(单词翻译:单击)
中英文本
Based on the sheer number of ants that have invaded my home this summer, it seems hard to believe.
今年夏天造访我家蚂蚁的数量似乎有点令人难以置信。
But a new study finds that the number of invertebrates—which include any animal without a spine—has fallen by nearly half over the past 35 years—the same period of time in which the human population has doubled.
但一项新的研究发现无脊椎动物在过去35年的数量下降了近一半,而同期人类的数量翻了一番。
The estimate appears in the journalScience.
这是发表在《科学》期刊上的估测。
When we think of extinction, we usually picture large, charismatic creatures, like the saber-toothed tiger, the wooly mammoth or the even the dodo bird.
当我们想到灭绝,我们通常想象大型,那些有魅力的生物,比如剑齿虎,毛茸茸的猛犸象或者渡渡鸟。
Over the past 500 years, more than 300 species of vertebrates like these have disappeared.
但在过去的500年中,超过300种脊椎动物已经从地球上消失。
But what about critters that fly…or crawl…under our radar?
但在我们观察下的小飞行生物…爬行动物们如何?
Butterflies, beetles, spiders, slugs and worms are all in the midst of decline.
蝴蝶、甲虫、蜘蛛、蛞蝓和虫子的数量都在下降。
Much of that die-off is due to habitat loss.
这些物种大部分的消亡是由于栖息地的丧失。
In the U.K., for example, scientists have recorded a 30 to 60 percent decrease in areas inhabited by common insects, including bees and wasps.
以英国为例,科学家们已经记录包括蜜蜂和黄蜂等常见昆虫在内地区物种30-60%的减少。
While fewer flying pests might seem a plus, insects also perform functions that are key to human survival, like pollinating crops and recycling nutrients.
虽然更少的飞行害虫看起来还是在增加,昆虫仍然在人类生存方面扮演着至关重要的角色,比如作物授粉和回收养分。
So crowding out our invertebrate allies could turn out to be a real buzzkill.
所以排挤我们的无脊椎动物盟友们可能真会成为令人扫兴的事情。
词语解释
1.appear in 登出
New programmes will appear in the fall on television.
秋季将有新节目在电视上出现。
I have family and friends who have had swine flu, though I doubt if they appear in the figures.
我有得过猪流感的家人和朋友，虽然我怀疑是否他们出现在统计数据中。
2.key to …的关键；…的答案
It is the key to everything.
它是通向所有一切的钥匙。
And if you configure it as a screensaver, even the possibility of pressing the wrong key to start it is eliminated.
如果您将其配置为一个屏幕保护程序，即使按下一个错误的键来启动它也是不可能的。
