97-101 Discussion about Zoology Exam
M: Now, let’s see, Professor Stone spent a lot of time talking about how animals walk and run. I remember she started by describing how humans move, and later we went over the gaits of different 2-leg and 4-leg animals: cats, camels, lizards,…
W: Wait, I think I missed the class when you read over how lizards move. At least, I don’t have any notes on it.
M: Well, we talked in class about how modern reptiles like lizards run. I think I even copy the diagram professor drew on the board. Here it is. Now look at this: lizards run with what’s called as sprawling gait, their feet are well out on either side of their body and they moved diagonally opposite feet together: the left fore foot with the right hind foot and the right fore foot with the left hind foot. They use this way of moving when they’re going slowly or quickly. When they move, they bend their body through from side to side. And they time this bending so that it increases the length of their steps.W: OK. That makes sense. But I remember reading that in general animals have evolved so that their feet are under their bodies. But I don’t see why?
M: Well, that’s because even though the sprawling gaits suit lizards pretty well, there’s a major disadvantage to this arrangement. Reptiles can’t run and breathe at the same time. They stop breathe between short burst anywhere from 2 to12 strides because when they move from side to side, the muscles of the left and right sides contract at different times. To breathe though, these muscles have to contract at the same time. Mammals don’t have this problem because they don’t move side to side. Their feet are in a different position.
這篇粗體字的部份在找了背景資料看了之後還是不太了解..
可不可以請懂的人幫我翻譯一下
1.增加每一步的長度..用time this bending是什麼意思
2.第二個粗體字則是完全不會翻了..
麻煩大家幫我一下..謝謝