The effects of a warmer world are visible in animals' bodies
地球变暖的影响正体现在动物身体上
For humans, adapting to climate change will mostly be a matter of technology. More air conditioning, better-designed houses and bigger flood defences may help ameliorate the effects of a warmer world. Animals will have to rely on changing their bodies or their behaviour.
对人类而言，适应气候变化在大多情况下终究是技术问题。更多的空调系统、设计得更加巧妙的房屋以及更大的防洪设备或许就能帮助减少地球变暖的影响。而动物将不得不依赖于改变它们的身体或行为（来适应气候变化）。
In a paper published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, a team led by Sara Ryding, a PhD candidate at Deakin University, in Australia, shows that is already happening. Climate change is already altering the bodies of many animal species, giving them bigger beaks, limbs and ears.
在一篇发表于《生态学与进化趋势》的文章中，澳大利亚迪肯大学的在读博士生萨拉·莱丁带领的团队证明，这种现象已经在发生。气候变化已经在改变许多动物物种的身体，使它们的喙、四肢和耳朵变得更大。
In some species of Australian parrot, for instance, beak size has increased by between 4% and 10% since 1871. Similar trends are seen in mammals, with species of mice, shrews and bats evolving bigger ears, tails, legs and wings.
例如，在某些种类的澳大利亚鹦鹉身上，喙的大小从 1871 年起增大了 4% 到 10%。类似的趋势也出现在哺乳动物中：一些种类的老鼠、鼩鼱和蝙蝠进化出了更大的耳朵、尾巴、腿和翅膀。
All that dovetails nicely with evolutionary theory. "Allen's rule", named for Joel Asaph Allen, who suggested it in 1877, holds that warm-blooded animals in hot places tend to have larger appendages than those in temperate regions.
所有那些现象都和进化论非常吻合。乔尔·阿萨夫·艾伦在 1877 年提出了“艾伦法则”（以艾伦命名）。这项法则认为，炎热地区的温血动物往往比温带地区的长有更大的附器。
Such adaptations boost an animal's surface area relative to its body volume, helping it to shed excess heat. Being richly endowed with blood vessels, and not covered by insulating feathers, beaks make an ideal place for birds to dispose of heat.***
这样的适应性变化增加了动物相对其体积的表面积，帮助它消散过多的热量。鸟喙长有大量的血管，且不被隔热的羽毛覆盖，成为鸟类理想的散热器官。
Studying a broader range of animals will help firm up exactly what is happening. Much of Ms Ryding's data concern birds, with less information available for other taxa. But it seems clear that the world of the future is not just going to be hotter than humans are used to. The animals living in it will look different, too.
更大范围地研究动物将有助于明确现在到底在发生什么。莱丁女士的大部分数据和鸟类有关，而关于其它物种的可用信息较少。但以后的局面似乎很明显，未来的世界不仅将比人类所习惯的要热，生活在其中的动物也将改变模样。
主编：迎迎
品控：Pita
审核：Seika
重点词汇
visible
/ˈvɪzəbl/
adj. 可看见的
例句：It's visible to the naked eye.
反义词：invisible（adj. 看不见的，隐形的）
adapt
/əˈdæpt/
v. 适应
搭配短语：adapt to sth. (适应某事)
例句：We need to adapt quickly to the new system.
defence
/dɪˈfens/
n. 防御；防御设施
搭配短语：flood defence（防洪设施）
ameliorate
/əˈmiːl.jə.reɪt/
v. 减轻，减少
词根词缀：melior（更好的）
英文释义：to make a bad situation better or less harmful
搭配短语：to ameliorate depression
词义辨析：ameliorate, improve
ameliorate 使用的语境更加正式，强调从“不好”向“好”的转变；improve 单纯表示 to become better，既可以是“雪中送炭”，也可以是“锦上添花”。
alter
/ˈɑːl.tɚ/
v. 改变
词义辨析：alter, change
alter 通常指“轻微地、不易察觉地改变”，而 change 可以表示任何变化。文章选择 alter 体现出了用词严谨，强调了气候变化对动物身体的影响是漫长、细微的过程，而不是一两天就能出现的。
beak
/biːk/
n.（鸟）喙
dovetail
/ˈdʌv.teɪl/
v. 吻合，切合
相关词汇：dove（n. 鸽子）
相关词汇：tail（n. 尾巴）
词性拓展：dovetail（n. 燕尾榫，鸠形榫）
搭配短语：dovetail with
例句：My vacation plans dovetail with his.
appendage
/əˈpen.dɪdʒ/
n. 附肢，附器；附加物，附属物
相关词汇：append（v. 附加，增补）
搭配短语：to append a note at the end of the letter
temperate
/ˈtem.pɚ.ət/
adj. 气候温和的；温带的；（性格）温和克制的
例句：He is temperate in eating and drinking. （（性格）温和克制的）
relative to
关于，涉及；相对于，相较于
例句：If you have any questions relative to payment, please contact us.（关于，涉及）
近义词：compared with
例句：The position of something is relative to other things. （相对于，相较于）
shed
/ʃed/
v. 去除，摆脱
英文释义：to get rid of something that you no lonvger need or want
搭配短语：shed pounds
excess
/ˈek.ses/
adj. 过量的
搭配短语：excess eating
endow
/ɪnˈdaʊ/
v. 赋予（某种品质
搭配短语：be endowed with sth.
例句：She was endowed with good looks.
insulate
/ˈɪn.sə.leɪt/
v. 使……隔热，隔音，绝缘；使……于外界隔离
搭配短语：to insulate our home from the noise（使……隔音）
dispose of
丢弃，处理
搭配短语：dispose of nuclear waste
firm up
明确
相关词汇：firm（adj. 明确的）
搭配短语：a firm plan
taxon
/ˈtæksɒn/
n. （种、科、纲等）分类单位
相关词汇：taxa（/ˈtæksə/，taxon 的复数形式）
