美国有线新闻 CNN 报告显示昆虫数量急剧下降

 

What distinction is held by fairyflies? Are they indigenous¹ to Antarctica, the smallest insects, a type of butterfly or extinct? Fairy flies are a type of wasp² and they're the smallest insects on Earth.

Even if you don't want to eat insects like we discussed last Friday, scientists say three-quarters of our crops depend on insect pollination³. And a new report from the United Kingdom Wildlife Trust says there have been massive decreases of certain insect populations in the U.K. Between 1968 and 2007 the report says the number of large moths⁴ in Britain fell by 28 percent and that many butterflies also disappeared. It suggests that declines like these are happening with different insects around the world. Though, there's so much that's unknown about certain regions that it's hard for researchers to say for sure.

Still, the report says the main reason for insect decline is habitat loss. And it suggests that we can all help solve that by planting flowering trees around our communities, growing plants like lavender which attract bees, avoiding pesticides⁵ though that could lead to the loss of some crops and mowing⁶ your lawn less often could attract more insects to it. Though that could bug⁷ your neighbors if it gets out of hand.

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。

3 pollination   

n.授粉

参考例句：

• The flowers get pollination by insects.这些花通过昆虫授粉。
• Without sufficient pollination,the growth of the corn is stunted.没有得到充足的授粉，谷物的长势就会受阻。

4 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

7 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。