【英语时差8,16】天下无昆虫

 

 So much of the time we humans look upon insects as pests. But as Don and Yael discuss in this Moment of Science, a world without them might not be as nice as we might think.   

     [Insect buzzing¹ and swatted]

 

D: Gotcha! Isn't it enough that termites² are eating my house and fleas³ are feeding on my dog? Do we really need flies in the studio too? Darned bugs⁴! Who needs them! A  world without insects would be perfect. Just imagine, Yael. Sunday picnics without ants! Apples without worms--

 

Y: But Don, without insects there wouldn't be any apples.

 

D: What? Why?

 

Y: Well, many insects function as pollinators, and many plants rely on them for help with  reproduction. Without insects, you'd eliminate certain kinds of fruits and vegetables, and that might make it difficult to put together a picnic lunch. And of course, you'd also miss out on insect products like honey or silk.

 

D: That's okay with me, Yael. After all, insects didn't begin to play a major role in pollination⁵ until about sixty-five million years ago, and plants have been around for      about three hundred million years. There would still be plenty of plants, like grass and grains, that are pollinated by the wind. So if there were no insects, I'd just eat lots of cereal⁶ and plenty of steak.

 

Y: That might work for you, but what about the animals that live directly off insects, or off plants that are pollinated by insects? Those animals would starve to death, which means that the animals that eat them would starve as well. In other words, some parts of the food chain would collapse⁷, and life as we know it would change dramatically. The fact is, Don, that we need insects a lot more than they need us. Plus, wouldn't you miss butterflies? And roses? And apple pie?

 

D: Mmm! I love apple pie!

 

Y: I knew you'd come around!   

 

1 buzzing   

adj.嗡嗡响的v.发出嗡嗡声( buzz的现在分词 )；（发出）充满兴奋的谈话声[闲话，谣言]；忙乱，急行；用蜂鸣器（发信号）

参考例句：

• The computer made a buzzing noise that she found off-putting. 计算机发出的嗡嗡声让她心烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Bees are humming [buzzing] around from flower to flower. 蜜蜂在花丛中嗡嗡地飞来飞去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 termites   

n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Termites are principally tropical in distribution. 白蚁主要分布在热带地区。 来自辞典例句
• This spray will exterminate the termites. 这种喷剂能消灭白蚁。 来自辞典例句

3 fleas   

n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求）

参考例句：

• The dog has fleas. 这条狗有跳蚤。
• Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas. 除非要捉跳蚤，做事不可匆忙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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》

5 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。

6 cereal   

n.谷类，五谷，禾谷

参考例句：

• I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
• Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。

7 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。