英国学生科学读本 第84期:勤劳的蜜蜂(2)

 　　The skin will swell¹ at the place where you were stung, and that spot will feel very sore for several days. 皮肤被叮咬的地方高高肿起, 在接下来的几天时间里, 这个伤口都会令人感到疼痛难忍。

　　The hive bee is dark brown in colour, and its body is covered with brown hairs. 蜜蜂的体色呈深棕色, 覆盖着一层棕色绒毛。

　　Its length is a little more than half an inch. 蜜蜂体长半英寸稍多一些,

　　The body of the bee, like that of all insects, is divided into three parts—the head, the chest, and the belly².  与所有的昆虫一样, 蜜蜂的身体分为三个部分——头部、胸部与腹部。

　　The head has two eyes, two feelers, and a long trunk or tongue with which the bee gathers honey from the flowers. 蜜蜂的头上长有两只眼睛、两根触角以及长长的喙或者说是舌头, 它就是通过这个器官来收集花蜜。

　　The chest has two pairs of gauzy wings above, and underneath³ there are three pairs of jointed⁴ legs. 胸部共有两种器官：上面是两对轻薄的翅膀, 下面则是三对长有关节的腿。

　　The belly is the largest of the three parts of the body, but it has no limbs attached to it. 在蜜蜂的整个身体中, 腹部体积最大, 不过却没有任何附肢与之相连。

　　If we examine the body of the bee carefully, we shall see that it is made of a number of rings joined together. 仔细观察蜜蜂的身体, 就会发现, 它是由很多彼此相连的环形结构组成。

　　Each of the two hind⁵ legs of the bee has a hollow called the "basket" on the outer side. 蜜蜂的两条后腿外侧都有一个被称作花粉筐（也叫花粉篮）的中空部分。

　　In these two baskets the working bee stores up the pollen⁶, or yellow grains like dust, which it gets from the flowers. 工蜂将那些从花朵中采集的花粉（粉末状的黄色微粒）储存在这两个“篮子”里面。

　　This pollen is taken to the hive and mixed with honey. 蜜蜂将花粉运送到蜂窝之中, 与蜂蜜混合在一起。

　　It is then called "bee bread, " for it is the food on which the young bees are brought up.  这就是“蜂粮”, 幼年蜜蜂依靠这些食物发育成长。

　　There is never more than one grown-up queen bee in a hive at a time. 蜂窝中不可能存在两只成年蜂后。

　　As the summer goes on, and the hive becomes too full, a young queen grows up. 随着夏季的推进, 蜂窝就会变得拥挤不堪, 这时候一只幼年蜂后逐渐发育成熟。

　　Then the old queen and a great number of the working bees leave the hive. 这时, 老蜂后就会带领一群工蜂离开这个蜂窝。

　　This is called "swarming⁸. " 这种现象就是“分蜂（分群）”。

　　The swarm⁷ of bees often settles on the branch of a tree not far from the hive, 这群蜜蜂通常都会选择一个距离原来的蜂窝不远的树枝,

　　and soon they are taken by their owner and put into a new and empty hive. 很快, 它们便会建造一个全新的蜂窝, 开始自己的生活。

1 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。

2 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 jointed   

有接缝的

参考例句：

• To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. 若是拥抱她，那感觉活像拥抱一块木疙瘩。 来自英汉文学
• It is possible to devise corresponding systematic procedures for rigid jointed frames. 推导出适合于钢架的类似步骤也是可能的。

5 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。