环球英语 — 183：Cicadas

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Courtney Schutt. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
What would you do if you had just spent seventeen [17] years under ground?
Voice 2
Would you want to change your clothes? Would you want to sit in the sun? Would you want to sing as loud as you could? Singing is exactly what millions of cicadas did in the United States during the summer of 2007!
Voice 1
A cicada is an insect. It is about three centimeters long. Like many insects, it has six legs. The adult cicada also has two sets of wings.
Voice 2
There are over two thousand [2,000] kinds of cicadas around the world. And all of them spend most of their life under the ground! Australia has about two hundred twenty [220] different kinds of cicadas. And you can find about four hundred fifty [450] different kinds in Africa!
Voice 1
Most cicadas are annual cicadas. They come out of the ground once every year. But there are seven kinds of cicadas that stay under the ground for many years. Three of these live under ground for seventeen [17] years! All of these cicadas are found only in the United States. They are called periodical² cicadas.
Voice 2
When a cicada is under the ground it is called a nymph. These nymphs drink liquids from tree roots. As a nymph, the cicada is covered in a hard shell. At this time it has no wings - just legs.
Voice 1
After a cicada comes out of the ground, it breaks out of its old shell. Under the old shell is a new shell and four wings. The cicada will find a place in the sun to dry its wings and new shell. Now the cicada is an adult.
Voice 2
After a cicada becomes an adult, it only has about a month to live. Before it dies, it must mate³ with another cicada. This is why the cicada sings.
Voice 1
The male cicadas sing to appeal to the females⁵. They sing very loud. Their sounds have been recorded at ninety-six [96] decibels⁶. This is as loud as a motorcycle or truck passing close by.
Voice 2
When a female⁴ cicada hears the song she flies closer to the male. Then she answers by making sudden movements with her wings. The two cicadas continue to move closer. Then they mate.
Voice 1
All of the cicadas come out of the ground at the same time. In many places, there are millions of cicadas flying, singing, and mating. All of these cicadas singing together make a lot of noise!
Voice 2
The Ravinia Festival is a series of musical events. The events are held out in the open air. But the trees near the festival contain many cicadas. The cicada songs are so loud that Ravinia had to change its plans! Now, only music events with loud music will happen while the cicadas are above the ground. The events with quieter music will take place later in the summer, when the cicadas have gone.
Voice 1
People have different opinions about cicadas. Many people like them. They think cicadas are interesting because they only come out of the ground every seventeen [17] years. Steve Heiss lives in Maryland. There are no cicadas where he lives. So he collects them near his work place! Then he brings them home to show his children.
Voice 2
And National Geographic⁷ magazine says that some people in China keep male cicadas. They enjoy listening to the cicadas’ songs!
Voice 1
But Russ Rosen from Virginia does not like them.
Voice 3
“They are stupid and they cover the ground. They fly into everything. If you are in a cicada’s path, it will fly right into you.”
Voice 1
Many people agree with Russ. They say the cicadas’ singing is so loud it hurts their ears. And they do not like the smell of dead cicadas.
Voice 2
The animal world likes to eat the cicadas. Many birds will eat whole cicadas. Cats and dogs will eat them too. Eating cicadas does not harm an animal.
Voice 1
Some people do not think the animals should have all the fun. Years ago, Native Americans used to eat cicadas. And today, some people are cooking the cicadas and eating them. Experts say that cicadas are good to eat, because they are high in vitamins and minerals, and low in fat.
Voice 2
The female cicadas that do not get eaten produce about five hundred [500] eggs. They lay them in many different places. They lay most of their eggs on tree branches. Later in the summer, millions of new cicada nymphs will come out of these eggs.
Voice 1
Then the cicada nymphs drop to the ground. They dig into the earth to get under the ground. Then they attach to a tree root to begin eating. Seventeen [17] years later, the cicadas will come out of the ground once again!
Voice 2
Some people call cicadas “locusts⁹”. But this is a mistake. A locust⁸ is a completely different insect. Locusts can cause much harm to plants and crops.
Voice 1
National Geographic suggests one reason for this mistake. It says that the first European people to live in the United States remembered a Bible¹⁰ story about locusts. The large number of cicadas caused them to think of this story!
Voice 2
In the story, God’s people were slaves in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians would not free them from slavery. So, God sent millions of locusts to the Egyptians. There were so many locusts that the ground looked black. They filled the houses. And they destroyed all the crops.
Voice 1
It is easy to understand why cicadas are some times called locusts. When they all come out of the ground at the same time there are millions of cicadas! They cover the trees and the ground.
Voice 2
But cicadas do not cause any harm. Cicadas do not bite. They do not carry any diseases¹¹. And they do not eat away plants. They are not like locusts at all.
Voice 1
So even when cicadas sing very loud, we can be happy that they are not locusts. We do not have to worry. We can sing along.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 periodical   

n.期刊；adj.定期的，时而发生的

参考例句：

• They have already put out a new periodical.他们已经出版了一种新的期刊。
• I expect regular periodical reports from you.我希望你定期向我汇报。

3 mate   

n.伙伴，同事；配偶；大副；v.(使)交配

参考例句：

• Where is the mate to this glove?这副手套的另一只在哪儿？
• She has been a faithful mate to him.她一直是他忠实的配偶。

4 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

5 females   

n.雌性动物( female的名词复数 )；女人

参考例句：

• The male birds are more colourful than the females. 这种鸟雄性比雌性更加色彩艳丽。
• The males in the herd protect the females and the young. 兽中的雄性动物保护雌性动物和幼崽。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 decibels   

n.分贝( decibel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The typical lawn mower makes about 90 decibels of noise. 典型的割草机发出的声响约为90分贝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A normal conversation reaches 55 decibels. 普通的谈话即可达55分贝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

9 locusts   

n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树

参考例句：

• a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
• In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

11 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。