【趣谈英语】蝉大部分时间都在地下-Cicadas Spend Most of Their Lives Underground

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

 

fascinate: to cause great interest

mature: to grow

periodical: reoccurring at specific times

droves: large numbers

brood: a group of living things that are hatched or born at the same time

emerge: to come out; to appear

overlap¹: to occupy the same space or time

schedule around: to plan the date or time of something at a different date or time than something else (to avoid overlap)

Cicadas Spend Most of Their Lives Underground

Cicadas are insects that fascinate bug² lovers. The word cicada comes from a Latin word meaning “tree cricket”. The periodical cicadas in the US are the most fascinating. They have 13 or 17-year cycles. This means they spend 13 or 17 years maturing underground before emerging in droves to mate. Despite their long lives, these periodical cicadas only spend a few weeks as adults. They die shortly after mating, and the life cycle begins again. Some years no periodical cicadas emerge, while other years there are overlapping³ broods. Special charts called “brood maps” tell bug lovers exactly when and where the massive broods will emerge. Male cicadas make a loud humming sound to attract a mate. Even though cicadas don’t bite or sting, many people consider these large bugs⁴ to be pests. Some couples even use brood maps to schedule their outdoor weddings around mating season. Around the world, many other types of cicadas emerge annually⁵ in the summer. They have 2-5 year life cycles and don’t all emerge at once.

1 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

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 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

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 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。