VOA慢速英語:沒有人知道為什么蜜蜂正在消失

Entomologists -- scientists who study insects -- are working with other scientists to learn why bee colonies are dying in the United States. They call the problem "colony collapse disorder."

昆蟲學家——研究昆蟲的科學家——正與其他科學家致力于了解為什么在美國蜂群正在滅亡。他們稱這個問題為“蜂群衰竭失調(diào)癥”。

VOA recently spoke with amateur beekeepers in Fort Wayne, Indianawho are working to learn about honeybees and how to keep them alive.

美國之音最近采訪了那些印第安納州韋恩堡的業(yè)余養(yǎng)蜂人，他們正在努力了解蜜蜂以及如何使他們存活。

Honeybees are disappearing, and no one knows exactly why. Entomologists and scientists around the world are scrambling to find the answer to colony collapse disorder.

Bees are needed to produce one third of our food. That is why Megan Ryan is worried about their survival. Earlier this year, she created an apiary, a place wheregroups, or hives, of honeybees are kept.

我們?nèi)种坏氖澄锲渖a(chǎn)都需要蜜蜂。這就是為什么梅根·瑞恩（Megan Ryan）擔心它們生存的原因。今年早些時候，她創(chuàng)建了一個養(yǎng)蜂場，成群的蜜蜂或麻蜂群都在這里養(yǎng)殖。

"Our hives are full of what's called Italian honeybees."

“我們的蜂巢里都是所謂的意大利蜜蜂。”

Italian bees are popular because they are not as aggressive as other kinds of bees. And they reproduce faster than other kinds of honeybees. In just four months, the apiary has grown from 10,000 to 70,000 bees in each hive.

意大利蜜蜂很受歡迎，因為它們并不像其他種類的蜜蜂那樣具有攻擊性。它們的繁殖比其他種類蜜蜂的繁殖速度更快。短短四個月中，養(yǎng)蜂場的每個蜂巢里其蜜蜂的數(shù)量從10,000增長到70,000只。

 Alex Cornwell is also a beekeeper. He says over the past ten years, both American and European hives have lost more than one fourth of their population.

亞歷克斯·康韋爾（Alex Cornwell）也是一位養(yǎng)蜂人。他說，過去的十年中，在美國和歐洲，超過其總數(shù)四分之一的蜂巢已經(jīng)消失。

"It's unknownwhat colony collapse disorder is caused by specifically, but it could be a combination of anywhere frompesticides to mites topathogens."

是什么特殊原因造成蜂群衰竭失調(diào)還不可而知。但可能是由于從殺蟲劑到螨蟲感染、病原體的任何一種結(jié)合所致。

Every time they visit the apiary, Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell record information about the bees.

每當他們參觀蜂房，瑞安女士（Ms. Ryan）和康韋爾先生（Mr. Cornwell）都會記錄蜜蜂的有關信息。

"We would share it with the DNR (Department of Natural Resources), other beekeepers -- any conservation effort, any organization that would like our records we freely share those."Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

“我們將與DNR（自然資源部）、其他養(yǎng)蜂人分享這一信息——任何保護工作，任何組織都會期望我們自由分享地那些記錄的信息。”

 They also teach people about beekeeping. They want people to begin their own hives.

他們還教人們養(yǎng)蜂。他們希望人們開始建造他們自己的蜂巢。

"You don't have to be a scientist that has a degree in order to teach people and help people learn about bees and that'sthe awesome part about beekeeping -- anybody can do it."

“如果你的目的只是為了教人們并幫助他們了解蜜蜂，你不必成為一個擁有學位的科學家，這就是養(yǎng)蜂的最不可思議的部分——任何人都可以養(yǎng)蜂。”

About 100 people have said they want to learn more about creating their own hives. Ms. Ryan and Mr. Cornwell say they will start a program to teach migrant workers about beekeeping so they can take that knowledge with them wherever they work.

大約有100人已經(jīng)表示，他們希望了解更多關于創(chuàng)建自己蜂巢的信息。萊恩女士（Ms. Ryan）和康韋爾先生（Mr. Cornwell）說，他們將啟動一個計劃來教民工養(yǎng)蜂，這樣無論他們在哪里工作都可以向他們學習養(yǎng)蜂知識。

I'm Marsha James.

我是瑪莎·詹姆斯。

Erika Celeste reported this story from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

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Words in This Story

colony– n. a group of plants or animals living or growing in one place

amateur– n. a person who does something (such as a sport or hobby) for pleasure and not as a job

hive– n. a nest for bees

pesticide– n. a chemical that is used to kill animals or insects that damage plants or crops

mite– n. a very small creature that often lives on plants, animals and foods

pathogen– n. something (such as a type of bacteria or a virus) that causes disease

degree – n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university

awesome– adj. informal extremely good