄性角色会在亲代抚育中缺席。
【答案解析】①本句为It is…who强调句型，强调主语females，正常表达为females are competing for the right to reproduce“雌性为繁衍后代的权利而竞争”。②In this case作状语，表示“在这种情况下”，this case指代前文中的females in…species are more ornamented than…。③thus putting…在句中作结果状语，表明“雌性通过竞争获得繁衍后代的权利”的结果。反身代词themselves指代females，即雌性自己。
【答案解析】①本句为多重复合句，主句It may be that…为固定句型，It指代上文提到的the effect…than in males。②that引导主句的表语从句包含more stable…than do temperate birds的倒装结构，其正常语序为more stable…than temperate birds do。③which引导定语从句修饰先行词tropical birds“热带鸟类”，说明这些热带鸟类面临更激烈的竞争，for food and nesting sites作后置定语修饰competition；该定语从句中还包含because引导的原因状语从句，说明热带鸟类面临更激烈竞争的原因；tropics为复数名词，指the tropical zones“热带地区”。
【答案解析】①本句为多重复合句，主句主语That指代上一句When．．．，females tend to be showy；主句包含两套谓宾结构，其中第一个宾语由省略了引导词的从句充当，该宾语从句中还包含when引导的时间状语从句以限定showiness is always good的前提条件，即“在不受天敌威胁的情况下”。②逗号后which引导定语从句修饰先行词peahens，说明雌孔雀的体型特征，即“体型最大的鸟类之一”。