22. Bats蝙蝠

New Words新單詞

bat (n.)

讀音：[bæt]

釋義：蝙蝠（名詞）

important (adj.)

讀音：[ɪmˈpɔ:tnt]

釋義：重要的（形容詞）

group (n.)

讀音：[gru:p]

釋義：組；群（名詞）

mosquito/es(n.)

讀音：[məˈski:təʊ] / [məˈski:təʊz]

釋義：蚊子（名詞）

else (adj.)

讀音：[els]

釋義：其他的（形容詞）

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Many people think that bats are a kind of bird. This is because bats have wings, can fly and sometimes look a little like birds. However, bats are not birds. There are some important differences. Baby bats do not come out of eggs like young birds do. Baby bats grow inside their mothers’ bodies until they are ready to come out into the world. When the baby bats come out of their mothers’ bodies, they are then ready to drink their mothers’ milk. This is like many other animals, but it is not like birds. Birds do not drink their mothers’ milk.

許多人覺得蝙蝠是一種鳥類，這是因為蝙蝠長了翅膀可以飛，有時候看上去有點像鳥。但是蝙蝠不是鳥，兩者之間有一些重要的區別。小蝙蝠不像小鳥一樣破殼而出，小蝙蝠長在它們媽媽的體內，直到準備好降臨於世。當小蝙蝠從蝙蝠媽媽的身體裡生出來時，它們已經準備好喝蝙蝠媽媽的乳汁。這很像許多其他的動物，但是不像鳥。鳥不會喝鳥媽媽的乳汁。

Bats are very good at flying. They are able to fly very quickly. However, they are not able to run or walk on the ground. Bats’ legs are not very strong, and the bats cannot control them well enough to walk or run.

蝙蝠很擅長飛行，它們能飛得很快，但是它們沒法在地上奔跑或行走。蝙蝠的腿不是很強壯，蝙蝠沒法很好地控制腿來行走或奔跑。

At night, bats come out to hunt for food in the forests and other places. Most of the time, they hunt for mosquitoes and other flying insects. Bats hunt for flying insects by flying very quickly in large groups. When bats do this, they are not using their eyes to hunt. Birds like owls use their eyes to hunt but bats do not.

晚上蝙蝠外出來到森林和其他地方捕食。在大多數時間裡，它們捕捉蚊子和其他飛蟲。成群的蝙蝠快速飛行來捕捉飛蟲。在蝙蝠這樣做的時候，它們不用眼睛來捕食。像貓頭鷹這樣的鳥用它們的眼睛來捕食，但是蝙蝠不會這樣。

Bats hunt by using their ears. Bats have very large ears, and they are able to listen to sounds to help them find their way. This is very important and useful for the bats. It is important and useful because bats only hunt at night.

蝙蝠通過用它們的耳朵來捕獵。蝙蝠的耳朵很大，它們能聽聲音來幫助它們探路。這對蝙蝠來說很重要也很有用。這既重要又有用，是因為蝙蝠只在晚上捕食。

There are about nine hundred different kinds of bats. This is more than any other large animal except rats. Bats live in all parts of the world except for very cold places. The two most common kinds of bats are the ‘brown bat’ and the ‘red bat’.

蝙蝠大約有九百種不同種類，除了老鼠以外這比任何其他大型動物都要多。除了極寒之地以外，蝙蝠生活在世界各地。“棕蝠”和“紅蝠”是兩種最常見的蝙蝠種類。

Brown bats are the smallest kind of bat (only about nine centimeters long), but they are very common. Red bats are larger than brown bats but are not so common. Adult red bats are about eleven-and-a-half centimeters long. Both kinds of bats live for about ten years.

棕蝠是最小的蝙蝠（只有大概9釐米長），它們非常常見。紅蝠比棕蝠大一些，不怎麼常見。成年紅蝠大約有11.5釐米長。兩種蝙蝠都能活大概十年。

Most people don’t like bats. However, bats can be useful for people. Bats can help us by controlling insects, especially dangerous insects. Some people even keep bats near their house so the bats can fly around at night hunting for mosquitoes. One bat can kill and eat thousands of mosquitoes in one night!

大多數人不喜歡蝙蝠，可對人來說蝙蝠可以是益蟲。蝙蝠可以幫助我們控制昆蟲尤其是危險的昆蟲。有些人甚至在他們家附近養蝙蝠，這樣蝙蝠就能在晚上飛來飛去捕捉蚊子。一隻蝙蝠可以在一個晚上捕殺併吞食幾千只蚊子。

Bats live in groups of a thousand or more. They do not make nests but find places where it is safe for the group to stay and sleep in the day. Usually, the bats stay together as a group, but when it is time for the female bats to have their babies, the female bats chase the male bats away.

蝙蝠生活在數量不少於一千隻的群體中。它們不築巢，但會找到安全的地方供大群蝙蝠白天棲息和睡眠。通常一大群蝙蝠待在一起，但到了雌蝙蝠繁殖小蝙蝠的時候，雌蝙蝠會趕走雄蝙蝠。

At times when the temperature is very low, brown bats are able to go to sleep for a very long time. They are able to sleep for many weeks. This helps to protect them from the cold. Red bats do not do this. At times when it is very cold, large groups of red bats fly north or south to find places where it is not too cold. Bats need to do these things because it is important for them to control their body temperature. They need to keep themselves from getting too cold.

