Dragonflies!

Dragonflies, written by Cheryl Reif -Snyder. Focus question. What makes the dragonfly an amazing insect?

《蜻蜓》，谢丽尔·赖夫-斯奈德 著 思考问题 蜻蜓为什么是一种神奇的昆虫呢？

Amazing Dragonflies You're walking past a lake or stream when suddenly Something big shiny and green zooms past your head It's bigger than a bumblebee It's faster than a butterfly It's an amazing dragonfly

神奇的蜻蜓 你正走过湖泊或是溪流边，突然一个个头不小、闪着绿光的大家伙从你头顶飞过。它比大黄蜂更大，飞得比蝴蝶更快 这就是神奇的蜻蜓

What are dragonflies? Dragonflies are flying insects with long bodies and two pairs of wings. They come in every color of the rainbow, bright red, sunny orange, even metallic blue, green, and gold. Some dragonflies have colorful stripes on their wings or bodies. Some even change color over time.

蜻蜓是什么？ 蜻蜓是长着修长身体和两对翅膀的飞虫 它们拥有彩虹里所有的颜色：艳红色、亮橙色，甚至还有带金属光泽的蓝、绿、金各色 有些蜻蜓的翅膀或是身体上长着彩色条纹 有些蜻蜓甚至会随着时间改变颜色

Dragonflies are often confused with damselflies because the two kinds of insects look like each other. You can tell dragonflies and damselflies apart when they land. When a damselfly isn't flying, it folds its wings together and holds them above its back. Dragonfly wings can't fold like a damselfly's. Dragonflies keep their wings stretched out to either side all the time.

人们常常把蜻蜓和豆娘弄混，因为这两种昆虫长得很像 它们停下的时候，你就能分清蜻蜓和豆娘了 豆娘不飞的时候，会把翅膀收拢，竖在后背上方 蜻蜓的翅膀没法像豆娘那样收拢 蜻蜓一直都会把翅膀向身体两侧平展开

Young dragonflies. Dragonflies need water during every stage of their life cycle. Adults lay their eggs in water or on plants near water. The young dragonflies, called nymphs, live in water for one or more years after hatching.

蜻蜓幼崽 蜻蜓生命周期的每个阶段都离不开水 成年蜻蜓会把卵产在水里或是水边的植物上 蜻蜓的幼崽叫稚虫，孵化后会在水里生活一年甚至更久

nymphs look very different from adult dragonflies. They have gills inside their bodies, which allow them to breathe underwater. Dull green or brown coloring helps them hide from predators, such as fish and frogs. To escape predators, they squirt a powerful stream of water through their gills. It launches the nymphs forward at high speed. As nymphs grow, their skin doesn't grow with them. Instead, dragonfly nymphs shed their entire outer layer each time they need to grow. When a nymph is ready to become an adult, it crawls out of the water. The adult dragonfly comes out of the last shed layer.

稚虫的长相和成年蜻蜓完全不同 它们体内长着鳃，可以在水里呼吸 暗绿或是棕褐色的体色能帮它们躲开鱼和青蛙这些天敌 为了逃脱天敌，它们会从鳃喷出一股强劲的水流 这股水流能推着稚虫快速向前逃开 稚虫长大的时候，旧皮肤不会跟着一起长大 所以每次要长大，蜻蜓稚虫都会蜕掉整层外皮 当稚虫准备长成成虫时，就会爬出水 成年蜻蜓就从最后一次蜕下的旧皮里钻出来了