本集內(nèi)容

The cicada invasion 周期蟬蟄伏17年后破土而出

學(xué)習(xí)要點(diǎn)

有關(guān) “insects（昆蟲(chóng)）” 的詞匯

邊看邊答

How long will the female cicada live after emerging from the ground?

文字稿

It’s a sight and sound that will make your skin crawl. Billions of periodical cicadas emerging out of the earth and overtaking the eastern United States. The rare spectacle has Americans in awe.

此景此聲會(huì)讓你毛骨悚然。數(shù)十億只周期蟬破土而出，席卷美國(guó)東部。這番罕見(jiàn)的景象讓美國(guó)人目瞪口呆。

Rosemarie Grant, Witness
And it was deafening, really deafening.

羅斯瑪麗·格蘭特       蟬群目擊者
“蟬鳴聲震耳欲聾，真的是震耳欲聾。”

The Grants have lived here for decades, and like clockwork, the Brood X cicadas have arrived at the same time every seventeen years to mate. It can get so loud that some of their friends have mistaken the male insects’ droning song for a police siren.

格蘭特夫婦在這里生活了幾十年，每17年，周期蟬10號(hào)群就會(huì)為了交配而同一時(shí)間如約而至。蟬鳴聲十分響亮，以至于他們的一些朋友將雄蟬嗡嗡作響的歌聲誤認(rèn)成了警笛聲。

Peter Grant, Witness
Because of my hearing disadvantages, I don’t put my hearing aids [in] when I come out in the garden, otherwise I get the whole sound magnified.

彼得·格蘭特       蟬群目擊者
“因?yàn)槲矣新?tīng)力障礙，所以走到花園里的時(shí)候我不戴助聽(tīng)器，不然整個(gè)蟬鳴聲會(huì)被放大?！?

The mass emergence and its timing is all part of a clever survival strategy to evade predators. Then the metamorphosis from nymph to adult happens relatively quickly.

蟬的大批出現(xiàn)和破土?xí)r機(jī)都是它們躲避捕食者的一種精明的生存策略。破土后，從若蟲(chóng)到成蟲(chóng)的蛻變發(fā)生得相對(duì)較快。

Nada Tawfik, BBC Correspondent
So here we have a fully grown female that’s now ready to mate and lay her eggs. She’ll only live four to six weeks, though, after being underground for 17 years.

納達(dá)·陶菲克       BBC通訊員
“這是一只完全成熟的雌蟬，現(xiàn)已準(zhǔn)備好交配和產(chǎn)卵。盡管之前在地下蟄伏了17年，它只能活四到六周?！?

Because this is when they are most vulnerable – right here, because their body is so soft…

因?yàn)檫@是它們最脆弱的時(shí)候。就在這里，因?yàn)樗鼈兊纳眢w非常軟。

It’s a magical time for entomologist Dr Jessica Weir, whose 16-year-old daughter wasn’t even alive the last time she saw these insects. The world was a very different place back then. George Bush was president, and Facebook was just launched.

對(duì)昆蟲(chóng)學(xué)家杰西卡·威爾博士來(lái)說(shuō)，這是一個(gè)奇妙的時(shí)刻，在她上次看到這些昆蟲(chóng)時(shí)，她現(xiàn)年16歲的女兒甚至還沒(méi)出生。那時(shí)的世界非常不同。喬治·沃克·布什是美國(guó)總統(tǒng)，臉書(shū)（Facebook）才剛剛問(wèn)世。

Dr. Jessica Weir, Entomologist, American Natural History Museum
You know, a lot of people for centuries have been calling these things locusts, but they are the opposite of locusts, because they’re not actually a plague -– they’re not destroying crops. They’re actually living their life completely in exclusion of humans and they are great nutrition.

杰西卡·威爾博士       美國(guó)自然歷史博物館昆蟲(chóng)學(xué)家
“幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)，很多人都把這種昆蟲(chóng)叫作蝗蟲(chóng)，但它們與蝗蟲(chóng)正相反，因?yàn)樗鼈兤鋵?shí)不會(huì)造成災(zāi)害，也不會(huì)摧毀莊稼。事實(shí)上，它們的生活是完全與人類(lèi)隔絕的，而且它們很有營(yíng)養(yǎng)。”

Yes, you heard that right. These critters are a culinary delicacy.

是的，你沒(méi)聽(tīng)錯(cuò)。這些小動(dòng)物是美味佳肴。

Joseph Yoon, Chef, Brooklyn Bugs
The cicadas are a flavour bomb. They have so much flavour and add a sense of umami to the dish.

約瑟夫·尹       Brooklyn Bugs 廚師
“蟬是一種 ‘風(fēng)味炸彈’。它們味道豐富，能為菜肴提鮮?！?

Chef Joseph has been cooking with the star ingredient to encourage Americans to re-imagine bugs as a protein-rich sustainable food source.

大廚約瑟夫一直在用這種特色食材烹飪，以鼓勵(lì)美國(guó)人把蟲(chóng)子重新想象為富含蛋白質(zhì)的可持續(xù)食物來(lái)源。

“I think I am ready – may I?”

“我準(zhǔn)備好開(kāi)吃了，可以嗎？”

“Yes, please.”

“好的，請(qǐng)便?！?

“OK, I am going to go with this one here. Bug appetite! A burst of springtime in your mouth.”

“好，我就拿這一塊吧?！s’ 死我啦！仿佛嘴里涌入了春天的氣息?！?

For others, the noisy critters are just downright disruptive. It’s safe to say Shakespeare is not in love with the cicada. This theatre company has had to cut its outdoor season short.

對(duì)其他人來(lái)說(shuō)，這些吵鬧的小動(dòng)物只會(huì)引起混亂。可以肯定地說(shuō)，莎士比亞并不喜歡這些蟬。這家莎士比亞劇團(tuán)不得不縮短戶(hù)外演出季。

Bonnie Monte, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
The last time I directed a show out here, I sat over there with two huge badminton rackets and just screamed as they came at me and swatted them away.

邦妮·蒙特       新澤西莎士比亞劇院
“上次我在這里執(zhí)導(dǎo)一場(chǎng)演出時(shí)，我坐在那里，手里拿著兩個(gè)巨大的羽毛球拍，當(dāng)它們向我飛過(guò)來(lái)的時(shí)候，我尖叫了起來(lái)，把它們打跑了。”

The takeover may be dramatic, but it is temporary. Soon the larvae of the new generation will burrow their way into the ground resetting the 17-year cycle.

雖然蟬鋪天蓋地出現(xiàn)的場(chǎng)面充滿(mǎn)戲劇性，但這只是暫時(shí)的。很快，新一代的幼蟲(chóng)將鉆入地下，開(kāi)始新一輪的17年周期。

詞匯

droning 嗡嗡作響的

nymph 若蟲(chóng)

entomologist 昆蟲(chóng)學(xué)家

critters 小動(dòng)物

burrow 鉆入

問(wèn)題答案

The female cicada will only live four to six weeks after emerging.