Notes on the text
課文注釋
1 do more harm than good，害多益少。
2 wage war on，對……開戰(zhàn)。
3 does nothing to prevent，不能阻止……。
4 go about…，做……。
5 stand in awe，肅然起敬。
參考譯文
我們自幼就在對昆蟲的懼怕中長大。我們把昆蟲當(dāng)作害多益少的無用東西。人類不斷地同昆蟲斗爭，因為昆蟲弄臟我們的食物，傳播疾病，吞噬莊稼。它們無緣無故地又叮又咬；夏天的晚上，它們未經(jīng)邀請便飛到我們房間里，或者對著露出亮光的窗戶亂撲亂撞。我們在日常生活中，不但憎惡如蜘蛛、黃蜂之類令人討厭的昆蟲，而且憎惡并無大害的飛蛾等。閱讀有關(guān)昆蟲的書能增加我們對它們的了解，卻不能消除我們的恐懼心理。即使知道勤奮的螞蟻生活在具有高度組織性的社會里，當(dāng)看到大群螞蟻在我們精心準(zhǔn)備的午間野餐上爬行時，我們也無法抑制對它們的反感。不管我們多么愛吃蜂蜜，或讀過多少關(guān)于蜜蜂具有神秘的識別方向的靈感的書，我們?nèi)匀皇趾ε卤环潋亍Ｎ覀兊目謶执蟛糠质菦]有道理的，但卻無法消除。同時，不知為什么昆蟲又是迷人的。我們喜歡看有關(guān)昆蟲的書，尤其是當(dāng)我們了解到螳螂等過著一種令人生畏的生活時，就更加愛讀有關(guān)昆蟲的書了。我們喜歡入迷地看它們做事，它們不知道（但愿如此）我們就在它們身邊。當(dāng)看到蜘蛛撲向一只蒼蠅時，一隊螞蟻抬著一只巨大的死甲蟲凱旋而歸時，誰能不感到敬畏呢？
去年夏天，我花了好幾天時間站在花園里觀察成千只螞蟻爬上我那棵心愛的桃樹的樹干。那棵樹是靠著房子有遮擋的一面暖墻生長的。我為這棵樹感到特別自豪，不僅因為它度過了幾個寒冬終于活了下來，而且還因為它有時結(jié)出些甘甜的桃子來。到了夏天，我發(fā)現(xiàn)樹葉開始枯萎，結(jié)果在樹葉背面找到成串的叫作蚜蟲的小蟲子。蚜蟲遭到了一窩螞蟻的攻擊，螞蟻從它們身上可以獲得一種蜜。我當(dāng)即動手作了一項試驗，這項試驗盡管沒有使我擺脫這些螞蟻，卻使我著迷了24小時。我用一條膠帶把桃樹底部包上，不讓螞蟻接近蚜蟲。膠帶極粘，螞蟻不敢從上面爬過。在很長一段時間里，我看見螞蟻圍著大樹底部來回轉(zhuǎn)悠，不知所措。半夜，我還拿著電筒來到花園里，滿意地（同時驚奇地）發(fā)現(xiàn)那些螞蟻還在圍著膠帶團團轉(zhuǎn)，無能為力。第二天早上，我起床后希望看到螞蟻已因無望而放棄了嘗試，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)它們又找到一條新的路徑。它們正在順著房子的外墻往上爬，然后爬上樹葉。我懊喪地感到敗在了足智多謀的螞蟻手下。螞蟻已很快找到了相應(yīng)的對策，來對付我那套完全不科學(xué)的辦法！
