20. Ants螞蟻

New Words新單詞

ant(n.)

讀音：[ænt]

釋義：螞蟻（名詞）

common(adj.)

讀音：[ˈkɒmən]

釋義：普通的；常見的（形容詞）

million(num.)

讀音：[ˈmɪljən]

釋義：百萬（數字）

control (v.)

讀音：[kənˈtrəʊl]

釋義：控制（動詞）

useful (adj.)

讀音：[ˈju:sfl]

釋義：有用的（形容詞）

temperature (n.)

讀音：[ˈtemprətʃə(r)]

釋義：溫度；氣溫（名詞）

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There are thousands of different kinds of ants, and there are millions and millions of ants in the world. Today, ants are common nearly everywhere in the world. Millions of years ago, ants only lived in hot places like Africa, South Asia, Australia and South America. Now ants are common everywhere. They can even live in places with very cold temperatures like Antarctica or the north of Europe.

螞蟻有幾千種不同的種類，世界上有數百萬的螞蟻。今天，螞蟻幾乎在世界各地都很常見。數百萬年以前，螞蟻只生活在像非洲、南亞、澳洲和南美洲等炎熱的地區。現在螞蟻到處都很常見。它們甚至能生活在像南極洲或者北歐這樣的極寒地區。

Different kinds of ants make their nests in different places. In some parts of the world, it is common to see ants’ nests near the top of trees. In other places, the ants make their nests in holes under the ground. Some ants’ nests can be very, very large – big enough for millions of ants!

不同種類的螞蟻在不同的地方做穴。在世界有些地方，常常在樹梢附近看見蟻穴。在其他地方，螞蟻能在地底打洞做穴。有些蟻穴可以非常、非常大——大到足以容納幾百萬的螞蟻！

Ants make their nests in a very special way. Their nests have many ‘rooms’. This is so the nest can control the temperature. The different rooms have different temperatures. This is very useful for the ants. When a room near the outside or the top of a nest is too cold, the ants can move to a room in the middle of the nest. The rooms in the middle are not as cold as the rooms near the outside or the top of the nests. In this way, the ants can control their body temperature so they are not too hot or too cold. When the ants make their nests, it is common to see hundreds or thousands of ants working together. Ants work together very well.

螞蟻用一種非常特殊的方法做穴。它們的穴有很多“房間”，這樣蟻穴就可以控制溫度。蟻穴裡的不同房間有不同的溫度，這對螞蟻非常有用。當靠近穴外或者穴頂的房間太冷，螞蟻就搬家到蟻穴中間的房間。蟻穴中間的房間不及靠近穴外或者穴頂的屋子冷。這樣，螞蟻就能控制它們的體溫，它們就不會太熱或者太冷。當螞蟻做穴的時候，常能見到成百上千的螞蟻一起幹活。螞蟻們一起合作得很好。

Each kind of ant has its own special shape, size and color. Like all other insects, ants have three body parts and six legs. Ants keep themselves very clean and nearly never get sick. This is because they are able to produce a special medicine which is very useful in keeping the ants clean and well. This medicine comes out of a hole on top of the ant’s body. That medicine goes all over the ant’s body and protects it.

每一種螞蟻有它自己特殊的形狀、大小和顏色。正如所有其他昆蟲，螞蟻有三個身體部分和六條腿。螞蟻自身保持得非常潔淨，幾乎從不生病。這是因為它們能分泌出特殊藥物，對螞蟻保持潔淨和健康非常有用。那種藥物遍佈螞蟻全身，保護螞蟻。

Some ants can be very large. The biggest ants are two-and-a-half centimeters long. These very large ants are very common in many parts of Australia. Ants like those can be very useful for people. Those large ants can be very useful because people can use the special medicine that the large ants’ bodies produce. All ants produce this special medicine, but the larger ants produce more of it.

有些螞蟻可以很大。最大的螞蟻有兩釐米半長。這些很大的螞蟻在澳洲的許多地方非常常見。像那樣大的螞蟻能對人類很有幫助。那些大螞蟻可以非常有用，因為人們可以用大螞蟻身體分泌出來的特殊藥物。所有螞蟻都分泌這種特殊藥物，但是更大的螞蟻分泌得更多。

Only male ants can grow wings and fly. Except for the queen, female ants do not have wings and cannot fly. Most common ants only live from six to ten weeks, but the queen ant can live as long as fifteen years! Every ant family has one queen. The queen is the mother of all the other ants in her nest and can produce thousands of babies. The queen spends all her time producing these young ants and cannot move around in the nest very much – the other ants have to help her. All the other ants in the nest have to work to look after the queen.

只有雄蟻能長出翅膀並能飛。除了蟻后，雌蟻既沒有翅膀也不能飛。大多數普通螞蟻只能活六到十週，但是蟻后能活到十五年那麼久！每個螞蟻家族都有一隻蟻后。蟻后是她穴裡所有其他螞蟻的母親，能繁殖幾千只小螞蟻。蟻后用她全部的時間來繁殖這些小螞蟻，不太能在蟻穴裡四處移動——其他螞蟻得幫助她。蟻穴裡的所有其他螞蟻都得幹活來照顧蟻后。

It is common to see hundreds or thousands of ants helping each other to look for food and bringing the food back to their nest. Each ant will help all the other ants to do the work very quickly. How are ants able to work so well together? We don’t really know. It is difficult for us to understand how ants can work so well together.

常常能見到成百上千的螞蟻互相幫助尋找食物，並把食物帶回它們的蟻穴。每隻螞蟻都會幫助其他所有的螞蟻迅幹活。螞蟻是怎麼合作得這麼好的？我們不太清楚。我們很難理解螞蟻是如何合作得這麼好的。

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Lee and his father are talking about ants.

