💬 新概念英语第三册

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

Reading about them increases our understanding without dispelling our fears.

阅读有关昆虫的书能增加我们对它们的了解，却不能消除我们的恐惧的心理。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch.

即使知道勤奋的蚂蚁生活具有高度组织性的社会里，当看到大群蚂蚁在我们精心准备的午间野餐上爬行时，我们也无法抑制对它们的反感。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

No matter how much we like honey, or how much we have read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess, we have a horror of being stung.

不管我们多么爱吃蜂蜜，或读过多少关于蜜蜂具有神秘的识别方向的灵感的书，我们仍然十分害怕被蜂蜇。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

Most of our fears are unreasonable, but they are impossible to erase.

我们的恐惧大部分是没有道理的，但去无法消除。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

At the same time, however, insects are strangely fascinating.

同时，不知为什么昆虫又是迷人的。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

We enjoy reading about them, especially when we find that, like the praying mantis, they lead perfectly horrible lives.

我们喜欢看有关昆虫的书，尤其是当我们了解螳螂等过着一种令人生畏的生活时，就更加爱读有关昆虫的书了。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

We enjoy staring at them, entranced as they go about their business, unaware (we hope) of our presence.

我们喜欢入迷地看它们做事，它们不知道（但愿如此）我们就在它们身边。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly, or a column of ants triumphantly bearing home an enormous dead beetle?

当看到蜘蛛扑向一只苍蝇时，一队蚂蚁抬着一只巨大的死甲虫凯旋归时，谁能不感到敬畏呢？

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

Last summer I spent days in the garden watching thousands of ants crawling up the trunk of my prize peach tree.

去年夏天，我花了好几天时间站在花园里观察成千只蚂蚁爬上我那棵心爱的桃树的树干。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

The tree has grown against a warm wall on a sheltered side of the house.

那棵树是靠着房子有遮挡的一面暖墙生长的。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

I am especially proud of it, not only because it has survived several severe winters, but because it occasionally produces luscious peaches.

我为这棵树感到特别自豪，不仅因为它度过了几个寒冬终于活了下来，而且还因为它有时结出些甘甜的桃子来。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

During the summer, I noticed tat the leaves of the tree were beginning to wither.

到了夏天，我发现树叶开始枯萎，

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

Clusters of tin insects called aphids were to be found on the underside of the leaves.

结果在树叶背面找到成串的叫作蚜虫小虫子。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

They were visited by a large colony of ants which obtained a sort of honey from them.

蚜虫遭到一窝蚂蚁的攻击，蚂蚁从它们身上可以获得一种蜜。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

I immediately embarked on an experiment which, even though if failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours.

我当即动手作了一项试验，这项试验尽管没有使我摆脱这些蚂蚁，却使我着迷了24小时。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphids.

我用一条胶带把桃树底部包上，不让蚂蚁接近蚜虫。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

The tape was so stick that they did not dare to cross it.

胶带极粘，蚂蚁不敢从上面爬过。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

For a long time.I watched them scurrying around the base of the tree in bewilderment.

在很长一段时间里，我看见蚂蚁围着大树底部来回转悠，不知所措。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

I even went out at midnight with a torch and noted with satisfaction (and surprise) that the ants were still swarming around the sticky tape without being able to do anything about it.

半夜，我还拿着电筒来到花园里，满意地（同时惊奇地）发现那些蚂蚁还围着胶带团团转。无能为力。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair.

第二天早上，我起床后希望看见蚂蚁已因无望而放弃了尝试，

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

Instead, I saw that they had discovered a new route.

结果却发现它们又找到一条新的路径。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

They were climbing up the wall of the house and then on to the leaves of the tree.

它们正在顺着房子的外墙往上爬，然后爬上树叶。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity.

我懊丧地感到败在了足智多谋的蚂蚁的手下。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

The ants had been quick to find an answer to my thoroughly unscientific methods!

蚂蚁已很快找到了相应的对策，来对付我那套完全不科学的办法！

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

Recent developments in astronomy have made it possible to detect planets in our won Milky Way and in other galaxies.

天文学方面最新发展使得我们能够在银河系和其他星系发现行星。

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

This is a major achievement because, in relative terms, planets are very small and old not emit light.

这是一个重要的成就，因为相对来说，行星很小，而且也不发光。

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

Finding planets is proving hard enough, but finding life on them will prove infinitely more difficult.

寻找行星证明相当困难，但是要在行星上发现生命会变得无比艰难。

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

The first question to answer is whether a planet can actually support life.

第一个需要解答的问题是一颗行星是否有能够维持生命的条件。

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

In our won solar system, for example, Venus is far too hot and Mars is far too cold to support life.

举例来说，在我们的太阳系里，对于生命来说，金星的温度太高，而火星的温度则太低。

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

Only the Earth provides ideal conditions, and even here it has taken more than four billion years for plant and animal life to evolve.

只有地球提供理想的条件，而即使在这里，植物和动物的进化也用了40亿年的时间。