VOA标准英语2011--Cicadas Swarm Wide Portions of US

Cicadas Swarm¹ Wide Portions of US

The cicadas are back.
Over the past few weeks, across a wide swath of the eastern United States, the notoriously noisy bugs² have emerged by the billions from their long, underground adolescence³.
On a muggy⁴ afternoon at the farmers' market in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, Missouri, the cicada invasion is in full force and local residents have mixed feelings about it.
"I just like holding them and putting them on the trees and stuff," says Matt Covington, 10, who loves the insects. "They tickle⁵ when they crawl on you, it's fun."
Nineteen-year-old Lauren Pierce takes the opposite view.
"Oh my gosh, they look like little devils, and I don't like it," she says. "I think they're stinking⁶ up my neighborhood. They're rotting everywhere and they smell bad and they're really loud in some places, and...it's kind of a nuisance."
They are definitely make a lot of noise. The males sing to attract mates. Chris Hartley, an entomologist at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in Chesterfield, says they make that sound by vibrating an organ on the side of their thorax called a tymbal. They actually use their wings to amplify⁷ and resonate the sound out, which adds to the racket.
But these periodical cicadas have spent the past 13 years not making any noise at all. They've been underground, feeding on the juices of tree roots, as small brown juveniles⁸, or nymphs.
"The nymphs are these strange kind of alien-looking things that have no wings, very rudimentary legs that are only good for crawling and nothing else, and they kind of have these huge, claw-like front legs," says Hartley.
When they're ready to emerge, the nymphs tunnel their way to the soil surface in the middle of the night, leaving visible holes in the ground a little over a centimeter in diameter. They climb up the nearest bush or tree and molt⁹ for the last time, littering the foliage¹⁰ with their old brown casings.
When the adult cicadas first emerge in the darkness, they're soft, pale white, and very vulnerable. It takes a couple of hours for their exoskeleton to darken, and their wings to unfold and dry to a translucent¹¹ orange-gold.
The red-eyed adults are about three centimeters long and live for three to four weeks.
"A female will lay, throughout her lifespan, about 600 eggs," says Glenn Frei, who helps care for the live insect collection at the Saint Louis Zoo. He says female cicadas use a sword-like organ, called an ovipositor, to slice into small tree branches and insert their eggs.
When the ant-sized nymphs hatch six to 10 weeks later, they drop to the ground, dig a burrow¹², and start the 13-year cycle all over again. The egg-bearing twigs¹³ often turn brown, droop¹⁴, and die. But Frei says cicadas aren't locusts¹⁵ – they don't eat leaves or attack crops.
"They're causing some minor¹⁶ damage, but overall, even with the massive numbers of them, they're not going to do enough to kill a healthy full grown tree," says Frei. "Young saplings may get enough damage where it could kill them, just because they're not old enough, but for the most part a healthy, older tree is going to do just fine."
Frei says the number of adult periodical cicadas has already peaked in the area and he expects them to die off in the next couple of weeks.

1 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

2 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》

3 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

4 muggy   

adj.闷热的；adv.（天气）闷热而潮湿地；n.（天气）闷热而潮湿

参考例句：

• We may expect muggy weather when the rainy season begins.雨季开始时，我们预料有闷热的天气。
• It was muggy and overcast.天气闷热潮湿，而且天色阴沉。

5 tickle   

v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒

参考例句：

• Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
• I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。

6 stinking   

adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透

参考例句：

• I was pushed into a filthy, stinking room. 我被推进一间又脏又臭的屋子里。
• Those lousy, stinking ships. It was them that destroyed us. 是的！就是那些该死的蠢猪似的臭飞船！是它们毁了我们。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

7 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

8 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

9 molt   

n.换毛，脱皮，换毛期

参考例句：

• The fourth time they molt,they change into pupae.换第四次皮时，它们蜕变成蛹。
• This veterinary product is very effective in preventing animal molt.这种兽药对于防治兽类掉毛很有效。

10 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

11 translucent   

adj.半透明的；透明的

参考例句：

• The building is roofed entirely with translucent corrugated plastic.这座建筑完全用半透明瓦楞塑料封顶。
• A small difference between them will render the composite translucent.微小的差别,也会使复合材料变成半透明。

12 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

13 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。

14 droop   

v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡

参考例句：

• The heavy snow made the branches droop.大雪使树枝垂下来。
• Don't let your spirits droop.不要萎靡不振。

15 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》

16 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。