国家地理:Halloween: Goliath Tarantula 食鸟蛛奇
时间：2018-12-05 作者：英语课 分类：国家地理2007年
英语课
They're the big, hairy spiders of our nightmares. And it's no wonder we are afraid. Tarantulas are the biggest of all the arachnids. These spiders are killing 1 machines perfectly 2 adapted to their habitats. And the biggest and battiest of them all is the Goliath. It can grow to nearly a foot across with fangs 3 an inch long. The Goliath makes its home in the remote rainforests of South America.
Night is when the Goliath is most active. But for these ambush 4 predators 5, hunting means lying in wait. Near the entrance to her burrow 6, she lays down a silk welcome mat. It acts like a tripwire letting her know when something has ventured within range. Even with eight eyes, Goliaths like most spiders have weak vision. They are alerted to the presence of prey 7 by vibrations 8 rippling 9 across their sensitive hairs. It's only a matter of time before some hapless creature like this floor mouse wanders too close and brushes against the silk. It's like ringing a dinner bell. The Goliath's venom 10 proves fatal to this mouse.
But for most people, the tarantula's bite is no worse than a bee sting. According to researchers, there has never been a single confirmed human death from a tarantula bite. Perhaps knowing the facts about these ancient predators can help turn human fear into fascination 11.
tarantula: a very large hairy spider found chiefly in tropical and subtropical America
arachnid: an arthropod of the class Arachnida, which includes spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks
Goliath: a person or thing of enormous size or strength
lie in wait: wait in hiding to attack
tripwire: a wire that is stretched close to the ground and activates a trap, explosion, or alarm when disturbed
Night is when the Goliath is most active. But for these ambush 4 predators 5, hunting means lying in wait. Near the entrance to her burrow 6, she lays down a silk welcome mat. It acts like a tripwire letting her know when something has ventured within range. Even with eight eyes, Goliaths like most spiders have weak vision. They are alerted to the presence of prey 7 by vibrations 8 rippling 9 across their sensitive hairs. It's only a matter of time before some hapless creature like this floor mouse wanders too close and brushes against the silk. It's like ringing a dinner bell. The Goliath's venom 10 proves fatal to this mouse.
But for most people, the tarantula's bite is no worse than a bee sting. According to researchers, there has never been a single confirmed human death from a tarantula bite. Perhaps knowing the facts about these ancient predators can help turn human fear into fascination 11.
tarantula: a very large hairy spider found chiefly in tropical and subtropical America
arachnid: an arthropod of the class Arachnida, which includes spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks
Goliath: a person or thing of enormous size or strength
lie in wait: wait in hiding to attack
tripwire: a wire that is stretched close to the ground and activates a trap, explosion, or alarm when disturbed
1 killing
n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财
- Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
- Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
2 perfectly
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
- The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
- Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
3 fangs
n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座
- The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 ambush
n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击
- Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
- Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。
5 predators
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）
- birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
- The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 burrow
vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞
- Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
- The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。
7 prey
n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨
- Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
- The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
8 vibrations
n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动
- We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
- I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 rippling
起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的
- I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
- The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。
10 venom
n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨
- The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
- In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上，毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。
11 fascination
n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋
- He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
- His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。