原版英文小故事 34. Take a Bite

Have you ever been bitten? Of course you have. You are surrounded by creatures that might, or do, bite. Even as you rest your head on your pillow, bedbugs are probably nibbling¹ away at you. They live happily inside most pillows.

Take a walk outside and you are a target for “man’s best friend.” Hundreds of dog-bite victims visit US emergency rooms daily. Many bites are terrible. A vicious attack on a young woman in France led to the first face transplant. To avoid the dogs in your neighborhood, you might want to hike into the desert or the woods. There, you run the risk of bites from rattlesnakes, scorpions², and blood-sucking ticks. Not to mention bears, wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions. Even as they are becoming a threatened species, mountain lions are a growing threat in southern California as man continues to reduce their hunting areas by building housing tract³ after housing tract.

Speaking of housing, watch where you go in your house or garage. Shy but deadly, the black widow spider and the brown recluse⁴ spider make themselves comfortable in quiet areas of your closets or garage. One bite from either of them can make you very sick; occasionally, people die from such bites. Unfortunately, many people fear all spiders, not just the few dangerous ones. They squash them or run from them at first sight, not realizing that most spiders are actually beneficial to man.

If you’re concerned about bites, don’t forget about rabid animal bites. Any warm-blooded animal can get infected with rabies. Although humans in the US rarely get attacked by rabid animals, the disease is painful and dangerous. You will most likely die if you are not treated properly within 48 hours of being bitten.

 

1 nibbling   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。
• He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 scorpions   

n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You promise me that Black Scorpions will never come back to Lanzhou. 你保证黑蝎子永远不再踏上兰州的土地。 来自电影对白
• You Scorpions are rather secretive about your likes and dislikes. 天蝎：蝎子是如此的神秘，你的喜好很难被别人洞悉。 来自互联网

3 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

4 recluse   

n.隐居者

参考例句：

• The old recluse secluded himself from the outside world.这位老隐士与外面的世界隔绝了。
• His widow became a virtual recluse for the remainder of her life.他的寡妻孤寂地度过了余生。