人教全日制普通高中英语（必修）高三UNIT14-1

There are many different varieties of bee. Some live in large groups like the honey-bee, and make their nests in trees or holes in the rocks. Other species¹ make their nests in holes in the ground. There are also varieties that do not live in groups at all. Among the different kinds of bee, it is the honey-bee that has interested scientists most because of the "language" they use to communicate with each other. The development of the modem² beehive in 1851 made it possible to design experiments to research the language of honey-bees.
 
        Professor Karl von Frisch, a scientist from Austria, spent many years of his life researching the amazing ways honey-bees communicate in their dark hives. After working with bees for many years, Professor yon Frisch was puzzled by something he had noticed again and again. When he placed little dishes of honey on a table, bees soon came. As soon as one bee discovered the honey, many more came to it one after another in a short time. It seemed that one bee was able to communicate the news of food to other bees in its hive. How was this possible? To find out, von Frisch built special hives, each with only one honeycomb. He built a transparent³ wall through which he could observe what went on inside. In order to tell the bees apart, he painted some bees with little dots of colour.
 
       When a marked bee returned to the hive from the feeding table, von Frisch watched through the glass. To his surprise, the bee began to perform a dance on the surface of the honeycomb. First it made a circle to the right, then to the left. It repeated these circles over and over again. But that was not all. The dance seemed to excite the surrounding bees. They trooped behind the first dancer, copying its movements. Then the bees left the hive and went to the feeding place. The circle dance seemed to communicate news of food. But what else?
 
       Von Frisch assumed⁴ that the dance conveyed⁵ more information. To find out whether his assumption⁶ was correct, he set up two feeding places. One was close to the hive, the other was much farther⁷ away, beyond some trees. He marked all the bees that came to the nearby feeding place blue, and all the bees that went to the far-away place red. When the bees came back to the hive, yon Frisch saw a curious sight. All the bees that had been at the nearby feeding place were doing the circling dance. The bees that had been at the distant feeding place were doing a completely different dance, a wagging⁸ dance. The dancer ran in a straight line, wagging from side to side. Then it turned in a semicircle, ran straight again, and turned in another semicircle to the opposite side. It kept repeating the "steps" over and over. Things were clear now. It was evident⁹ that the circle dance told the bees about the location of the feeding place. It was also apparent¹⁰ that the wagging dance, where the bee moved sideways, sent another message about the feeding place.
 
       Next, von Frisch and his colleagues set up a feeding place close to the hive. Then they slowly moved it farther and farther away. Back at the hive they watched the wagging dance closely¹¹. With a stop-watch, they counted how many times the bees repeated the dance during one minute. They discovered that the farther away the feeding station was, the slower the dance was. So another astonishing fact came to light. The number of wagging dances per minute told the exact distance to the feeding place. They also found out that bees fly a maximum distance of 3.2 kilometres between their hive and a feeding place.
 
       The remaining question for Professor von Frisch and his partners was to find out whether bees could tell each other the exact position of a feeding place. For example, was it possible for bees to communicate precise¹² details such as north, south, southwest and southeast? To answer the question, Professor von Frisch and his colleagues would have to obtain enough data to provide an adequate¹³ account of the bees' behaviour. After designing more experiments, they were able to clarify¹⁴ the procedure¹⁵ by which bees communicate information that they use to find and fetch food.
 
       When honey-bees have discovered a feeding place, they fly directly to it from the hive. After a short time a line of bees fly to and from the hive like a thin stream. Centuries ago, the word "'bee-line" was created and today the expression "to make a beeline for someone or something" means to go quickly along a straight course for somebody or something.
 
        For his lifetime's work in studying the communication of animals, including honey-bees, Professor Karl von Frisch was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1973, which he shared with two other scientists. He died in 1982.

1 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

2 modem   

n.调制解调器

参考例句：

• Does your computer have a modem?你的电脑有调制解调器吗？
• Provides a connection to your computer via a modem.通过调制解调器连接到计算机上。

3 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

4 assumed   

adj.假定的, 假装的 动词assume的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The assumed linearity of these equations can be related to the uniformity of space and time.所假定的这些方程的线性，可归因于空间和时间的均匀性。

5 conveyed   

v.运输( convey的过去式和过去分词 )；运送；输送；表达

参考例句：

• The ambassador personally conveyed the president's message to the king. 大使将总统的口信亲自转达给国王。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ambassador personally conveyed the president's message to the premier. 大使亲自向总理转达了总统的问候。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 assumption   

n.假定，臆断，担任，承担

参考例句：

• We mistook assumption that the price would fall.我们错误地认为价格会下降。
• I would question the validity of that assumption.我会质疑那个假设的正当性。

7 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

8 wagging   

adj.（左右）摆动，摇摆，摇动v.（使）摇动，摇摆( wag的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The dog ran up, wagging its tail. 那条狗摇着尾巴跑上前去。
• A dog reacts to kindness by wagging its tail. 狗摇尾巴以报答人们的爱护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 evident   

adj.明显的，显然的，明白的

参考例句：

• It's evident to me that they have no experience in this work.在我看来，他们干这项工作没有经验是显而易见的。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

10 apparent   

adj.表面上的，貌似真实的，显然的，明明白白的

参考例句：

• The apparent truth was really a lie.表面上看似实话，实际上是个谎言。
• His guilt is apparent to all.他的罪恶尽人皆知。

11 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

12 precise   

adj.精确的，恰好的，极清楚的

参考例句：

• At that precise moment, Miss Pulteney came into the office.就在那时，普尔特尼小姐走进了办公室。
• A scientist must be precise in making tests.科学家做试验必须精确。

13 adequate   

adj.充足的，足够的；适当的，胜任的

参考例句：

• Though a bit too old,he is still adequate to the work.虽然他年纪大了点，却仍能胜任这项工作。
• I hope you will prove adequate to the job.我希望你证明能胜位这项工作。

14 clarify   

v.澄清，阐明，使变得清晰；净化

参考例句：

• I am happy to clarify any points that are still unclear.我愿意说明任何仍然不清楚的地方。
• Can you clarify this long sentence?你能把这个长句子解释清楚吗？

15 procedure   

n.程序，手续，步骤；常规的做法

参考例句：

• The results show clearly that this procedure is correct.事实充分说明这种做法是正确的。
• It has passed through an interesting procedure of evolution.它经过了一个有趣的进化过程。