Instinct or cleverness?

原文

We have been brought up to fear insects. We regard them as unnecessary creatures that do more harm than good. We continually wage war on them, for they contaminate our food, carry diseases, or devour our crops. They sting or bite without provocation; they fly uninvited into our rooms on summer nights, or beat ageist our lighted windows. We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless one like moths. Reading about them increases our understanding without dispelling our fears. Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch. No matter how much we like honey, or how much we have read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess, we have a horror of being stung. Most of our fears are unreasonable, but they are impossible to erase. At the same time, however, insects are strangely fascinating. We enjoy reading about them, especially when we find that, like the praying mantis, they lead perfectly horrible lives. We enjoy staring at them, entranced as they go about their business, unaware (we hope) of our presence. Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly, or a column of ants triumphantly bearing home an enormous dead beetle?

Last summer I spent days in the garden watching thousands of ants crawling up the trunk of my prize peach tree. The tree has grown against a warm wall on a sheltered side of the house. I am especially proud of it, not only because it has survived several severe winters, but because it occasionally produces luscious peaches. During the summer, I noticed tat the leaves of the tree were beginning to wither. Clusters of tin insects called aphids were to be found on the underside of the leaves. They were visited by a large colony of ants which obtained a sort of honey from them. I immediately embarked on an experiment which, even though if failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours. I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphids. The tape was so stick that they did not dare to cross it. For a long time. I watched them scurrying around the base of the tree in bewilderment. I even went out at midnight with a torch and noted with satisfaction (and surprise) that the ants were still swarming around the sticky tape without being able to do anything about it. I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair. Instead, I saw that they had discovered a new route. They were climbing up the wall of the house and then on to the leaves of the tree. I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity. The ants had been quick to find an answer to my thoroughly unscientific methods!

译文

我们从小就被教育要害怕昆虫。我们把它们视为多害无益的生物。我们不断与它们作战，因为它们污染我们的食物、传播疾病，或吞噬我们的庄稼。它们无缘无故地蜇咬我们；它们在夏夜不请自来地飞进我们的房间，或撞击我们点亮的窗户。我们不仅对像蜘蛛或黄蜂这样的讨厌昆虫心存恐惧，而且对完全无害的飞蛾也同样畏惧。阅读有关它们的资料虽能增进我们的了解，却无法消除我们的恐惧。即使知道勤劳的蚂蚁生活在高度组织化的社会中，也无法阻止我们一看到成群的蚂蚁爬过精心准备的野餐午餐时，便充满厌恶之情。不管我们多么喜欢蜂蜜，或读过多少关于蜜蜂那奇妙的方位感，我们对被蜇的恐惧依然挥之不去。我们的大部分恐惧是毫无道理的，但却无法根除。然而，与此同时，昆虫却又奇妙地令人着迷。我们乐于阅读关于它们的事迹，尤其是当我们发现像螳螂这样的昆虫过着极其恐怖的生活时。我们喜欢凝视着它们，一动不动地观看它们忙于自己的事务，希望（我们想）它们没有察觉我们的存在。谁没有在目睹蜘蛛猛扑飞虫，或成队的蚂蚁得意洋洋地抬回一只巨大的死甲虫时，感到敬畏呢？

去年夏天，我在花园里花了数天时间，观察成千上万的蚂蚁爬上我那棵珍贵的桃树树干。这棵树靠着一面温暖的墙生长，在房屋的背风一侧。我特别为它感到自豪，不仅仅因为它经受住了几次严酷的冬天，而且因为它偶尔会结出美味的桃子。夏天里，我注意到树叶开始枯萎。在叶子的下面，发现了成群的微小昆虫，称为蚜虫。它们受到一大群蚂蚁的造访，这些蚂蚁从蚜虫身上获取一种类似蜂蜜的物质。我立即开始了一个实验，尽管它未能赶走蚂蚁，却让我着迷了整整二十四小时。我用粘性胶带缠绕树干底部，使蚂蚁无法到达蚜虫。胶带如此粘稠，以至于它们不敢越过它。有一段时间，我看着它们在树干底部困惑地乱窜。我甚至在午夜拿着手电筒出门，并满意（且惊讶地）注意到，蚂蚁仍在胶带周围蜂拥，却无能为力。次日清晨，我早早起身，希望发现蚂蚁已绝望地放弃。相反，我看到它们找到了一条新路径。它们爬上房屋的墙壁，然后再爬到树叶上。我悲伤地意识到，自己完全被它们的机智所击败。蚂蚁很快就找到了应对我那完全不科学的办法的答案！

词汇表

insects

名词

英:/ˈɪn.sekts/

美:/ˈɪn.sekts/

定义

1. 昆虫 - Small creatures with six legs, such as ants, bees, or flies, often considered pests.

