国家地理 食鸟蛛奇

They're the big, hairy spiders of our nightmares. And it's no wonder we are afraid. Tarantulas are the biggest of all the arachnids. These spiders are killing¹ machines perfectly² adapted to their habitats. And the biggest and battiest of them all is the Goliath. It can grow to nearly a foot across with fangs³ an inch long. The Goliath makes itshome in the remote rainforests of South America.

它们是我们噩梦中又大又多毛的蜘蛛。难怪我们害怕。食鸟蜘蛛是所有蛛形纲动物中最大的。这些蜘蛛正在杀死完全适应它们栖息地的机器。其中最大最坏的是歌利亚。它可以长到近一英尺宽，长出一英寸长的尖牙。歌利亚蜘蛛在南美洲偏远的雨林中安家。

Night is when the Goliath is most active. But for these ambush⁴ predators⁵, hunting means lying in wait. Near the entrance to her burrow⁶, she lays down a silk welcome mat. It acts like a tripwire letting her know when something has ventured within range. Even with eight eyes, Goliaths like most spiders have weak vision. They are alerted to the presence of prey⁷ by vibrations⁸ rippling⁹ across their sensitive hairs. It's only a matter of time before some hapless creature like this floor mouse wanders too close and brushes against the silk. It's like ringing a dinner bell. The Goliath's venom¹⁰ proves fatal to this mouse.

夜晚是歌利亚蜘蛛最活跃的时候。但是对于这些埋伏的捕食者来说，捕猎意味着埋伏等待。在她洞穴的入口附近，她铺了一块丝绸垫。它就像一根绊网，以便她知道什么时候什么东西冒险进入了射程。即使有八只眼睛，歌利亚像大多数蜘蛛一样视力也很弱。它们敏感的毛发上的震动会使它们警觉到猎物的存在。一些不幸的生物，像这个地板老鼠靠的太近，黏在丝绸上只是时间问题。就像按晚餐铃一样。歌利亚的毒液对这只老鼠是致命的。

But for most people, the tarantula's bite is no worse than a bee sting. According to researchers, there has never been a single confirmed human death from a tarantula bite. Perhaps knowing the facts about these ancient predators can help turn human fear into fascination¹¹.

但对大多数人来说，食鸟蜘蛛的叮咬没有蜜蜂的叮咬糟糕。据研究人员称，从来没有人被食鸟蜘蛛咬死过。也许了解这些远古食肉动物的事实可以帮助人们把恐惧变成迷恋。

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 fangs   

n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座

参考例句：

• The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

5 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

8 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 rippling   

起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的

参考例句：

• I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
• The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。

10 venom   

n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨

参考例句：

• The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
• In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上，毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。

11 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。