李和他爸爸正在談論螞蟻。

Dad

Hello, Lee. Did you have a good day at school today?

Lee

M..mm.m… not so good.

Dad

Why not?

Lee

I got angry with Pat.

Dad

Really? Why? Why did you get angry with your sister?

Lee

Because she got angry with me.

Dad

I see. Oh well, never mind. What did you learn at school today?

Lee

Oh, it was very interesting Dad. We learned all about ants.

Dad

What is so interesting about ants?

Lee

Well, ants are common everywhere in the world. They even live in Antarctica!

Dad

Really? Isn’t the temperature in Antarctica too cold for ants?

Lee

Yes, but ants are able to control the temperature by making special homes.

Dad

What kind of homes?

Lee

They make nests with lots of rooms. The rooms in the middle of the nest are not as cold as the rooms on the outside of the nest.

Dad

I see. That’s very clever, isn’t it?

Lee

Do you know another thing that’s really interesting about ants?

Dad

What?

Lee

They can make medicine by themselves. They make the medicine in their bodies and it comes out of a hole on the top of their bodies.

Dad

And what does that medicine do?

Lee

It keeps the ants very clean and stops them from getting sick.

Dad

M..mm.m, animals that live in the ground or places like that have to keep clean, don’t they? If they don’t keep clean, they will get sick.

Lee

Yes. And that medicine is useful for people, too. People in Australia started using that medicine for themselves thousands of years ago.

Dad

Really? How did they use it?

Lee

When those people hurt some part of their body, they could put some ants on that part. Then the ants’ medicine would go on that part, stop it from hurting and help it to get better.

Dad

Oh, so ants can be useful for people. And ants work together very well, don’t they? They know how to help each other.

Lee

Yes, they do. They help each other to make the nest, and they help each other to find food and bring it back to the nest for the queen ant.

Dad

And they also help each other to protect the nest from attack by other insects and animals. Tell me something, Lee.

Lee

What’s that, Dad?

Dad

What about you and your sister? Do you help each other, too?

Lee

M..mm.m… not really.

Dad

Why not?

Lee

Well, Pat always makes me angry. She thinks she knows everything, and she always tells people she is more intelligent than me. I don’t like it when she does things like that!

Dad

Well, try not to get angry, Lee. It’s not good to get angry. You have to learn how to control yourself.

Lee

I know, Dad. But sometimes she makes me so angry that I can’t control myself.

Dad

Well, please try Lee. All children have to learn to control themselves.

Lee

What about adults?

Dad

Yes, adults have to be able to control themselves, too.

爸爸

你好啊，李。你今天在學校過得好嗎？

李

呃……呃呃……不太好。

爸爸

為什麼不好？

李

我生佩特的氣了。

爸爸

真的嗎？為什麼？你為什麼要生你妹妹的氣？

李

因為她生我的氣了。

爸爸

我懂了。噢好吧，別介意。你今天在學校學了什麼？

李

噢，很有趣，爸爸。我們學習了關於螞蟻的所有知識。

爸爸

螞蟻怎麼有趣了？

李

螞蟻在世界上到處都很常見。它們甚至生活在南極洲！

爸爸

真的嗎？南極洲的氣溫對螞蟻來說不會太冷了？

李

是太冷了，但是螞蟻能通過建造特殊的蟻穴來控制溫度。

爸爸

什麼樣的蟻穴？

李

它們製造有很多房間的房子。蟻穴中間的房間沒有蟻穴外圍的房間那麼冷。

爸爸

我知道了。那真是非常聰明瞭，不是嗎？

李

你知道關於螞蟻的另一件很有趣的事嗎？

爸爸

什麼？

李

它們能自己分泌藥物。它們在自己的身體裡分泌藥物，然後藥物從它們身體頂上的一個孔裡流出來。

爸爸

那藥物是做什麼用的？

李

藥物保持螞蟻很乾淨，防止它們生病。

爸爸

呃…… 生活在地裡或類似地方的動物必須保持乾淨，不是嗎？如果它們不保持乾淨的話，它們會生病的。

李

是的。那種藥物對人類也很有用。澳洲的人們幾千年前就開始對他們自己用那種藥物了。

爸爸

真的嗎？他們怎麼用的？

李

當他們身體某些部位受傷時，他們把幾隻螞蟻放在那個部位。螞蟻的藥物會流到那個地方，止痛並助癒合傷口。

爸爸

噢，所以螞蟻對人類來說是有用的。而且螞蟻合作的非常好，不是嗎？它們知道如何互相幫助。

李

是的。它們互相幫助造穴，它們互相幫助尋找食物，把食物帶回蟻穴給蟻后。

爸爸

而且它們也互相幫助保護巢穴免遭其他昆蟲和動物的襲擊。告訴我，李。

李

什麼，爸爸？

爸爸

你和你妹妹呢？你們也互相幫助嗎？

李

呃……不。

爸爸

為什麼不呢？

李

事實上，佩特總讓我生氣。她覺得她知道一切，她總是告訴大家她比我更聰明。她那麼做時我不喜歡。

爸爸

那麼儘量不要生氣，李。生氣不好。你得學會如何控制你自己。

李

我知道，爸爸。但是有時候她讓我很生氣，我沒法控制我自己。

爸爸

好吧，請儘量不要生氣，李。所有孩子都得學著控制他們自己。

李

那成年人呢？

爸爸

成年人也得能控制他們自己。

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Questions

1. How many different kinds of ants are there?

2. Are ants common where you live?

3. How large are the biggest ants?

4. How long can queen ants live?

5. Where do ants make their nests?

6. What is special about the ants’ nest?

7. Ants make a special medicine inside their bodies. What does that medicine do?

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