例子: Insects like bees play a vital role in pollination.

例子: Many insects can be harmful, as they contaminate food supplies.

2. 小虫子 - Any small, often annoying creatures in a broader sense.

例子: The garden was full of insects after the rain.

例子: Scientists study insects to understand ecosystems.

近义词

bugs: 更口语化，常用于指害虫或引起不适的昆虫，而 'insects' 更中性且科学。

arthropods: 更精确，指节肢动物类群，包括昆虫但范围更广，适用于科学语境。

creepy-crawlies: 非正式且情感化，常用于儿童或非正式描述，强调令人毛骨悚然的方面。

反义词:

mammals, birds, reptiles

用法

常用于生物学、日常对话或描述害虫，常搭配如 'flying insects' 或 'beneficial insects'，在文化中常与恐惧或害处相关。

形式:

复数: insects, 单数: insect, 形容词形式: insectile

关键句型 "Not only... but also..."

定义

此句型用于强调两个或多个事物，通常表示一种对比或并列，突出第二部分更重要或更全面。结构为：Not only + [clause or phrase] + but also + [clause or phrase]。根据《剑桥英语语法指南》，这是一个常见的并列结构，用于连接相等的重要元素，增强表达的平衡性和强调效果。例如，在文章中，“not only because it has survived several severe winters, but because it occasionally produces luscious peaches” 展示了这种用法。

它帮助连接想法，使句子更流畅和富有说服力，尤其在描述原因或特征时。

用法

此句型常用于正式写作、演讲或描述中，表示添加信息或对比差异。规则：Not only 后跟一个从句或短语，but also 后跟另一个平行结构，确保两部分在语法上对等（如名词对名词、动词对动词）。

在语法体系中，它属于并列连词结构，与其他连接词如 "and" 或 "as well as" 相关，但 Not only... but also... 更强调平衡和强调。横向比较：与 "and" 相比，它更正式且突出对比（如 "I like apples and oranges" vs. "Not only apples but also oranges make a great snack"）；与 "both... and..." 相比，Not only... but also... 暗示第二部分更突出或意外。

跨语法联系：它常与从句结合，如使用 "because" 或 "that"，并可扩展到更复杂的句子中，帮助学生连接主句和从句，形成更连贯的叙述。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：不保持平行结构，例如 "Not only I like reading, but also writing songs"（错误，因为第一部分是动词短语，第二部分应匹配）；或遗漏 "also"，使句子不完整。纠正建议：练习时，确保两部分语法一致，并大声朗读以检查流畅性。

另一个常见偏误是过度使用，导致句子冗长；建议只在需要强调时应用。提供具体例句：

错误示例：Not only the ants are clever, but they are also fast.  // 错误：应为 "Not only are the ants clever, but they are also fast." 以保持主谓倒装或一致。
正确示例：Not only did the insects contaminate food, but they also carried diseases.  // 如文章中描述。

练习

原创例子：假设你在描述一种动物，你可以说：“Not only does the spider build webs, but it also catches prey skillfully.” 学生可以替换关键词，如将 "spider" 换成 "bee"，并改成 "Not only do bees collect nectar, but they also make honey." 这能帮助学生在日常对话或写作中应用，例如在日记中描述昆虫行为。

通过替换练习，学生能加深对句型的掌握，并尝试在不同语境中使用，比如科学报告或故事讲述。

额外内容

背景知识：此句型源于英语的修辞手法，类似于拉丁语的 "non solum... sed et..."，在现代英语中用于增强说服力或文学表达。对比分析：与中文的 "不但...而且..." 类似，但英语版本需要注意语法平行，避免直接翻译导致的错误。而在法语中，类似结构是 "non seulement... mais aussi..."，强调了跨语言的共通性，这有助于学生理解英语在全球交流中的灵活性。