Multiple choice questions
多項選擇題
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension 理解
1 We may learn more about the behaviour of insects ______ .
a．a(chǎn)nd become so fascinated by them that we are no longer moved by them
b．but we are no less likely to lose our irrational fear of them
c．provided they remain unaware of our presence while we observe them
d．a(chǎn)s long as they only harm each other and not us
2 The ant is an insect which ______ .
a．will eat its way through anything from picnic lunches to aphids
b．lives in a highly organized society which we find disgusting
c．once it has killed its prey, will bear it home in a triumphal column
d．shows great ingenuity at finding its way round any obstacle in its path
3 Had the peach tree been planted on the opposite side of the house ______ .
a．it might not have survived the severe winters
b．the writer would not have spent days looking at it
c．the ants would have had further to go before reaching it
d．the ants would not have found another route of access to the leaves
4 The reason for the ants' swarming up and down the tree was that ______ .
a．they collected a kind of honey from the leaves
b．they fed on a kind of honey contained in the sap of the tree
c．they were milking a kind of honey from the aphids on the leaves
d．they needed to go back to their nest in the branches of the tree
Structure 結(jié)構(gòu)
5 By reading about them, we may increase our understanding but ______ dispel our fears. (11. 7-8)
a．we will not
b．it does not
c．this will not
d．not
6 Most of our fears are unreasonable, but we find ______ _(1. 12)
a．it impossible to erase them
b．that they cannot erase
c．them to erase impossible
d．erasing them impossible
7 ---- an experiment which, ______ failure to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated. (11. 22-23)
a．even though it was
b．in spite of the
c．despite its
d．was a
8 ______ long to find an answer to…(11. 30-31)
a．The ants had not been
b．The ants had not been
c．The ants had not spent
d．It had not taken the ants
Vocabulary 詞匯
9 Even when we know that the ant is an industrious creature which leads a highly organized life, we cannot ______ being filled with… (11. 8-10)
a．refuse
b．help
c．prevent
d．lose
10 ---- we have read about the ______ sense of direction which bee possess … (1. 11)
a．unknown
b．mysterious
c．infinite
d．disabled
11 The tree occasionally produces ______ _fruit. (11. 19-20)
a．deliciously fresh
b．sweet and juicy
c．tender
d．exotic
12 I had been completely defeated by the ______ _(11. 29-30)
a．speedy swarms
b．hungry hordes
c．inventive creatures
d．ingenuous insects
課文注釋
1 do more harm than good，害多益少。
2 wage war on，對……開戰(zhàn)。
3 does nothing to prevent，不能阻止……。
4 go about…，做……。
5 stand in awe，肅然起敬。
參考譯文
我們自幼就在對昆蟲的懼怕中長大。我們把昆蟲當(dāng)作害多益少的無用東西。人類不斷地同昆蟲斗爭，因為昆蟲弄臟我們的食物，傳播疾病，吞噬莊稼。它們無緣無故地又叮又咬；夏天的晚上，它們未經(jīng)邀請便飛到我們房間里，或者對著露出亮光的窗戶亂撲亂撞。我們在日常生活中，不但憎惡如蜘蛛、黃蜂之類令人討厭的昆蟲，而且憎惡并無大害的飛蛾等。閱讀有關(guān)昆蟲的書能增加我們對它們的了解，卻不能消除我們的恐懼心理。即使知道勤奮的螞蟻生活在具有高度組織性的社會里，當(dāng)看到大群螞蟻在我們精心準(zhǔn)備的午間野餐上爬行時，我們也無法抑制對它們的反感。不管我們多么愛吃蜂蜜，或讀過多少關(guān)于蜜蜂具有神秘的識別方向的靈感的書，我們?nèi)匀皇趾ε卤环潋亍Ｎ覀兊目謶执蟛糠质菦]有道理的，但卻無法消除。同時，不知為什么昆蟲又是迷人的。我們喜歡看有關(guān)昆蟲的書，尤其是當(dāng)我們了解到螳螂等過著一種令人生畏的生活時，就更加愛讀有關(guān)昆蟲的書了。我們喜歡入迷地看它們做事，它們不知道（但愿如此）我們就在它們身邊。當(dāng)看到蜘蛛撲向一只蒼蠅時，一隊螞蟻抬著一只巨大的死甲蟲凱旋而歸時，誰能不感到敬畏呢？
