10 World of Insects

World Book's Learning Ladders World of Insects

世界书的学习阶梯昆虫世界

What is an insect? There are over 1 million kinds of insects in the world. They are found on land and in the fresh water of lakes and rivers. But they cannot live in salty oceans. An insect has three main body parts: a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. All insects have six legs, and many have wings. Insects can be as large as a football or as small as the period at the end of this sentence. The insect shown here is an ant. It's a fact! A tiny flea can jump 100 times its own height. That would be like you leaping over an office building! This is the abdomen. It swells up when the insect eats. The tough cover on an insect's body protects its soft insides.

什么是昆虫?世界上有一百多万种昆虫。 它们在陆地上、湖泊和河流的淡水中被发现。 但是它们不能生活在咸的海洋里。 昆虫有三个主要的身体部位:头、胸和腹部。 所有的昆虫都有六条腿，许多昆虫还有翅膀。 昆虫可以像足球那么大，也可以像这句话末尾的句号那么小。 这里展示的昆虫是蚂蚁。 这是事实!一只小跳蚤能跳得比自己高100倍。 那就像你从办公楼上跳过去一样!这是腹部。 昆虫吃东西时它就肿起来。 昆虫身上坚硬的外壳保护着它柔软的内脏。

An insect's head has eyes and antennae, as well as mouth parts for eating. The middle-part of an insect's body is called the thorax. The legs are attached there. Most insects have two long antennae. They are used mainly for feeling and smelling. Spiders are not insects. A spider has eight legs instead of six, and its body is made up of two parts, not three.

昆虫的头部有眼睛和触角，还有用来吃东西的口器。 昆虫身体的中间部分叫做胸部。 腿被固定在那里。 大多数昆虫有两个长长的触角。 它们主要用于感觉和嗅觉。 蜘蛛不是昆虫。蜘蛛有八条腿而不是六条，它的身体由两部分组成，而不是三部分。

Ant Lift up a stone or a log, and you will probably see tiny ants scurrying around. There are many different kinds of ants. Most live together in large groups called colonies. Ants work hard as a team, building nests, collecting food, and fighting enemies. This is a leaf-cutter ant. It lives on the damp floor of the rain forest. This worker is using its strong jaws to cut a leaf.

举起一块石头或一根木头，你可能会看到小蚂蚁跑来跑去。 有许多不同种类的蚂蚁。 大多数生活在一起的大群体称为殖民地。 蚂蚁作为一个团队努力工作，筑巢，收集食物，与敌人作战。 这是一只切叶蚁。 它生活在雨林潮湿的地面上。 这只工蚁正在用它强壮的下颚切树叶。

Hooked claws help the ant cling to slippery branches as it marches home. A leaf-cutter ant carries a piece of leaf back to its underground nest. The leaf will be turned into food. These weaver ants are building a nest. The ants glue leaves together with a silklike material that they spin from their bodies. It's a fact! Some ants are very strong. They can lift objects up to 30 times heavier than themselves. That's like you lifting up a small car!

钩形的爪子帮助蚂蚁在回家的路上抓住光滑的树枝。 一只切叶蚁把一片叶子带回它的地下巢穴。 叶子会变成食物。 这些编织蚁正在筑巢。 蚂蚁用自己身上纺出的丝状物质把树叶粘在一起。 这是事实!有些蚂蚁很强壮。 它们能举起比自己重30倍的物体。 这就像你举起一辆小汽车!