Engineers uncover the secrets of fish fins工程師揭開魚鰭的秘密

山東 徐立華

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了魚鰭背后的工程學(xué)秘密。這一新發(fā)現(xiàn)有望促成新的飛機(jī)機(jī)翼設(shè)計——只需按下一個按鈕就可以改變機(jī)翼的形狀。

1New research led by the University of Colorado Boulder has found the engineering secrets behind what makes fish fins(鰭)so strong yet flexible.The team's findings could one day lead to new designs for airplane wings that can change their shape with the push of a button.

2Francois Barthelat,senior author of the study,noted that fins can “do wonders” even though they don't contain a single muscle. “A fin is made of many ‘rays’,” said Barthelat. “Each of those rays can be controlled individually just like your fingers,but there are 20 or 30 of them in each fin.”

3Barthelat and his colleagues drew on a range of approaches,including computer simulations(模擬)and 3D-printed materials,to dive deep into the secrets of these structures.They reported that the key to fish fins may lie in their unique design.Each ray in a fin is made up of multiple segments(段)of a hard material that lie on top of much softer collagen(膠原),making them the perfect balance between bouncy and strong.

4The engineer and his team decided to use computer simulations to examine the mechanical functions of fins.They discovered that those segments could make all the difference.

5“Pretend for a moment,” Barthelat explained,“that fish fins are made up entirely of collagen.They could bend easily,but wouldn't give fish much pulling force in the water.Rays made up of solid material would have the opposite problem—they'd be too hard.”

6The researchers further tested the theory by using a 3D printer to produce model fish fins made from plastic.The team found that the design of segments provided better combinations of strength and flexibility.

7Barthelat added that he and his colleagues had only scratched the surface of the wide diversity of fins in the fish world.Flying fish,for example,use their fins effectively to “fly” above the water,while mudskippers use their fins like legs to “walk” on land.

8“We like to pick up where the biologists and zoologists have left off,using our background in the mechanics of materials to further our understanding of the amazing possessions of nature,”Barthelat said.

Reading Check

Choose the best answers according to the text

Inference 1.What contributes most to fish fins'ability to “do wonders”?

A.The great number of tiny fingers in them.

B.The special structure of the muscle in them.

C.Their smart use of the sun's rays during the day.

D.The delicate combination of hard and soft tissues.

Detail 2.How did the researchers test their new findings?

A.By applying them to airplane models.

B.By creating and examining fish fin models.

C.By comparing rays made of different materials.

D.By simulating the fins'mechanics on computer.

Inference 3.Why did the author mention flying fish?

A.To explain the great importance of fins for animals.

B.To show the wide diversity of fins in the animal world.

C.To prove the existence of numerous secrets in the fish world.

D.To explore the possibility of new designs for airplane wings.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Analyze the difficult structure in the text

New research led by the University of Colorado Boulder has found the engineering secrets behind what makes fish fins so strong yet flexible.由科羅拉多大學(xué)博爾德分校領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)了魚鰭如此堅固而又靈活背后的工程學(xué)秘密。

【點(diǎn)石成金】本句是一個主從復(fù)合句，句子的主語是New research。what makes fish fins so strong yet flexible是賓語從句，作介詞behind的賓語，what在賓語從句中作主語。

Ⅱ.Memorize some text-centered chunks

secrets behind背后的秘密 lead to導(dǎo)致

even though即使 draw on憑借；利用；動用

a range of一系列；一大片 lie in在于

make all the difference非常重要 be made up of由……組成

pick up拿起；學(xué)會；發(fā)現(xiàn)；找到 leave off排除（在名單之外）；中斷（做某事）