18. Bees蜜蜂

New Words新單詞

bee (n.)

讀音：[bi:]

釋義：蜜蜂（名詞）

honey (n.)

讀音：[ˈhʌni]

釋義：蜂蜜（名詞）

myself (pron.)

讀音：[maɪˈself]

釋義：我自己（代詞）

thin / thinner (adj.)

讀音：[θɪn] / [ˈθɪnə(r)]

釋義：細的；瘦的 / 更細的；更瘦的（形容詞）

except (prep.)

讀音：[ɪkˈsept]

釋義：除……外（介詞）

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We find bees everywhere in the world except in very cold places like Antarctica. There are no bees in Antarctica because it is so cold and because there are so few flowers where bees can find food for themselves.

除了南極洲這樣的極寒之地，我們在世界各地都找得到蜜蜂。南極洲沒有蜜蜂，因為那裡非常寒冷，很少有鮮花可以供蜜蜂為自己找到食物。

People in many countries like to keep bees. They keep bees because bees produce honey that people like to eat. Most people like to eat honey, and in some places, honey can be quite expensive. If farmers keep bees, they can make a lot of money by selling the honey the bees produce.

許多國家的人們喜歡養蜂。人們養蜂是因為蜜蜂生產人們喜歡吃的蜂蜜。大部分人喜歡吃蜂蜜，而在某些地方，蜂蜜會非常昂貴。農民養蜂，能通過銷售蜜蜂生產的蜂蜜賺很多錢。

Bees are flying insects in the same family as wasps. Like wasps and all other insects, bees have six legs and three body parts. Bees are in the same family as wasps but the bee’s body has a very different shape. Wasp’s bodies are usually long and thin, but bees have fat bodies. Wasps are much thinner than bees so it is easier for them to fly. Because of their fat bodies, it is not so easy for bees to fly. The wings of a bee have to be very strong and move in a very special way for the bee to be able to fly.

蜜蜂是和黃蜂屬同一昆蟲科的飛蟲。像黃蜂和其他所有昆蟲一樣，蜜蜂有六條腿和三個身體部位。蜜蜂和黃蜂是同一昆蟲科，但是蜜蜂的身體形狀非常不同。黃蜂的身體通常又細又長，但是蜜蜂的身體又圓又胖。黃蜂比蜜蜂細很多，因此黃蜂就更容易飛。因為蜜蜂的身體又圓又胖，蜜蜂飛起來不是那麼容易。蜜蜂的翅膀得非常有力，以非常特殊的方式讓蜜蜂飛起來。

Like some other insects, bees have five eyes. They can see all colors except the color red. They are not able to see red, but they are able to see some colors that people cannot see. They can see very well, but they cannot hear at all. They have no ears to let them hear.

像部分其他昆蟲一樣，蜜蜂有五隻眼睛。它們能看見除了紅色之外的所有顏色。它們看不見紅色，但是它們能看見人類看不見的一些顏色。它們視力很好，但是它們根本聽不見。它們沒有耳朵讓它們聽。

Bees can be much larger than wasps. Some bees can be as long as four centimeters, but most are smaller than that. Most bees have bodies that are black, yellow and brown.

蜜蜂可以比黃蜂大得多。有些蜜蜂可以長達四釐米，但大多數都要小一些。大多數蜜蜂的身體是黑色、黃色和棕色。

Like wasps, bees find food for themselves by flying from flower to flower. Each bee can visit hundreds of flowers in a day. Because bees do this, the flowers themselves are able to grow and produce fruit that people can eat. The food that some kinds of bees take back to the bees’ nest will, after some time, produce the honey that people like to eat.

像黃蜂一樣，蜜蜂在花朵間飛來飛去為它們自己尋找食物。每隻蜜蜂一天能採集上百多朵鮮花的花粉。正因為蜜蜂採集花粉，鮮花才能盛開並結出果實供人食用。蜜蜂採集花粉帶回蜂巢，經過一段時間就會釀出人們喜歡吃的蜂蜜。

Like wasps, each bees’ nest has a queen. The work of the queen is to stay in the nest and lay eggs. After the young bees come out of their eggs, it only takes them six weeks to grow to adult size. Younger, female bees do most of the work in a bees’ nest.

像黃蜂一樣，每蜜個蜂巢有一位蜂后。蜂后的職責就是待在蜂巢裡產卵。當小蜜蜂從卵裡孵化出來後，它們只過六個星期就長到了成年蜂的大小。小雌蜂在蜜蜂巢內做了大多數工作。

A bee can protect itself in the same way as a wasp, but they will usually not attack people. Most kinds of bees are not dangerous, but there is one kind of bee in Africa that is really dangerous! If a lot of that kind of bee attack someone at the same time, they can kill.

