英语听力：自然百科 虫虫兄弟—8

 It's the ultimate high fiber¹ diet. These creatures can even eat wool. They do have some saving graces. Just as dust mites² clean up our dead skin, carpet beetles³ mop up the hair we shed, as well as any dead insects they find. But it's curtains for the cardigans and the carpet. Meanwhile an armor plated part-time cannibal is cruising the corridors looking for a damp patch. No more than 20 millimeters long, the wood louse is a miniature garbage dispose unit. They eat rotten plants, mold, their own feces, and if food's short, other wood lice. They shed their scaly⁴ armor around six times a year, but being caught naked can be a dangerous business. Wood lice would eat their own shell, their neighbor's shell, or their whole neighbor if they catch one *. They breathe through their gills on their underbellies, which they must keep moist to absorb oxygen from the air. And they can take in liquid from either end, through the mouth or tubes near the rectum, it doesn't matter, as long as they are the right way are. What goes in as liquid doesn't come out that way. What most would pass as urine, wood lice excrete as a gas. And these occasional cannibals could be handy in the first aid box. In the past they would prescribed as an indigestion treatment, maybe because of the high calcium⁵ content of their shells, hence they're nicknamed pill bugs⁶.

1 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

2 mites   

n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨

参考例句：

• The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。 来自辞典例句
• Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。 来自辞典例句

3 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》

4 scaly   

adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的

参考例句：

• Reptiles possess a scaly,dry skin.爬行类具有覆盖着鳞片的干燥皮肤。
• The iron pipe is scaly with rust.铁管子因为生锈一片片剥落了。

5 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

6 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》