Lesson 54

We have been brought up to fear insects.
我们从小就被教导要惧怕昆虫。
We regard them as unnecessary creatures that do more harm than good.
我们把它们看作是弊大于利的不必要生物。
We continually wage war on them, for they contaminate our food, carry diseases, or devour our crops.
我们不断地与它们斗争，因为它们污染我们的食物，传播疾病，或者吞噬我们的庄稼。
They sting or bite without provocation; they fly uninvited into our rooms on summer nights, or beat against our lighted windows.
它们无缘无故地叮咬或咬人；它们在夏夜未经邀请地飞入我们的房间，或者拍打我们亮着灯的窗户。
We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths.
我们生活在恐惧之中，不仅是对像蜘蛛或黄蜂这样令人不悦的昆虫，而且是对像飞蛾这样相当无害的昆虫。
Reading about them increases our understanding without dispelling our fears.
阅读关于它们的内容增加了我们的理解，但并未消除我们的恐惧。
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.
知道勤劳的蚂蚁生活在高度组织化的社会，并不能防止我们在发现成群的蚂蚁爬过精心准备的野餐时产生厌恶感。
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.
无论我们多么喜欢蜂蜜，也无论我们读过多少关于蜜蜂拥有的那种不可思议的方向感，我们对被蜜蜂叮刺总有一种恐惧感。
Most of our fears are unreasonable; but they are impossible to erase.
我们的大多数恐惧是不合理的；但它们是无法消除的。
At the same time, however, insects are strangely fascinating.
然而，与此同时，昆虫也具有一种奇特的吸引力。
We enjoy reading about them, especially when we find that, like the praying mantis, they lead perfectly horrible lives.
我们喜欢阅读关于它们的事，尤其是当我们发现，它们像螳螂一样，过着极其恐怖的生活。
We enjoy staring at them, entranced as they go about their business, unaware (we hope) of our presence.
我们喜欢盯着它们看，在它们忙于自己的事务时看得入迷，（我们希望）它们察觉不到我们的存在。
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?
谁不曾对蜘蛛扑向苍蝇，或一队蚂蚁凯旋般搬运着一只巨大的死甲虫回家的景象肃然起敬呢？
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，我在花园里呆了几天，看着成千上万只蚂蚁爬上我那棵获奖桃树的树干。
The tree has grown against a warm wall on a sheltered side of the house.
这棵树长在房子避风侧的一面暖墙边。
I am especially proud of it, not only because it has survived several severe winters, but because it occasionally produces luscious peaches.
我对此感到特别自豪，不仅因为它熬过了几个严酷的冬天，而且因为它偶尔产出甜美的桃子。
During the summer, I noticed that the leaves of the tree were beginning to wither.
在夏天期间，我注意到这棵树的叶子正开始枯萎。
Clusters of tiny insects called aphids were to be found on the underside of the leaves.
在叶子的背面可以发现成群的被称为蚜虫的微小昆虫。
They were visited by a large colony of ants which obtained a sort of honey from them.
他们被一大群蚂蚁拜访，这些蚂蚁从它们身上获取一种蜂蜜。
I immediately embarked on an experiment which, even though it failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours.
我立即着手进行了一项实验，尽管这项实验没能除掉蚂蚁，却让我着迷了整整二十四小时。
I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphids.
我用粘性胶带缠绕了树干基部，使蚂蚁无法接触到蚜虫。
The tape was so sticky that they did not dare to cross it.
磁带太粘了，以至于他们不敢跨越它。
For a long time, I watched them scurrying around the base of the tree in bewilderment.
很长一段时间，我困惑地看着它们在树底下四处乱窜。
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.
我甚至在半夜拿着手电筒出去，并满意地（且惊讶地）发现，蚂蚁们仍然在胶带周围成群爬动，却无法对此采取任何行动。
I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair.
第二天一早我起床，希望能发现那些蚂蚁已经绝望地放弃了。
Instead, I saw that they had discovered a new route.
相反，我看到他们发现了一条新路线。
They were climbing up the wall of the house and then on to the leaves of the tree.
他们正爬上房子的墙，然后爬到树叶上。
I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity.
我悲哀地意识到，我已经被他们的独创性彻底击败了。
The ants had been quick to find an answer to my thoroughly unscientific methods
蚂蚁们很快就找到了应对我那完全不科学的方法的对策