圣诞节驯鹿身上的铃铛声（托听力的福第4期）

圣诞节驯鹿身上的铃铛声（托听力的福第4期）驯鹿最惊人的举动，就是每年长达数百公里的大迁移。春天一到，它们便离开自己越冬的亚北极地区的森林和草原，沿着几百年不变的路线往北进发。②migration虽然现实中的驯鹿并不会飞，但它们有其他特征值得跟大家分享，同时TPO49 lecture 涉及到了与之相关的题目，我们来了解一下吧：① appearance它们的角像鹿，头像马，蹄子像牛，身体像驴，所以也有人把它们称为四不像。

托福界流行一句话叫“得听力者，得托福” 这句话强调的是听力在托福考试中的重要地位。在托福考试中，除了阅读，其他三项全都要考察听力能力，因此Listening这个部分的难度就更不用说了，四项中最难。

为了提高各位托福考生们的听力能力，新航道南京学校托福听力组特设专栏，帮助大家更轻松地把握托福听力。专栏将固定在每周四，每两周一期，欢迎大家关注收藏~

提起圣诞老人，你一定能想象到一张图片，如下：

今天给大家介绍的是为圣诞老人拉雪橇的驯鹿，驯鹿的中文名字有点名不副实，因为驯鹿实际上并不是人工驯养出来的。英文 Caribou是指分布于北美的野生驯鹿，而把分布在北欧，经过拉普人管理和驯养的驯鹿叫做Reindeer。

虽然现实中的驯鹿并不会飞，但它们有其他特征值得跟大家分享，同时TPO49 lecture 涉及到了与之相关的题目，我们来了解一下吧：

① appearance

它们的角像鹿，头像马，蹄子像牛，身体像驴，所以也有人把它们称为四不像。

②migration

驯鹿最惊人的举动，就是每年长达数百公里的大迁移。春天一到，它们便离开自己越冬的亚北极地区的森林和草原，沿着几百年不变的路线往北进发。

母鹿在冬季受孕，在春季的迁移途中产仔。幼仔产下两三天即可跟着母鹿一起赶路，一个星期之后，它们就能像父母一样跑得飞快，时速可达每小时48公里。

TPO49 lecture3 中就有对newborn reindeer 的描述：

Female student: Um…newborn reindeer are very adult-like like they can stand as soon as they’re born and by their second day they can already run as fast as a human.

Professor: Critical. Food is very scarce in far north so reindeer herds have to cover lots of ground every day. And in the fall they might easily trek a thousand kilometers or more to get to their winter feeding site. So if you a newborn you’ve got to get up to speed fast.

我们来看一下这篇讲座的第2题：

According to the professor why is it necessary for newborn reindeer to be able to walk and run almost immediately?

正确选项：Reindeer herds have to travel long distances every day.

③ adaptation to extreme environment

驯鹿鹿毛厚密，可抵御寒风的袭击。它们的脚伸缩自如，遇到柔软地面或雪时，可以膨胀得很大来支撑体重。脚底有海绵垫，具有抓地力。它们有明显的假蹄悬在真蹄的后方，如果驯鹿陷入软雪或烂泥中，假蹄可以逐渐张开，提供额外的支撑。

值得注意的是它们的腿有反血液循环系统，血从四肢流回身体，所以四肢的温度要比身体的温度低很多。腿上部的脂肪和下部的脂肪也有不一样的结构，腿下部的脂肪是最冷的部分，即使温度降到冰点以下，它们仍然是凝胶状，所以不会僵硬。

涉及到的题目是TPO49 Lecture3 的第3题：

What does the professor say about the lower part of a reindeer’s legs?

正确选项：It contains fat that is different from the fat in the upper part of the leg.

原文：male student (Also reindeer don’t have to keep their legs as warm as their main body so they don’t have to use up as much energy keeping them warm)

Professor (Yes so that means they can allocate less energy to heating their extremities and more energy to maintaining stable temperature in their body core where their vital organs are located. And you know I don’t think it is mentioned in your textbook but even different parts of a reindeer’s leg are adapted for optimal cold weather performance. The fat in the lower part of their legs the part that gets coldest that fat has a different chemical structure from the fat in the upper parts of the leg. So it doesn’t get hard even at temperature down around freezing it stays kind of gel-like kind of oily.)

④ food

驯鹿主要以冻土带的植物为食。夏天，它们吃青草、树叶和鲜蘑；冬天，扒开积雪寻找地衣和苔藓吃。地衣跟其他食物不同，实际上它是某种真菌和一些藻类以共生关系生长在一起的混合体，它们会释放出许多化学物质，所以大部分动物都不太喜欢吃。

TPO49 lecture 第4题

What does the professor imply about lichens?

正确选项：They are more abundant than other arctic plants during the winter

原文：oh yes and one more thing about lichens. They crank out a lot of chemicals which is probably at least part of the reason why they are not considered all that tasty by most animals.

以上就是对reindeer特点的基本介绍，是不是了解完背景知识，题目要好做多了呢。

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