蜜蜂能以黃蜂同樣的方式保護自己，但是蜜蜂往往不會攻擊人類。大多數種類的蜜蜂沒有危險，但是非洲有一種蜜蜂真的很危險！如果大量那種蜜蜂同時攻擊某人，它們能蜇死人。

At first, those bees lived only in Africa, but now we can also find them in North and South America. People in those places have to be careful to protect themselves if any of those kinds of bees come near.

起先，那些蜜蜂只生活在非洲，但現在我們在北美洲和南美洲也找得到它們。如果有任何那種蜜蜂靠近的話，在那些地方的人們得小心保護他們自己。

A few hundred years ago, the bees that produce honey (honeybees) only lived in Europe, Asia and Africa. Then, about two hundred years ago, people started to take them to North and South America. These days, bee farms in North America are very large with thousands and thousands of bees’ nests. Farmers there keep the bees so they can produce honey and so they can help flowers and fruit grow. The people who look after bees are called ‘beekeepers’.

幾百年前，生產蜂蜜的蜜蜂只生活在歐洲、亞洲和非洲。之後，大約兩百年以前，人們開始把它們帶到北美洲和南美洲。現在，北美洲的養蜂場都非常大，有上百萬個蜂巢。農民養蜂，蜜蜂可以釀蜜並有助於開花結果。照顧蜜蜂的人被稱為“養蜂人”。

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Tom and Pat are talking about wasps and bees.

湯姆和佩特正在談論黃蜂和蜜蜂。

Tom

Do you know, Pat, last Tuesday I went with Lee to look at a wasps’ nest.

Pat

Really? Where was it?

Tom

It was under the ground. When we were there, the wasps were coming out of the nest. I think they have to come out to breathe. I don’t think they can breathe under the ground.

Pat

M….mm.m, I don’t know. Maybe they can. I don’t like wasps myself. I think bees are much nicer. They’re more beautiful.

Tom

Well, I like all insects - all insects except bees. Bees are the only insects I don’t like.

Pat

Why don’t you like bees?

Tom

Well, when I was a little boy, I was hurt by a bee – a really big bee!

Pat

Really? Did it hurt a lot?

Tom

Yes, it did. I had to take some medicine to stop it hurting. I went to a shop and bought the medicine myself with my own money. I didn’t want to tell my mother about it.

Pat

Why not?

Tom

Because my mother always tells me to keep away from insects, especially insects like wasps and bees.

Pat

I think your mother’s right. Why did that bee attack you?

Tom

I was trying to get into its nest to get some of its honey and I think it got angry. I think it was a queen bee.

Pat

Well, that will teach you to be careful and not to get too near to insects like wasps and bees.

Tom

You’re always careful aren’t you, Pat? You really know how to look after yourself, don’t you?

Pat

Yes, I do. I know how to look after myself and you should learn to look after yourself, too. You should be more careful.

Tom

I know. Why is it that girls are always more careful than boys?

Pat

That’s easy, Tom. Girls are more careful than boys because girls are more intelligent than boys!

湯姆

你知道嗎，佩特，上週二我和李去看了一個黃蜂巢。

佩特

真的嗎？它在哪兒？

湯姆

它在地下。當我們到那兒時，黃蜂們正從巢裡出來。我想它們得出來呼吸。我覺得它們沒法在地下呼吸。

佩特

呃……呃呃，我不知道。或許它們能。我自己不喜歡黃蜂。我覺得蜜蜂要好得多。它們更漂亮。

湯姆

好吧，我喜歡所有的昆蟲——所有的昆蟲，除了蜜蜂。蜜蜂是我唯一不喜歡的昆蟲。

佩特

你為什麼不喜歡蜜蜂？

湯姆

我小時候被一隻蜜蜂蜇傷了——一隻很大的蜜蜂！

佩特

真的嗎？很疼嗎？

湯姆

是的，很疼。我得吃藥止疼。我去藥店自己花錢買藥。我不想把這件事告訴我媽媽。

佩特

為什麼不？

湯姆

因為我媽媽總告訴我要遠離昆蟲，特別是像黃蜂和蜜蜂這樣的昆蟲。

佩特

我覺得你媽媽是對的。為什麼蜜蜂攻擊了你？

湯姆

我試圖靠近蜂巢取蜜，我覺得它發怒了。我想它是一隻蜂后。

佩特

好吧，那會教你小心點兒，而且不要太靠近黃蜂和蜜蜂這樣的昆蟲。

湯姆

你總是很小心，不是嗎佩特？你非常瞭解要怎樣照顧自己，不是嗎？

佩特

是的，我知道啊。我知道如何照顧自己，而你也應該學著照顧你自己。你應該更小心。

湯姆

我知道啊。為什麼女生總比男生更小心？

佩特

那很簡單啊，湯姆。女生比男生更小心是因為女生比男生更聰明！

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Questions

1. Do bees live in Antarctica?

2. Why do some people keep bees?

3. Are bees thinner than wasps?

4. Which kind of bee is very dangerous?

5. When did people start taking bees to America?

6. What do we call people who keep bees?

7. Who is always very careful?

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