英国学生科学读本 第87期:蚯蚓(1)

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　　The earth-worm is also called the dew-worm, because it likes to come out of its hole and creep about when the grass is wet with dew. 蚯蚓又叫露水虫, 因为当天气潮湿、小草上挂满露水时, 它就喜欢钻出自己的洞穴到处爬行。

　　It is a very long and thin animal, being often a foot long, yet less than one-quarter of an inch in thickness. 这是一种身体很长却又非常纤细的动物, 长度通常跟我们的脚长度相仿, 但宽度却不会超过四分之一英寸。

　　Its body is composed of more than one hundred rings, all joined together. 蚯蚓的身体由一百多个彼此相连的环节组成。

　　At first you cannot see that the worm has any head. 一眼看去, 蚯蚓似乎没有脑袋。

　　But if you look very closely, you will see that one end of the body is more pointed¹ than the other, 然而, 仔细观察就会发现, 它身体的一端比另一端稍尖,

　　and that when the worm moves, this pointed end goes first. 当它蠕动时这一头首先进行移动。

　　The pointed end is its head. 这就是蚯蚓的头。

　　In the head there is a slit² or mouth, by which the worm is able to feed on decayed plants. 它的头上有一个狭缝（嘴巴）, 蚯蚓就是通过这个器官进食一些腐烂的植物。

　　The earth-worm swallows a great deal of the earth or mould in which it lives, 蚯蚓需要吞食大量的泥土或烂泥,

　　because this earth always contains some decayed leaves or roots. 因为其中包含很多腐烂的树叶或树根。

　　This vegetable matter forms the animal's food, 这些包含植被的物质构成了蚯蚓的食物,

　　and the useless part of the mould is carried to the top of the hole or burrow³ in which the worm lives. 而那些毫无用处的烂泥则被蚯蚓运到自己所栖息的洞穴顶部。

　　Have you ever seen the "worm-casts, " or little curly heaps of fine mould which the earth-worm leaves behind it? 你有没有看到过“蚯蚓粪便”, 也就是蚯蚓排出的卷曲状小块烂泥?

　　In swallowing the mould to feed on the vegetable matter which it contains, the little animal does a great deal of good,  这种小动物吞食烂泥, 吸收其中的腐殖质, 而这种生活习惯使得植物受益匪浅,

　　for it breaks up the mould so finely that it changes a hard and barren soil into a rich soil in which plants can grow well. 因为经过了蚯蚓的吞食和排泄, 这些原本贫瘠的硬土变成了肥沃的泥土, 适合植物的生长。

　　The earth-worm has no legs; how, then, does it move? 蚯蚓没有腿, 是如何移动的呢?

　　If we wash a worm in water till it is quite clean, and then look at the under side of its body, 如果你将蚯蚓放入水中彻底清洗, 然后仔细观察它身体下方,

　　we shall see eight stiff little bristles⁴ on each of its many rings. 就会发现每个环状结构的两侧都长有八根坚硬的刚毛。

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