英国学生科学读本第58期:毛毛虫向前爬(1)

 　　Lesson 58 The Creeping Caterpillar¹

　　第58课 毛毛虫向前爬

　　All birds lay eggs. If the eggs are kept warm, after a certain time a little bird, just like the parent birds, comes out of each egg.

　　鸟儿都会下蛋。如果鸟蛋能保持温暖，过一段时间，长得很像爸爸妈妈的小鸟就会破壳而出。

　　All insects also lay eggs. But these eggs do not produce perfect insects. Out of each tiny egg there comes a small, soft creature, which looks somewhat like a little worm, and is known as a maggot, a grub, or a caterpillar.

　　所有的昆虫都会“产卵”，但这些虫卵可不会孵出成虫。每个细小的虫卵里出来的，都是软软的小动物，看上去像“小肉虫子”，英语的名字分别叫maggot, grub, caterpillar。

　　The eggs of flies produce maggots; the eggs of most beetles² produce grubs; the eggs of butterflies and of moths³ produce caterpillars⁴. Maggots have no legs, and it is not easy to tell which end of their body is the head. Grubs have either no legs at all, or at most six legs.

　　苍蝇的卵孵出来的是maggot（也就是蛆）；多数甲虫产的卵孵出来的是grub（鞘翅目幼虫）；蝴蝶和蛾子产的卵孵出来的是caterpillar（鳞翅目幼虫）。蛆没有腿，也不容易看出来身子哪一端是脑袋。鞘翅目幼虫要么没有腿，要么最多有六条腿。

　　But caterpillars have not only six true legs; on the hinder part of their bodies they have a number of what we may call false feet—little fleshy things which are very useful in helping⁵ the caterpillar to move about, or to hold on to the twigs⁶ of trees.

　　但是鳞翅目幼虫不只有六条真正的腿，在身体的后半边，还有一种叫“假脚”的东西——肉做的小小突起，这些东西很有用，能帮助幼虫到处爬，还能帮助它抓住小树枝。

　　I should like you to keep some caterpillars. They will need looking after and feeding, but they will repay you for your trouble, if you watch their funny ways and the curious changes that they pass through.

　　小朋友，请你也养一些鳞翅目的幼虫吧！它们需要好好照顾，好好喂养，但是也会回报你的辛苦，如果你观察到它们有趣的生活，还有奇妙的变化。

　　For a few pence, you can buy a hundred silk-worms'eggs. If you keep them in a warm place for a few days, they will change to caterpillars. These will then need to be fed with mulberry leaves or lettuce⁷ leaves.

　　几个便士就可以买到100颗蚕卵。把蚕卵放在暖和的地方，过几天，就会孵出幼虫，这些幼虫要喂桑叶和莴苣叶。

1 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

2 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 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》

4 caterpillars   

n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 )；履带

参考例句：

• Caterpillars eat the young leaves of this plant. 毛毛虫吃这种植物的嫩叶。
• Caterpillars change into butterflies or moths. 毛虫能变成蝴蝶或蛾子。 来自辞典例句

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

7 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。