twelve单词速记（每日单词rodent）

rodent /ˈrəʊdnt/

IELTS丨TOEFL丨专八

外刊例句

As long as the little owls remain in the nest, they're completely dependent on their parents for food. The problem is that the small rodents that they eat can't be split up. So when mom or dad returns to the nest to feed their offspring, only one chick can eat a time.In many bird species, the oldest would simply outcompete the youngest, but barn owls are different. Turns out the older, healthier birds sometimes donate their meals to their hungrier siblings.

只要小猫头鹰呆在巢里，它们就完全依赖父母的食物。问题是它们吃的小啮齿动物不能被分开。因此，当爸爸或妈妈回到鸟巢喂养他们的后代时，一次只能有一只小鸡吃东西。在许多鸟类中，最老的会比最年轻的竞争更激烈，但仓鸮是不同的。事实证明，更年长、更健康的鸟有时会把它们的食物捐赠给饥饿的兄弟姐妹。

——《科学美国人》

基本释义

Rodents are small mammals which have sharp front teeth. Rats, mice, and squirrels are rodents

n. 啮齿动物

追根溯源

单词rodent里的词根rod来源于拉丁语rodere, 表示“咬；啃”。所以，包含rod/ros的英语单词，多与此相关，例如：

erode vt. 侵蚀；腐蚀

corrode vt. 损害；腐蚀

erosion n. 侵蚀；腐蚀

corrosion n. 侵蚀；腐蚀

corrosive adj. 腐蚀性的

影视例句

在美剧《生活大爆炸》中，Leonard说自己找不到女朋友的原因，Sheldon想换个话题，于是说了句前言不到后语的话，其中就用到了今天的单词：

Leonard: No, seriously, I think I've finally figured out my problem with women.

Sheldon: The capybara is the largest member of the rodent family.

Leonard: What does that have to do with me and women?

Sheldon: Nothing. It was a desperate attempt to introduce an alternate topic of conversation.

-说真的，我终于明白为何自己找不到女人了。

-水豚是啮齿类动物中为数最多的品种。

-这跟我与找女人有何关联？

-没关联，我只是迫切想为午餐会换个新话题罢了。