美国国家公共电台 NPR NPR's Bees (Moderate, Middle Of The Road Bees) Up And Left

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

A swarm¹ of potential stingers were unleashed² on Washington, D.C., this week. This is not a political statement. A swarm of bees from one of the two hives atop NPR headquarters buzzed over the streets as they followed their queen out of their hive to some new location, which is unknown at this time. Queen bees apparently³ get restless and strike out on their own, like teenagers, followed by a swarm.

Jonathan Durant, the building's director of facilities management, alerted NPR staff not to leave the building on the side of the street where the bees flapped and droned. So, of course, a small swarm of reporters, editors and producers rushed out into that street to look for the bees. People don't get into the news business to avoid getting stung. No bee stings were reported. This will, no doubt, discourage some of NPR's critics and even some of the people in the building.

The hives were installed when NPR moved into our rehabbed headquarters building in 2013 as part of a green roof that is home to a large variety of plants. The foliage⁴ helps cool the building and protect the roof. The bees help nurture⁵ plants and trees all over this downtown neighborhood by pollinating. The hives are officially named the Halter-Plews Bee Hives to honor the parents of two NPR supporters. But the hives are more colloquially⁶ called Swarming⁷ Edition and All Stings Considered. The bees produce a small amount of honey every year, which the beekeepers get to keep as part of their inspection⁸ and maintenance service. There have been plans to eventually sell a little of the honey in the NPR gift shop. If this plan ever develops, I propose they call the NPR honey Sweetened Edition.

Beekeeper Sean inspected the Halter-Plews Hives this week and to quote from his report, "the bees are bringing in pollen⁹. On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being very strong, the overall strength of the colony is five. On a scale of 1 to 10, one being very gentle, the hive temperament¹⁰ is five." Let me interject here. How fitting that NPR bees are so moderate and centrist.

Beekeeper Sean says that although the queen has departed, a new one awaits. There are queen cells with egg, larva or pupa in the hive, he reports. One of the hives swarmed¹¹. However, the colony looks like it will recover quickly. Eggs are not present in the hive, but there is brood. The brood pattern is beautiful - solid and uniform. In a city that can swell¹² with self-importance, at least a few citizens fly above it all.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HONEY BEE")

MUDDY WATERS: (Singing) I hear a lot of buzzing, sound like my little honey bee. I hear a lot of buzzing.

SIMON: Muddy Waters. You're listening to NPR News.

1 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

2 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

5 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

6 colloquially   

adv.用白话，用通俗语

参考例句：

• For some little time the Jurymen hang about the Sol's Ams colloquially. 那些陪审员在太阳徽酒店里呆着，东拉西扯地谈了一会儿。 来自辞典例句
• This building is colloquially referred to as the barn. 这个建筑，用通俗的话来说就是一个谷仓。 来自互联网

7 swarming   

密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
• The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。

8 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

9 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

10 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

11 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

12 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。