蛇通過變成黑色來吸收陽光

In the southern United States, snakes can bevibrant and bright. In the North, they tend to bedark and drab. A dark coat may seem a bitdepressing. It may, however, help northern snakessoak up heat from the sun more quickly than theirsouthern kin, a teen finds. And a quick solar heatingcould prove an advantage in colder climes.

在美國南部，那里的蛇能夠發(fā)出響聲，而且很顏色鮮艷。在北方，這些蛇會傾向于變成黑色或者淺褐色。黑色的蛇皮或會看起來有點了無生氣。但是，一名青少年發(fā)現(xiàn)，與南方的同類蛇相比，黑色皮膚能幫助北方的蛇更快地吸收太陽的溫度。在較為寒冷的氣候下，快速吸收太陽的熱量，對蛇比較有利。

Gianna Fantell, 15, presented the results of her serpentine research, here, at the IntelInternational Science and Engineering Fair.

15歲的吉安娜·范泰爾，在英特爾國際科學與工程博覽會上，展示了自己對蛇紋石的研究結(jié)果。

Snake fan Gianna Fantell showed that more northerly snakes tend to be darker than those inthe South. Darker colors might help snakes soak up the sun’s warmth.

吉安娜·范泰爾對蛇非常感興趣，她發(fā)現(xiàn)蛇所處的地點越是往北，它們的顏色比南方的蛇就越深。更深的顏色或許可以幫助蛇更好地獲取太陽的溫度。

The freshman at Colonia High School in New Jersey has loved snakes for most of her life. “Iremember I was trick-or-treating, and this woman came out [of her house] with an albino cornsnake,” she recalls. Gianna instantly became fascinated with the creatures.

新澤西州科洛尼亞高中的一名新生在生活中酷愛蛇。她回憶說“我記得有一次我在萬圣節(jié)搗蛋，一位女士就拿著一條白色的玉米蛇走出了房間。”吉安娜立馬對這一生物產(chǎn)生了濃厚的興趣。

When it came time to design a research project for school, snakes were a natural focus. Flippingthrough a field guide, she noticed a pattern. “Farther north, the pigmentation of snakes isdarker.”

當學校需要我設計一個研究項目的時候，蛇自然成了我研究的重點。通過研究一份野外工作指南，她發(fā)現(xiàn)一個規(guī)律。“越是往北，蛇的顏色越深。”