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Lesson 84 The Busy Bee
第84課 勤勞的蜜蜂
Have you ever seen a hive of bees? Some hives are made with glass sides, through which we can see all that the bees are doing.
你有沒有看到過蜂箱? 有些蜂箱的側面是玻璃的, 你可以透過它們看到里面蜜蜂的活動情況。
In early summer each perfect hive contains four kinds of bees. First, there is the mother, or queen bee, which lays the eggs, each in a little cell made of wax. Then there are the male bees, or drones. These drones do no work in seeking for honey, and so they are soon killed by the other bees, and their bodies are thrown out of the hive.
夏初, 每個完整的蜂窩中都居住著四種蜜蜂。首先是蜂后, 她居住在蠟室中, 負責產卵。然后是雄性蜜蜂, 即雄蜂。它們不參加采蜜的工作, 因此很快會被其他同類殺死并扔出蜂窩。
Next come the most numerous class of all, the workers. Some of these build a great many little six-sided wax cells within the hive; while others visit flowers and suck out their sweet juices, or honey, and fill the cells with it.
接下來是數量最多的蜜蜂, 工蜂。有些工蜂負責在蜂窩中建造許多六角形的蠟室, 另外一些則穿梭在花叢之中, 汲取甜美的花蜜并填充到蠟室之中。
Lastly, there are the young bees. Each egg laid by the queen bee is put into a little wax cell, and changes first into a little white thing like a maggot without legs, which is called a larva. The larva is fed by the working bees, and in a few days it makes for itself a hard skin, and is called a pupa. A few days more, and the pupa has changed into a perfect bee, which makes its way out of its little room or cell, and is ready to set to work at once.
最后, 蜂窩中還有很多幼年蜜蜂。蜂后產下的每一顆卵都被放入到小的蠟室之中。最初, 它們會孵化成像蛆蟲那樣沒有腿的白色物體, 這就是幼蟲。工蜂負責給幼蟲喂食。幾天之后, 它們便會長出堅硬的皮膚, 這就是蛹。再過幾天, 蛹就會蛻變成發育成熟的蜜蜂, 它們從自己的小蠟室飛出之后就會立刻投入到工作之中。
The queen bee is much larger than the others. Both the queen bee and the workers have stings for fighting, but the drones have none. When the bee stings, an acid juice flows down the sting into the wound, and causes a smarting pain. Bees do not use their stings unless they are angry. If you go too near a hive, some of the bees may think that you mean to hurt them, and may sting you.
蜂后的體型比其他蜜蜂要大上很多。蜂后與工蜂都長有螫針, 可以用于搏斗, 雄蜂卻沒有。當蜜蜂叮咬敵人之后, 一種酸液就會沿著叮咬的地方進入傷口之中, 從而造成劇烈的疼痛。蜜蜂只有在憤怒時才會使用毒刺。如果你靠近一個蜂窩, 有些蜜蜂可能就會認為你是要傷害它們, 隨之發動攻擊。
