Awesome Ants

Awesome Ants. Written by Russ Bulyak. Focus question. What makes ants awesome?

《了不起的蚂蚁》，作者拉斯·布里亚克。聚焦问题：蚂蚁为什么了不起？

A little history. You've seen them marching through grass and across sidewalks. You may have even seen them crawling over your kitchen counter. We're talking about ants. Tiny, strong, awesome ants.

先来讲点小历史。 你肯定见过它们排着队穿过草丛、走过人行道。 你说不定还见过它们爬过你家厨房的台面。 我们说的就是蚂蚁呀。 小小的、力气大大的、超厉害的蚂蚁。

Ants are about 100 million years old. They were crawling around under the dinosaurs. Between then and now, they've changed a lot. Today, over 10 ,000 species of ants live on every continent except Antarctica. They have been able to survive so long because of their bodies and how they live.

蚂蚁已经存在约1亿年了。 恐龙在世的时候它们就四处爬动啦。 从远古到现在，它们进化了很多。 如今，一万多种蚂蚁生活在除了南极洲之外的每块大陆上。 它们能存活这么久，靠的是自身的身体构造和它们的生存方式。

Body Parts. Like all insects, ants have six legs and three body parts. The back part of their body is the abdomen. This part holds the heart and stomachs. Some ants have stingers that they use to protect themselves. Their three pairs of legs attach to the middle part, called the thorax. Each leg has little hooks that allow ants to climb almost anything. Ants can even hear with their legs by feeling vibrations through the ground.

身体构造。和所有昆虫一样，蚂蚁有六条腿和三个身体部分。 它们身体的后半部分是腹部，这里装着心脏和胃。 有些蚂蚁长着蛰针，用来保护自己。 三对腿都长在身体中间的部位，这个部位叫做胸部。 每条腿上都有小钩子，让蚂蚁几乎能爬上所有东西。 蚂蚁甚至能用腿听声音，它们能感知地面传来的震动。

The head contains the brain, two eyes, antennae, and jaws. The jaws open and close like scissors. They are used for cutting and carrying things. Ants can lift more than 20 times their own weight. Ants also have other mouthparts for chewing food and drinking.

蚂蚁的头上有大脑、两只眼睛、触角和颚。 颚可以像剪刀一样张开合上。 它们是用来切割和搬运东西的。 蚂蚁能举起超过自身体重20倍的东西哦。 蚂蚁还有其他的口器，用来咀嚼食物和喝水。

The two eyes are each made up of many smaller eyes. Even though ants have so many eyes, they can't see very well. Instead, they use their antennae to get around. The antennae are like all -in -one sense machines. Ants use them to taste, smell, hear, and communicate with other ants through touching. The long, thin antennae are always moving around.

蚂蚁的两只眼睛各自由很多更小的眼睛组成。 虽然蚂蚁有这么多眼睛，它们的视力却不太好。 所以它们要靠触角到处活动。 触角就像多功能感应机器一样。 蚂蚁用它们来尝味道、闻气味、听声音，还能通过触碰和其他蚂蚁交流。 这两根又细又长的触角总是动来动去的。