時差N小時:怎樣靠蟋蟀的鳴叫來推測時間?

Imagine you're camping deep in the woods on asummer night. The sun sinks below the horizon andthe temperature begins to fall. You shiver, and asyou pull your jacket around your shoulders, youwonder just how cold it really is. Here's a clever wayfor you to find out, and all you need is 1. Wrist watch2. Your ears 3. A little of patience.

設(shè)想一下，你在夏夜的樹林深處露營。太陽落到地平線以下，溫度開始下降，你不禁打了一個寒顫。于是你在肩上披上夾克，你想知道到底有多冷。有一個聰明的辦法能幫你找到答案，你只需要三樣?xùn)|西：1. 手表;2.耳朵;3. 耐心。

Start by listening for a chirping cricket. Male crickets around the world make thischaracteristic sound by rubbing their wings together. The edge of a male cricket's right wingis covered with little ridges, like a file or a washboard. As he rubs his left wing cover across theuneven right wing, he produces an insect love song that female crickets find irresistible.

首先，傾聽鳴叫的蟋蟀。世界各地的雄性蟋蟀摩擦翅膀時都會發(fā)出一種獨(dú)特的聲音。雄性蟋蟀的右翼邊緣上布滿了小小的突起，就像文件和搓衣板一樣。當(dāng)它摩擦翅膀，左右翼交叉碰撞時就唱出了一種讓雌性蟋蟀很難以抵抗的悅耳的情歌。

Female crickets use this amorous chirping to find their perfect mate, listening with a pair ofspecial ears located below the knees. Now you can use these same serenades to calculate thetemperature.

雌性蟋蟀憑這種多情的鳴叫來尋找完美的伴侶，它們可以用位于膝蓋以下的特殊耳朵來聆聽?，F(xiàn)在你也能利用這些情歌來計算出溫度。

Most insects tend to be more active when it's hot, and more sluggish in cooler weather.Crickets are no exception to this rule.

天熱時，大多數(shù)昆蟲往往很活躍，天冷時則行動遲緩。蟋蟀也不例外。

In cold weather, a cricket will do everything more slowly, and as the temperature drops, sodoes the tempo of his love song. By measuring how quickly he chirps, you can find outapproximately how cold it is.

天冷時，蟋蟀做所有的事情都更慢一點(diǎn)，因?yàn)闇囟认陆?，它們的情歌?jié)奏也隨之變慢。通過測量鳴叫的速度，你就能知道大概有多冷。

It's easy to do: Simply count the number of chirps a single cricket makes in a fifteen secondperiod, then add thirty seven. Although individual species might be a little faster or slower,this should give a fair approximation of the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

方法很簡單：只要數(shù)一只蟋蟀每15秒鐘鳴叫的次數(shù)，然后加上37就行了。盡管有時候會因個體差異而忽快忽慢，但計算結(jié)果仍然很接近華氏攝氏度的溫度。

Remember: fifteen seconds worth of chirps, plus thirty seven. Even if the chirping keeps youawake all night, at least you'll know the temperature.

記?。?5秒內(nèi)鳴叫的次數(shù)，加上37。盡管這種鳴叫會讓你一夜難眠，但至少你能靠它計算出溫度。