Spinning Spiders

Spinning Spiders

织网高手--蜘蛛

Spiderwebs are everywhere. You find them high up on walls and windows, on lamps and lights, in dark corners. Sheds, barns, and garages are favorite places for spiderwebs. Outdoors you find them on trees and plants, on swings and slides, on poles and fences, and even in the grass. New spiderwebs are beautiful patterns of thin threads. old webs may be covered with dirt and dust. We call them cobwebs.

在高高的墙上,在窗户上,在台灯和顶灯上,还有黑暗的角落里,我们到处都能发现蜘蛛网。工棚、谷仓和车库也是蜘蛛喜欢选择织网的地方。在户外,树枝间、秋千上、滑梯旁柱子和围栏上，甚至草地上,都会有蜘蛛网。由纤细的丝织成的新蛛网图案美丽,旧蛛网则可能落满了尘土。

There are more than thirty thousand kinds of spiders. They can be small or large, fat or thin, short or long. Most are brown, gray, black, or other dull colors. But a few are as bright and colorful as flowers.

世界上有3万多种蜘蛛，有的大,有的小,有点胖,有的瘦,有的短,有的长。大多数蜘蛛是棕色、灰色、黑色或其他灰暗的颜色,但也有些如花朵般五彩斑斓。

Most people confuse spiders and insects. Spiders are not insects. Spiders are arachnids (uh-RAk-nids)Some other well-known arachnids are mites, ticks，and scorpions. Arachnids differ from insects in a few ways. Arachnids have eight legs. Insects have six legs. Adult arachnids have no wings. Most adult insects have wings. Arachnid bodies have two main parts. Insect bodies have three main parts. Arachnids have no feelers or antennae. Insects have antennae

很多人分不清蜘蛛和昆虫。其实,蜘蛛不是昆虫,而是蛛形纲动物。蛛形纲是动物学的分类名称。大家熟悉的螨虫、蝎子和蜱,都属于蛛形纲。蛛形纲动物和昆虫有许多不同点。 蛛形纲动物有8条腿。昆虫有6条腿。成年蛛形纲动物没有翅膀。大多数成年昆虫有翅膀。蛛形纲动物身体分为两个主要部分。昆虫身体分为3个主要部分。形纲动物没有触角。昆虫有触角。

Spiders are the only arachnids that spin webs of silk threads. They make the silk with special organs at the end of the body. These organs are called spinnerets. Most kinds of spiders have six spinnerets. Some have four or two.

蜘蛛是唯一会用丝织网的蛛形纲动物。它们的身体尾部有特殊的器官,叫做吐丝器,能产生蛛丝。大多数蜘蛛有6个吐丝器，也有一些只有4个或两个。

A liquid comes out of the spinnerets. Outside the body, the liquid hardens into a solid thread of silk. The thread is very thin. But it is very sticky. It is also stronger than a steel thread that size, and it can stretch. The silk thread can stretch to almost twice its length! Many spiders use the silk to make webs. The webs are to catch the insects they eat.

蜘蛛的吐丝器会分泌一种液体,一旦遇到空气就会凝结成固体的蛛丝。蛛丝非常细,非常黏，比同等粗细的钢丝还结实,蛛丝还有弹性,能拉伸到自身两倍那么长!许多蜘蛛用蛛丝织网，并且捕捉昆虫当食物。