去年夏天，我花了好幾天時間站在花園里觀察成千只螞蟻爬上我那棵心愛的桃樹的樹干。那棵樹是靠著房子有遮擋的一面暖墻生長的。我為這棵樹感到特別自豪，不僅因為它度過了幾個寒冬終于活了下來，而且還因為它有時結(jié)出些甘甜的桃子來。到了夏天，我發(fā)現(xiàn)樹葉開始枯萎，結(jié)果在樹葉背面找到成串的叫作蚜蟲的小蟲子。蚜蟲遭到了一窩螞蟻的攻擊，螞蟻從它們身上可以獲得一種蜜。我當(dāng)即動手作了一項試驗，這項試驗盡管沒有使我擺脫這些螞蟻，卻使我著迷了24小時。我用一條膠帶把桃樹底部包上，不讓螞蟻接近蚜蟲。膠帶極粘，螞蟻不敢從上面爬過。在很長一段時間里，我看見螞蟻圍著大樹底部來回轉(zhuǎn)悠，不知所措。半夜，我還拿著電筒來到花園里，滿意地（同時驚奇地）發(fā)現(xiàn)那些螞蟻還在圍著膠帶團團轉(zhuǎn)，無能為力。第二天早上，我起床后希望看到螞蟻已因無望而放棄了嘗試，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)它們又找到一條新的路徑。它們正在順著房子的外墻往上爬，然后爬上樹葉。我懊喪地感到敗在了足智多謀的螞蟻手下。螞蟻已很快找到了相應(yīng)的對策，來對付我那套完全不科學(xué)的辦法！
Multiple choice questions
多項選擇題
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension 理解
1 We may learn more about the behaviour of insects ______ .
a．a(chǎn)nd become so fascinated by them that we are no longer moved by them
b．but we are no less likely to lose our irrational fear of them
c．provided they remain unaware of our presence while we observe them
d．a(chǎn)s long as they only harm each other and not us
2 The ant is an insect which ______ .
a．will eat its way through anything from picnic lunches to aphids
b．lives in a highly organized society which we find disgusting
c．once it has killed its prey, will bear it home in a triumphal column
d．shows great ingenuity at finding its way round any obstacle in its path
3 Had the peach tree been planted on the opposite side of the house ______ .
a．it might not have survived the severe winters
b．the writer would not have spent days looking at it
c．the ants would have had further to go before reaching it
d．the ants would not have found another route of access to the leaves
4 The reason for the ants' swarming up and down the tree was that ______ .
a．they collected a kind of honey from the leaves
b．they fed on a kind of honey contained in the sap of the tree
c．they were milking a kind of honey from the aphids on the leaves
d．they needed to go back to their nest in the branches of the tree
Structure 結(jié)構(gòu)
5 By reading about them, we may increase our understanding but ______ dispel our fears. (11. 7-8)
a．we will not
b．it does not
c．this will not
d．not
6 Most of our fears are unreasonable, but we find ______ _(1. 12)
a．it impossible to erase them
b．that they cannot erase
c．them to erase impossible
d．erasing them impossible
7 ---- an experiment which, ______ failure to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated. (11. 22-23)
a．even though it was
b．in spite of the
c．despite its
d．was a
8 ______ long to find an answer to…(11. 30-31)
a．The ants had not been
b．The ants had not been
c．The ants had not spent
d．It had not taken the ants
Vocabulary 詞匯
9 Even when we know that the ant is an industrious creature which leads a highly organized life, we cannot ______ being filled with… (11. 8-10)
a．refuse
b．help
c．prevent
d．lose
10 ---- we have read about the ______ sense of direction which bee possess … (1. 11)
a．unknown
b．mysterious
c．infinite
d．disabled
11 The tree occasionally produces ______ _fruit. (11. 19-20)
a．deliciously fresh
b．sweet and juicy
c．tender
d．exotic
12 I had been completely defeated by the ______ _(11. 29-30)
a．speedy swarms
b．hungry hordes
c．inventive creatures
d．ingenuous insects