A Complex World Underground

⊙ By Rupert Borrington

翻譯：T Boy

如果說你從狐獴與卷尾鳥的故事聯想到人與人之間常常發生的情形，那么，以下這篇對螞蟻世界的描述，一定會讓你為螞蟻與人類之間極高的相似度感到驚訝不已。英式發音 適合泛聽語速：100詞/分鐘

聽力難度

Insects have1)evolved 2)sophisticatedsocieties that, in3)complexity, are the closest thing in nature to our own cities.

The insects that built this structure in Argentina 4)dominatethe surrounding grasslands, thanks to skills that seem almost more human than insect. It’s a5)metropolis,a home to millions of ants.

1) evolve [??v?lv] v. 發展，演變

2) sophisticated [s??f?st?ke?t?d] adj. 高度發展的，精密復雜的

3) complexity [k?m?pleks?t?] n. 復雜性

4) dominate [?d?m?ne?t] v. 支配

5) metropolis [m??tr?p?l?s] n. 都市，都會

The6)colony needs a huge supply of food. It’s surrounded by grass, but the ants themselves can’t digest a7)bladeof it.8)Nonetheless,they collect it. Although they’re all the same species, they exist in different shapes and sizes. The heads of these big-9)jawedindividuals are not full of brain, but10)brawn. They give the species its name—they are grass cutters.

They work all day, every day. The smaller ants,down on the ground, are11)porterswith the job of carrying the grass12)segmentsback to the colony. They have great strength. Their main problem is balance.13)Columns of them carry the grass back to the nest along highways as straight as Roman roads.

Different members of the colony specialise in particular tasks in much the same way as people do.But, as in human society, there can be problems. A14)hitch-hiker makes one ant’s job much harder. And this isn’t even grass.

A single colony harvests half a tonne of grass a year,more than any other animal on these15)plains. But since they themselves can’t eat it, why do they do so?

The answer lies underground. They have one of the most extraordinary survival16)strategiesin the insect world. The ants have dug a network of17)tunnelsthat18)extend19)downwardsfor over seven metres. At the heart of the colony lies the key to their survival.A20)fungus. But this isn’t21)sloppyhousekeeping. This is a fungus that is found nowhere else on earth. And the ants22)cultivateit23)assiduously. The big-jawed ants chop up the grass, covering it with an24)antibiotic25)salivathat kills every kind of fungus except this one.The ants are farmers. They feed the grass to the fungus and the fungus26)thrives. The ants cultivate27)dozens of these fungus gardens throughout the colony. This is what they eat.

The system is so efficient that a single colony can have five million members.

6) colony [?k?l?n?] n. 集群，群體

7) blade [ble?d] n. 草葉，葉片

8) nonetheless [n?ne??les] conj. 盡管如此，但是

9) jawed [d???d] adj. 有頜的，有顎的

10) brawn [br??n] n. 肌肉

11) porter [?p??t?（r）] n. 搬運工

12) segment [?seɡm?nt] n. 部分，片段

13) column [?k?l?m] n. 縱隊

14) hitch-hiker [?h?t??ha?k?] n. 搭便車者

15) plain [ple?n] n. 平原，草原

16) strategy [?str?t?d??] n. 戰略，策略

17) tunnel [?t?n（?）l] n. 地道，隧道

18) extend [?k?stend] v. 延伸

19) downwards [?da?nw?dz] adv. 向下

20) fungus [?f??ɡ?s] n. 真菌，復數為fungi或funguses。

21) sloppy [?sl?p?] adj. 草率的，隨便的

22) cultivate [?k?lt?ve?t] v. 種植，栽培

23) assiduously [??s?dj??sl?] adv. 勤勉地

24) antibiotic [?nt?ba???t?k] adj. 抗生的，抗菌的

25) saliva [s??la?v?] n. 口水，唾液

26) thrive [θra?v] v. 繁榮，旺盛

27) dozen [?d?z（?）n] n. 一打，12個

28) asphyxiate [?s?f?ks?e?t] v. 使窒息

29) ingenious [?n?d?i?n??s] adj. 聰明的，有發明天才的

30) surface [?sз?f?s] n. 表面

31) breeze [bri?z] n. 微風

32) stale [ste?l] adj. 不新鮮的

33) vent [vent] n. 通風孔

34) armour [?ɑ?m?] n. （動植物的）防護器官

35) adaptability [??d?pt??b?l?t?] n. 適應性

But the fungus is also dangerous. As it grows, it releases carbon dioxide that could28)asphyxiatethe entire colony. The ants’ way of dealing with this danger is29)ingenious.They construct their nest so that it has an automatic air-conditioning system.The outer30)surfaceis so shaped that the slightest31)breezesucks out32)staleair through these central33)vents. At the same time, fresh air is drawn down through the outer vents, right into the heart of the nest.

