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Chances are you‘ve never seen a binturong.

binturong [‘bintju?r??]  n. [动]熊狸

It‘s a tree-dwelling mammal about the size of a raccoon that‘s native to Southeast Asia.

dwelling [‘dweli?]  n. 住处；寓所v. 居住（dwell的现在分词）

mammal [‘m?m?l]   n. 哺乳动物

raccoon [r?‘ku:n]  n. [动]浣熊；浣熊毛皮

native [‘neitiv]  adj. 本国的；土著的

And now, in a major advance in research connecting animal odors to human recreational venues, researchers know why.

odor [‘?ud?]

[网启]n. 气味；名声

venues  n. 场地，场馆（venue复数形式）；犯罪现场，发生地点

recreational [,rekri‘ei??n?l, -kri:-]  adj. 娱乐的，消遣的；休养的

So to communicate with potential mates—or rivals—they leave behind aromatic messages.

rivals  n. 对手（rival的复数）；竞争者v. 竞争（rival的三单形式）

aromatic [,?r?u‘m?tik]  adj. 芳香的，芬芳的；芳香族的n. 芳香植物；芳香剂

musk [m?sk]  n. 麝香；麝香鹿；麝香香味

• go to a matinee 去看日戏

Desperate for an answer, the researchers opted to peruse some pee.

distinctive [dis‘ti?ktiv]  adj. 有特色的，与众不同的

glands  n. 腺体（gland的复数）

stank [st??k]  n. 池塘；水沟；小水坝v. 发出恶臭（stink的过去式）

opted [?pt]  vi. 选择

peruse [p?‘ru:z]  vt. 详细考察；精读

They ever-so-gently squeezed 33 sedated binturongs at a North Caroline wildlife sanctuary to produce urine for analysis.

squeezed [skwi:z]  vt. 挤；紧握；勒索

sedated [si‘deit]  adj. 安静的；沉着的vt. 给…服镇静剂

sanctuary [‘s??ktju‘ri, -t?u?-]  n. 避难所；至圣所；

urine [‘ju?rin]  n. 尿

And they discovered that the samples contained a compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, or 2-AP—which is the very same chemical that lends its distinctive scent to popcorn, as well as to some rice and breads.

Popcorn gets its 2-AP from the Maillard reaction, chemistry that occurs as corn kernels heat up.

美拉德反应(Maillard)

But for bearcats, who don‘t have access to an air popper, it‘s probably the bacteria present on their fur or in their intestines that help cook up their signature scent—the researchers confirmed that the animals don‘t get their 2-AP from their diet, which, in captivity, includes kibbles and mice.

popper [‘p?p?]  n. 服药成瘾者；发出啪声的人或物；爆竹；炮手；爆玉米花机

intestines  n. 肠（intestine的复数）；内脏；下水

cook up 虚构，伪造

kibble  报错 英 [‘k?b(?)l]  美 [‘k?b?l] 跟读 口语练习vt. 粗磨；将…磨成粗粒n. 磨成粗粒的食物

When binturongs go wee, they tend to soak their tails and feet, which ensures that they leave behind a trail of odiferous information about their species, sex, and reproductive readiness.

soak [s?uk]  vt. 吸收，吸入；沉浸在（工作或学习中）；使……上下湿透vi. 浸泡；渗透

readiness [‘redinis]   n. 敏捷，迅速；准备就绪；愿意

科学美国人60秒:熊狸的气味闻起来就像奶油爆米花 科学家或揭开其中奥秘

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原文地址：http://blog.csdn.net/zhihuier/article/details/51273538