在氣溫很低的時候，棕蝠可以睡很長一段時間。它們能睡好幾周，這有助於它們禦寒。紅蝠不這麼做。在很冷的時候，大群的紅蝠向北或向南飛行去尋找不太冷的地方。紅蝠需要這樣做，因為這對它們控制體溫很重要，它們需要避免自己太冷。

In Asia and Africa, some kinds of bats can be very large. These bats can have wings that are over one-and-a-half meters long! Usually these bats don’t eat insects. They eat fruit and are sometimes called ‘fruit bats’. Sometimes, if they are not able to find any fruit, those very large bats will fly over rivers where they are able to hunt for fish.

在亞洲和非洲，有些種類的蝙蝠可以長得很大。這些蝙蝠長著長1.5米多的翅膀！這些蝙蝠通常不吃昆蟲，它們吃水果，有時被叫作“果蝠”。有時如果它們找不到任何水果，那些很大的果蝠會飛到河上捕魚吃。

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Pat and her mother are talking about bats.

佩特和她媽媽正在談論蝙蝠。

Pat

Mom, do you know what we learned in school today?

Mother

No, Pat. What did you learn about today?

Pat

Today we learned all about bats.

Mother

Really? Was it interesting?

Pat

Yes, it was really interesting. The teacher told us lots of things we didn’t know before.

Mother

Really? Like what?

Pat

Like how bats find their way around.

Mother

And how do bats find their way around?

Pat

They use their ears. They use sounds. That’s very clever, isn’t it?

Mother

Yes, it is. Why don’t bats use their eyes like other animals?

Pat

Because the bats only fly around at night when there are lots of mosquitoes and other flying insects for them to eat. They can’t use their eyes at night, so they have to use their ears. They have to use sounds.

Mother

I see. And what else did you learn?

Pat

We learned that bats live in groups. Some of those groups can be very large with hundreds of bats in one group.

Mother

I see. And what else did you learn?

Pat

We learned that some kinds of bats can go to sleep for a very long time. Some bats can sleep for weeks!

Mother

Really? Why do they do that?

Pat

They do that to protect their bodies when it is very cold.

Mother

Really?

Pat

Yes. And other kinds of bats fly away when it gets too cold. They fly north or south to where it’s not so cold.

Mother

I see. Anything else?

Pat

M..mm.m, let me see. Oh, yes. There are about 900 kinds of bats and they are common all over the world.

Mother

Really? That’s a lot isn’t it? What else did you learn?

Pat

We learned that bats are not like birds. Baby bats don’t come out of eggs like baby birds do.

Mother

Oh yes, that’s right, isn’t it? Anything else?

Pat

No, I don’t think so. I think that’s everything. Oh wait… there is something else I wanted to tell you. One more thing.

Mother

What’s that? What else did you want to tell me?

Pat

Mom, if Lee asks if he can have a pet bat, please don’t let him have one. All right?

Mother

All right, Pat. I won’t let your brother have a pet bat.

佩特

媽媽，您知道我們今天在學校裡學了什麼嗎？

媽媽

不知道，佩特。你今天學了什麼了？

佩特

今天我們學了關於蝙蝠的所有知識。

媽媽

真的嗎？有趣嗎？

佩特

是的，很有趣。老師告訴了我們很多以前我們不知道的東西。

媽媽

真的嗎？比如說？

佩特

比如蝙蝠是怎麼找到它們周圍的路線的。

媽媽

那蝙蝠是怎麼找到它們周圍的路線的呢？

佩特

它們用耳朵，它們聽聲音。那很聰明，不是嗎？

媽媽

是的。蝙蝠為什麼不像其他的動物一樣用眼睛？

佩特

因為蝙蝠只在夜間飛行，夜晚有很多蚊子和其他飛蟲供蝙蝠吃。它們在晚上沒法用眼睛，它們得用耳朵，它們得聽聲音。

媽媽

我知道了。你還學到了什麼？

佩特

我們學習到蝙蝠群居。其中有幾群蝙蝠數量很大，一群蝙蝠就有幾百只。

媽媽

我知道了。你還學到了什麼？

佩特

我們學到了有些種類的蝙蝠可以睡很長一段時間。有些蝙蝠能睡幾周！

媽媽

真的嗎？它們為什麼要那樣？

佩特

在很冷的時候，它們通過睡眠來保護它們的身體。

媽媽

真的嗎？

佩特

是的。其他種類的蝙蝠在太冷的時候會飛走，它們向北或者向南飛去不太冷的地方。

媽媽

我知道了。還有什麼嗎？

佩特

呃……呃，讓我想想，噢，對了。蝙蝠大約有900多種，它們在世界各地都很常見。

媽媽

真的嗎？那很多了，不是嗎？你還學到了什麼？

佩特

我們學到了蝙蝠不像鳥。小蝙蝠不像小鳥一樣破殼而出。

媽媽

哦，是的，不是嗎？還有什麼嗎？

佩特

沒了，我覺得沒了。我想這就是全部。噢等等……我還想告訴您一些其他事情，還有一件事。

媽媽

什麼？你還想告訴我什麼呢？

佩特

媽媽，如果李問他能否養一隻寵物蝙蝠，請不要讓他養一隻。可以嗎？

媽媽

好的，佩特。我不會讓你哥哥養一隻寵物蝙蝠的。

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Questions

1. How are bats different to birds?

2. In what way can bats be useful to people?

3. How do bats find their way around?

4. Which kind of bats are the smallest?

5. And the largest?

6. Why do some bats go to sleep for a long time?

7. What do you think about bats?

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