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Have you ever wanted to turn down the volume at a deafening concert or noisy bar? Envy the whale: a new study finds that toothed whales can reduce their own auditory sensitivity when they expect a loud sound. The work is presented at this week’s Acoustics 2012 meeting.
震耳欲聋的音乐会或者喧闹的酒吧，你想过调小他们的音量吗？羡慕鲸鱼吧，最新研究发现当他们预感到大的声音时，齿鲸会降低听觉系统的敏感度。这一成果发表在本周的声学交流会议上。
Whales and dolphins rely on their responsive hearing to interpret returning echolocation clicks. Previous research suggested that these marine mammals could dull their hearing before uttering outgoing echolocation clicks, which are very loud. Could they use the same coping mechanism forexternal noises?
鲸鱼和海豚靠回声定位系统来辨别方向。之前的研究显示这些海洋哺乳动物向外发射很吵的回声时，他们就可以让听觉变得迟钝。同样是否可以运用相同的机制来处理外面的噪音？
To find out, researchers trained a false killer whale that a loud noise would always follow a briefwarning signal. Then, they attached suction-cup sensors to the outside of the whale’s head and played the signal. The sensors measured brainwaves that indicated the whale did reduce its hearing sensitivity in expectation of a clamor. The researchers hope to test other species as well.
为了找到答案，研究人员训练了一只伪虎鲸，大的噪音下伴随的是简短的警告信号。然后，他们把吸盘式的传感器放在鲸鱼的头上来捕捉它的脑电波活动，这些信号显示了在有预期的警告下，他们会降低听觉敏感度。研究人员希望能够测试其他种类鲸鱼。
Loud noises from ships can disturb whales. To accommodate marine life, perhaps vessels could emit signals before making a ruckus, warning whales to tune us out.
轮船的噪声可以干扰鲸鱼。为了融进这片海洋，也许轮船在制造噪声前，可以发射信号提醒鲸鱼我们的存在。
