蜜蜂正在消失 无人知其缘由

Honeybees Are Disappearing, No One Knows Why 蜜蜂正在消失 无人知其缘由

Entomologists -- scientists who study insects -- are working with other scientists to learn why bee colonies are dying in the United States. They call the problem “colony collapse¹ disorder².”

昆虫学家——研究昆虫的科学家们——与其他科学家合作研究为什么美国的蜂巢在慢慢消失。他们将这一现象称之为“蜂群崩溃综合症”。

VOA recently spoke³ with amateur beekeepers in Fort Wayne, Indiana who are working to learn about honeybees and how to keep them alive.

VOA记者最近采访了在韦恩堡的一些印第安娜业余养蜂人，他们正在不断努力了解蜜蜂以及饲养蜜蜂的办法。

Bees are needed to produce one third of our food. That is why Megan Ryan is worried about their survival. Earlier this year, she created an apiary⁴, a place where groups, or hives, of honeybees are kept.

我们食物的三分之一是靠蜜蜂来生产的。这就是为什么梅甘瑞安为蜜蜂的生存问题而担忧不已。今年早些时候，她经营了一个养蜂场，供群居的蜜蜂建巢而居。

“Our hives are full of what’s called Italian honeybees.”

“被称为意大利蜜蜂的蜂种，在我们的蜂巢随处可见。”

Italian bees are popular because they are not as aggressive as other kinds of bees. And they reproduce faster than other kinds of honeybees. In just four months, the apiary has grown from 10,000 to 70,000 bees in each hive.

意大利蜜蜂之所以大受青睐，是因为它们并不像其他种类的蜜蜂一样好斗。而且他们比其他种类的蜜蜂繁殖更快。在短短的四个月，每个蜂巢里蜜蜂的数量都从10000飞速增长到70000。

Alex Cornwell is also a beekeeper. He says over the past ten years, both American and European hives have lost more than one fourth of their population.

亚历克斯·康威尔是一名养蜂人。他说，在过去的十年中，美国和欧洲的蜂巢中超过总量四分之一蜜蜂神秘消失。

“It’s unknown what colony collapse disorder is caused by specifically, but it could be a combination of anywhere from pesticides⁶ to mites⁸ to pathogens.”

“导致蜂群崩溃综合症引发的具体原因还是个未知数，可能是一些地方为了根治螨虫的病原体而使用农药引发的。”

Every time they visit the apiary, Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell record information about the bees.

每次查看养蜂场，瑞安女士和康威尔先生都会对蜜蜂的情况做一些信息记录。

“We would share it with the DNR (Department of Natural Resources), other beekeepers -- any conservation effort, any organization that would like our records we freely share those.”

“我们会将这些信息与DNR（自然资源厅）分享，包括其他的养蜂人——任何保护机构，任何组织，但凡需要我们的记录，我们都会一一分享。”

They also teach people about beekeeping. They want people to begin their own hives.

他们也教别人养蜂。希望别人开始经营自己的蜂巢。

“You don’t have to be a scientist that has a degree in order to teach people and help people learn about bees and that’s the awesome⁹ part about beekeeping -- anybody can do it.”

“你不必成为拥有学历的科学家来帮助人们了解蜜蜂，而这正是养蜂的绝妙之处——任何人都可以做到。”

About 100 people have said they want to learn more about creating their own hives. Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell say they will start a program to teach migrant workers about beekeeping so they can take that knowledge with them wherever they work.

已经有约100个人表示他们想了解更多关于建造自己的蜂巢的知识。瑞安女士和康韦尔先生说他们将启动一个项目来向打工人员传授养蜂技能，这样他们可以用学到的知识在任何地方工作。

Words in This Story

colony – n. a group of plants or animals living or growing in one place

amateur – n. a person who does something (such as a sport or hobby) for pleasure and not as a job

hive – n. a nest for bees

pesticide⁵ – n. a chemical that is used to kill animals or insects that damage plants or crops

mite⁷ – n. a very small creature that often lives on plants, animals and foods

pathogen – n. something (such as a type of bacteria or a virus) that causes disease

degree – n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university

awesome – adj. informal extremely good

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 apiary   

n.养蜂场，蜂房

参考例句：

• My sister was put in charge of the apiary.我姐姐被派去负责养蜂场。
• He keeps an apiary.他有一个养蜂场。

5 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

6 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

8 mites   

n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨

参考例句：

• The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。 来自辞典例句
• Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。 来自辞典例句

9 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.