VOA慢速英语:没有人知道为什么蜜蜂正在消失

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."

昆虫学家——研究昆虫的科学家——正与其他科学家致力于了解为什么在美国蜂群正在灭亡。他们称这个问题为“蜂群衰竭失调症”。

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

美国之音最近采访了那些印第安纳州韦恩堡的业余养蜂人，他们正在努力了解蜜蜂以及如何使他们存活。

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.

我们三分之一的食物其生产都需要蜜蜂。这就是为什么梅根·瑞恩（Megan Ryan）担心它们生存的原因。今年早些时候，她创建了一个养蜂场，成群的蜜蜂或麻蜂群都在这里养殖。

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

“我们的蜂巢里都是所谓的意大利蜜蜂。”

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.

意大利蜜蜂很受欢迎，因为它们并不像其他种类的蜜蜂那样具有攻击性。它们的繁殖比其他种类蜜蜂的繁殖速度更快。短短四个月中，养蜂场的每个蜂巢里其蜜蜂的数量从10,000增长到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.

亚历克斯·康韦尔（Alex Cornwell）也是一位养蜂人。他说，过去的十年中，在美国和欧洲，超过其总数四分之一的蜂巢已经消失。

"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调还不可而知。但可能是由于从杀虫剂到螨虫感染、病原体的任何一种结合所致。

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

每当他们参观蜂房，瑞安女士（Ms. Ryan）和康韦尔先生（Mr. Cornwell）都会记录蜜蜂的有关信息。

"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!

“我们将与DNR（自然资源部）、其他养蜂人分享这一信息——任何保护工作，任何组织都会期望我们自由分享地那些记录的信息。”

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

他们还教人们养蜂。他们希望人们开始建造他们自己的蜂巢。

"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."

“如果你的目的只是为了教人们并帮助他们了解蜜蜂，你不必成为一个拥有学位的科学家，这就是养蜂的最不可思议的部分——任何人都可以养蜂。”

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.

大约有100人已经表示，他们希望了解更多关于创建自己蜂巢的信息。莱恩女士（Ms. Ryan）和康韦尔先生（Mr. Cornwell）说，他们将启动一个计划来教民工养蜂，这样无论他们在哪里工作都可以向他们学习养蜂知识。

I'm Marsha James.

我是玛莎·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.

______________________________________________________________

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