Vicky的ScalersTalk第六轮新概念朗读持续力训练Da

练习材料：

Lesson 20-1                    Snake poison

ˈlɛsn 20-1  sneɪk ˈpɔɪzn

How it came about that snakes manufactured poison is a mystery. Over the periods their saliva, a mild, digestive juice like our own, was converted into a poison that defies analysis even today. It was not forced upon them by the survival competition; they could have caught and lived on prey without using poison, just as the thousands of non-poisonous snakes still do. Poison to a snake is merely a luxury; it enables it to get its food with very little effort, no more effort than one bite. And why only snakes? Cats, for instance, would be greatly helped; no running fights with large, fierce rats or tussles with grown rabbits -- just a bite and no more effort needed.

haʊ ɪt keɪm əˈbaʊt ðæt sneɪks ˌmænjʊˈfækʧəd ˈpɔɪzn ɪz ə ˈmɪstəri. ˈəʊvə ðə ˈpɪərɪədz ðeə səˈlaɪvə, ə maɪld, dɪˈʤɛstɪv ʤuːs laɪk ˈaʊər əʊn, wɒz kənˈvɜːtɪd ˈɪntuː ə ˈpɔɪzn ðæt dɪˈfaɪz əˈnæləsɪs ˈiːvən təˈdeɪ. ɪt wɒz nɒt fɔːst əˈpɒn ðɛm baɪ ðə səˈvaɪvəl ˌkɒmpɪˈtɪʃən; ðeɪ kʊd hæv kɔːt ænd lɪvd ɒn preɪ wɪˈðaʊt ˈjuːzɪŋ ˈpɔɪzn, ʤʌst æz ðə ˈθaʊzəndz ɒv nɒn-ˈpɔɪznəs sneɪks stɪl duː. ˈpɔɪzn tuː ə sneɪk ɪz ˈmɪəli ə ˈlʌkʃəri; ɪt ɪˈneɪblz ɪt tuː gɛt ɪts fuːd wɪð ˈvɛri ˈlɪtl ˈɛfət, nəʊ mɔːr ˈɛfət ðæn wʌn baɪt. ænd waɪ ˈəʊnli sneɪks? kæts, fɔːr ˈɪnstəns, wʊd biː ˈgreɪtli hɛlpt; nəʊ ˈrʌnɪŋ faɪts wɪð lɑːʤ, fɪəs ræts ɔː ˈtʌslz wɪð grəʊn ˈræbɪts -- ʤʌst ə baɪt ænd nəʊ mɔːr ˈɛfət ˈniːdɪd.

蛇是怎样产生毒液的，这是一个谜。蛇的唾液本来和我们人的消化液一样柔和，但经过漫长的时间，演变成了今天仍无法分析清楚的毒液。毒液不是生存竞争强加给它们的，它们也可以不用毒液捕捉动物而生存，就像今天成千上万的无毒蛇那样。毒液对毒蛇来说只不过是一种舒适生存的优越手段，它使蛇不用费多大力气就能捕获到食物，轻咬一口即可。为什么只有蛇才有毒液呢？譬如说，如果猫有毒液，那对猫会大有帮助，它就不必再和又大又凶的老鼠边跑边博斗了，也不必再和大兔子扭斗了，只要咬一口，就不必再费大力气。因此，任何食肉动物有了毒液，都能从中获益。

任务配置：L0、L3、L4

知识笔记：

单词与短语

just a sth and no more effort needed. 只要....，就不必再费大力气。

enables sb to do sth使某人可以做某事

练习感悟：早上起的太晚，已经8：02了。