Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

Reading about them increases our understanding without dispelling our fears.

閱讀有關昆蟲的書能增加我們對它們的了解，卻不能消除我們的恐懼的心理。

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.

即使知道勤奮的螞蟻生活具有高度組織性的社會里，當看到大群螞蟻在我們精心準備的午間野餐上爬行時，我們也無法抑制對它們的反感。

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.

不管我們多么愛吃蜂蜜，或讀過多少關于蜜蜂具有神秘的識別方向的靈感的書，我們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.

我們的恐懼大部分是沒有道理的，但去無法消除。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

同時，不知為什么昆蟲又是迷人的。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

我們喜歡看有關昆蟲的書，尤其是當我們了解螳螂等過著一種令人生畏的生活時，就更加愛讀有關昆蟲的書了。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

我們喜歡入迷地看它們做事，它們不知道（但愿如此）我們就在它們身邊。

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?

當看到蜘蛛撲向一只蒼蠅時，一隊螞蟻抬著一只巨大的死甲蟲凱旋歸時，誰能不感到敬畏呢？

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，我花了好幾天時間站在花園里觀察成千只螞蟻爬上我那棵心愛的桃樹的樹干。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

那棵樹是靠著房子有遮擋的一面暖墻生長的。

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.

我為這棵樹感到特別自豪，不僅因為它度過了幾個寒冬終于活了下來，而且還因為它有時結出些甘甜的桃子來。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

到了夏天，我發現樹葉開始枯萎，

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

結果在樹葉背面找到成串的叫作蚜蟲小蟲子。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

蚜蟲遭到一窩螞蟻的攻擊，螞蟻從它們身上可以獲得一種蜜。

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.

我當即動手作了一項試驗，這項試驗盡管沒有使我擺脫這些螞蟻，卻使我著迷了24小時。

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.

我用一條膠帶把桃樹底部包上，不讓螞蟻接近蚜蟲。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

膠帶極粘，螞蟻不敢從上面爬過。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

在很長一段時間里，我看見螞蟻圍著大樹底部來回轉悠，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，我還拿著電筒來到花園里，滿意地（同時驚奇地）發現那些螞蟻還圍著膠帶團團轉。無能為力。

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，我起床后希望看見螞蟻已因無望而放棄了嘗試，

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

結果卻發現它們又找到一條新的路徑。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

它們正在順著房子的外墻往上爬，然后爬上樹葉。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

我懊喪地感到敗在了足智多謀的螞蟻的手下。

Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness

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

螞蟻已很快找到了相應的對策，來對付我那套完全不科學的辦法！

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.

天文學方面最新發展使得我們能夠在銀河系和其他星系發現行星。

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

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

這是一個重要的成就，因為相對來說，行星很小，而且也不發光。

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

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

尋找行星證明相當困難，但是要在行星上發現生命會變得無比艱難。

Lesson 55 From the earth Greetings

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

第一個需要解答的問題是一顆行星是否有能夠維持生命的條件。

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.

舉例來說，在我們的太陽系里，對于生命來說，金星的溫度太高，而火星的溫度則太低。

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條件，而即使在這里，植物和動物的進化也用了40億年的時間。