Our own societies have existed for thousands of years, but insect societies have lasted for millions. There may be ten million different kinds of insects and there are 200 million individuals for every one of us. The insects’ flexible34)armourand their35)adaptabilityhas made them the most abundant and the most diverse animal group in our planet’s history.

見招拆招

文章一開頭就表明螞蟻世界與人類社會高度相似（the closest thing in nature to our own cities），隨后在文章里多次以不同方式提醒受眾這一點，強化印象。文章既用了再明白不過的文字把螞蟻與人類作比較，如seem almost more human than insect、in much the same way as people do、as in human society等；又用了一些人類社會特有的詞匯，給螞蟻賦予人的特性，如：metropolis、Roman roads、hitchhiker、housekeeping、farmer、air-conditioning system等。這種多次呼應的手法是一種突出主題的寫作方式，同學們可以反復閱讀本文，細細體會這種寫作手法，日后運用到自己的寫作中去。

參考譯文

昆蟲已經進化發展為高度成熟的社會，其復雜程度是自然界里最接近人類城市的。

在阿根廷，打造這種建筑的昆蟲主宰著周遭的草原，它們擁有的技能似乎更像人類，而不是昆蟲。這種建筑是一個大都會，里面住著數百萬的螞蟻。

蟻群需要大量食物。它們的周圍有大片青草，但螞蟻本身連一根也消化不了。不過，它們仍然會收集葉片。這些螞蟻同屬一個物種，但是外形和大小不一。這些大顎螞蟻腦袋算不上聰明，力氣卻不小。它們正是這種螞蟻名稱的由來——切葉蟻。

它們每天從早到晚辛勤工作。在地面的小螞蟻充當搬運工，負責把一段段草片搬回蟻巢。它們力大無窮，主要的難題在于如何取得平衡。大隊螞蟻把草葉往蟻巢里搬，所走的路就像古羅馬道路那般筆直。

蟻群中不同的成員有各自擅長的任務，跟人類一樣。但一如人類社會，螞蟻也會碰上問題。有只螞蟻想搭順風車，給同伴添麻煩；這只螞蟻搬的根本不是草。

一個蟻群一年能收割半噸草，比在這個平原上任何一種動物都要多，但是既然它們本身并不吃草，那收集草片干什么呢？

答案就藏在地下。它們擁有昆蟲世界里最非同凡響的生存策略。蟻群挖成的地道網絡深入地底逾七米。蟻巢的正中央就是它們生存的關鍵——真菌，不過，這可不是由于巢內不整潔而長出來的，這可是別處絕對找不到的特殊真菌。眾螞蟻辛勤培育真菌：大顎螞蟻咬碎草片，往真菌噴上有抗體的唾液。唾液可以殺死除這種真菌以外的菌類。螞蟻原來是農夫。它們用草培育真菌，令其茁壯成長。螞蟻在巢內培植了數十個真菌園，這才是它們的食糧。

由于這個機制非常高效，每個蟻群可以養活500萬名成員。

但真菌也有其危險性。真菌在成長期間會釋放二氧化碳，可導致蟻群窒息而亡。而螞蟻的解決方法十分巧妙。它們所筑的巢穴有著自動循環空氣系統，蟻巢外部表面造型特殊，一絲微風就能把穴內的混濁空氣從這些中央通風口排出，同時，通過外部氣孔吸入新鮮空氣，送入巢穴中心。

我們自己的社會存活了幾千年，但昆蟲社會已延續了數百萬年。地球上昆蟲的種類也許有上千萬種之多，其數量是人類的兩億倍。昆蟲的彈性外殼和它們的適應能力使它們成為地球歷史上數量最多、物種也最多樣化的動物群。