有句话叫“You are what you eat”,说的应该是蜜蜂吧。据说蜜蜂幼虫都一样,但吃蜂王浆(royal jelly)的长大后就成了蜂后,其它的就成工蜂,真是很没天理…… 于是聪明的商家就推出蜂王浆营养品,但其宣称的神奇功效是否属实,怕是谁也说不清楚。
文中多次出现“幼虫”这个单词,单数是“larva /'larveh/”,复数却是“larvae /'larvi:/”,真是跟蜂王浆一样神奇。
enchanting: 令人着迷的,神奇的
ascend to the throne: 登基(各大词典均是及物动词的用法:ascend the throne)
fatty acid: 脂肪酸
organic acid: 有机酸
entrepreneur: 企业家
capitalize on: 从中获益
virile: 刚健的,有男子气概的
do the trick for sb: 对某人有效
音频下载及链接:
3种语速的音频文件已上传百度云:链接| 密码: ez6k(在百度云点击MP3文件名可直接在线听)(原始语速来自A Moment of Science官网,1.5倍及2.0倍语速版本为我个人后期调整的)
本期文章原始音频、配图及文本均来自A Moment of Science官网:链接
文本:
(参照源网页的文字、根据实际录音内容修改而成):
According to legend, King Arthur gained the crown by pulling a sword from a rock. Queen honeybees have an equally enchanting way of ascending to the throne: royal jelly!
This special jelly is made of water, proteins, fatty acids, organic acids, vitamins and minerals. These substances are mixed with bee milk, a liquid produced by young worker bees.
When the reigning queen begins to show signs of old age, worker bees select her successors from among the developing queen bee larvae. Although all baby bees are fed royal jelly at first, queen bee larvae receive extra helpings and continue to be fed the rich food longer than regular larvae. The jelly fed to developing queens is also packed with higher concentrations of sugar and various proteins.
The results are spectacular. Thanks to their super-nutritious diet, queen bees grow up to 1.5 times larger than regular bees, live 40 times longer than normal bees, and lay up to 2,000 eggs per day.
Inevitably, entrepreneurs have attempted to capitalize on royal jelly by creating jelly-infused dietary supplements that supposedly make people stronger and more virile. But don’t go spreading royal jelly on your toast just yet. Although it does the trick for bees, there’s no solid proof that the stuff will make you king or queen for even a day.
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