英国学生科学读本 第72期:聪明的蜘蛛(1)

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　　第72课 聪明的蜘蛛

　　You may have seen men setting nets in the sea, or in a river, to catch fish. Let me tell you about the little animals that are always setting nets in your house and in your garden in much the same way. These animals are called spiders, and they use their nets or webs to catch flies and other insects.

　　你可能看到过有人在海面或河面上撒网捕鱼。现在, 我来跟你说一说, 有一种动物经常在你的家里、花园里结网捕食。这种动物叫做蜘蛛, 它们利用自己的网来捕食苍蝇与其他昆虫。

　　The spider itself is not an insect. An insect has only six legs, while the spider has eight. The insect's body is plainly divided into three parts; but the spider has its body in two parts only, the head and the chest being united into one part, while the belly¹ forms the other. Insects have four wings;spiders have no wings. Spiders, again, have no feelers in front of their heads, as insects have.

　　蜘蛛并不属于昆虫, 因为昆虫只有六条腿, 但蜘蛛有八条；昆虫的身体很明显地分为三个部分, 但是蜘蛛则只有两个部分：它们的头部与胸部连接在一起, 腹部则构成另外一部分。昆虫长有四只翅膀；而蜘蛛没有翅膀。蜘蛛的头部也没有昆虫那样的触角。

　　An insect lays an egg, which changes first into a grub or cater-pillar, then into a pupa or chrysalis, and lastly into an insect. The spider also lays eggs, but each egg produces a perfect little baby spider. The perfect insect never grows bigger;but the little spiders grow so fast for a time that they have to throw off their leathery skins, and grow larger ones every few weeks.

　　昆虫产卵, 然后孵化为幼虫或毛虫, 再变成蛹并最终生长为昆虫。蜘蛛同样产卵, 但是每一颗卵都能够孵化出结构完整的小蜘蛛。昆虫成虫身体不会生长变大, 但是小蜘蛛的生长速度却快, 经过一段时间之后就要蜕皮, 每过几周时间身体就会长大一些。

　　The web of the spider is made of silk. This silk is formed inside the spider's body as a gummy fluid. It is squeezed out of several holes at the end of the spider's body, and the moment it comes out into the air it hardens and forms a delicate thread. The spider twists several of these fine threads together to form one strong line.

　　蜘蛛网由细丝构成, 这些细丝来自其体内的粘稠液体。蜘蛛通过身体末端的几个小孔将这些液体排出, 它们一遇到空气就会立刻凝固并形成细线。蜘蛛将这些细线缠绕在一起, 形成一条结实的绳索。

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