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Lesson 84 The Busy Bee
第84课 勤劳的蜜蜂
Have you ever seen a hive of bees? Some hives are made with glass sides, through which we can see all that the bees are doing.
你有没有看到过蜂箱? 有些蜂箱的侧面是玻璃的, 你可以透过它们看到里面蜜蜂的活动情况。
In early summer each perfect hive contains four kinds of bees. First, there is the mother, or queen bee, which lays the eggs, each in a little cell made of wax. Then there are the male bees, or drones. These drones do no work in seeking for honey, and so they are soon killed by the other bees, and their bodies are thrown out of the hive.
夏初, 每个完整的蜂窝中都居住着四种蜜蜂。首先是蜂后, 她居住在蜡室中, 负责产卵。然后是雄性蜜蜂, 即雄蜂。它们不参加采蜜的工作, 因此很快会被其他同类杀死并扔出蜂窝。
Next come the most numerous class of all, the workers. Some of these build a great many little six-sided wax cells within the hive; while others visit flowers and suck out their sweet juices, or honey, and fill the cells with it.
接下来是数量最多的蜜蜂, 工蜂。有些工蜂负责在蜂窝中建造许多六角形的蜡室, 另外一些则穿梭在花丛之中, 汲取甜美的花蜜并填充到蜡室之中。
Lastly, there are the young bees. Each egg laid by the queen bee is put into a little wax cell, and changes first into a little white thing like a maggot without legs, which is called a larva. The larva is fed by the working bees, and in a few days it makes for itself a hard skin, and is called a pupa. A few days more, and the pupa has changed into a perfect bee, which makes its way out of its little room or cell, and is ready to set to work at once.
最后, 蜂窝中还有很多幼年蜜蜂。蜂后产下的每一颗卵都被放入到小的蜡室之中。最初, 它们会孵化成像蛆虫那样没有腿的白色物体, 这就是幼虫。工蜂负责给幼虫喂食。几天之后, 它们便会长出坚硬的皮肤, 这就是蛹。再过几天, 蛹就会蜕变成发育成熟的蜜蜂, 它们从自己的小蜡室飞出之后就会立刻投入到工作之中。
The queen bee is much larger than the others. Both the queen bee and the workers have stings for fighting, but the drones have none. When the bee stings, an acid juice flows down the sting into the wound, and causes a smarting pain. Bees do not use their stings unless they are angry. If you go too near a hive, some of the bees may think that you mean to hurt them, and may sting you.
蜂后的体型比其他蜜蜂要大上很多。蜂后与工蜂都长有螫针, 可以用于搏斗, 雄蜂却没有。当蜜蜂叮咬敌人之后, 一种酸液就会沿着叮咬的地方进入伤口之中, 从而造成剧烈的疼痛。蜜蜂只有在愤怒时才会使用毒刺。如果你靠近一个蜂窝, 有些蜜蜂可能就会认为你是要伤害它们, 随之发动攻击。
