时差N小时 昆虫是如何对抗细菌和寄生虫的?

Imagine that you're an insect, and that you've fallen ill because some bacteria or parasites¹ have invaded your body. If you want to make it to a ripe old bug² age, your body will need to fight off these invaders⁴.

想象一下你是一只昆虫，由于细菌或者寄生虫的入侵，你生病了。如果你想保持跟过去一样的体质，那么你就要跟这些入侵者做斗争了。

The problem is that if you're a bug, your life span may be only a few days long. This means that unlike humans, you simply don't have the time to lounge around in bed, watching TV and waiting for your body to figure out how to fight off each disease it encounters.

问题在于，假如你是一只小虫，你的生命周期可能仅有几天。这意味着你不能像人类一样有足够的时间在床上躺着，看看电视，然后等着观察身体是如何抵御这些入侵的疾病。

Still, there's no reason for your insect self to panic. Evolution has provided you with what scientists call innate⁵ immunity⁶, which you inherit from your parents. Innate immunity means that your bug body has the capability⁷ to instantly recognize and destroy many dangerous intruders.

但是作为一只小虫，你也没必要为此恐慌或担忧。大自然的进化过程已使你获得科学家们所谓的“先天免疫”能力，你从父母那里遗传而来的能力。先天免疫能帮助昆虫的身体在最短时间内发现并且摧毁这些危险的入侵者们。

In your bug body there is a fluid called hemolymph, which is equivalent to human blood. If you're injured, components⁸ in the hemolymph interact with specialized⁹ cells in your immune system to clot¹⁰ and form a scab that seals off your wound and prevents infection. The hemolymph also contains proteins that are ready to kill invaders like bacteria or fungi¹¹. However, some invaders, like tiny parasitic¹² insects, may be too large for the proteins to handle.

在昆虫身体里有一种被称为“血淋巴”的液体，它与人类的血液发挥着相同的作用。当你受伤时，血淋巴里的某种成分便与免疫系统中某些特殊细胞进行相互作用，从而使伤口凝结并结痂，保护伤口不受外界环境干扰以避免感染。而且，在血淋巴中还包含某些蛋白质，它能有效地杀灭这些入侵者，比如细菌或真菌。当然，像小寄生昆虫这样的入侵者，由于它们的体积较大，血淋巴里的蛋白质的杀灭能力对此还是望尘莫及。

In this case, your body encapsulates the invader³ and walls it off from the rest of the body. The encapsulated invader then stays inside you for the rest of your natural bug life, or until you fly into a windshield, whichever comes first.

在这种情况下，你的身体中封装了入侵者，且与身体其他部分隔离开来。在你短暂的昆虫生涯中，这个被封装的小小入侵者会一直保留在你体内，或者某天你不小心撞上挡风玻璃，这个封装的过程才会提前宣告结束。

1 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

2 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

3 invader   

n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者

参考例句：

• They suffered a lot under the invader's heel.在侵略者的铁蹄下，他们受尽了奴役。
• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。

4 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

5 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

6 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

7 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

8 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

9 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

10 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。

11 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

12 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。