工业设计专业英语翻译17

Lesson17

Insectswon’ttakeovertheearth,theyownitnow.Aleadingbiologistex plainswhybugsaretheworld’smostsuccessfuldesign.

昆虫没有占据地球，它们现在属于地球，一个杰出的生物学家解释为什么昆虫是世界上最成功的设计。Theyincorporateastonishinglysophisticateddesignfeatures,bothstr ucturallyandfunctionally, which renderthemespeciallywellsuitedforsurvivalonthisplanet.

无论在结构上还是机能上，它们具有令人惊讶的设计能力特征，来展示出它们在这个星球上的适应性。

There’snodenyingit:Bugs

Rule.Therearecurrently200millioninsectsforeveryman,womanandchi ld.Of the1.5millionspeciesidentified,morethanhalfareinsects.

不可否认的是：昆虫法则。当前每一个人都对应2亿虫类。1.5亿被人所识别，其中一半以上为昆虫。Wehumansmaynotliketheidea,butthereisnodenyingit:Bugs

Rule.Estimateshaveitthat

therearesome1018bugsnowaliveontheplanet.Itisnotonlytheirsheern umber,butalsotheirdiversitythatis staggering:Of

thetotal1.5millionspeciesofanimals,plantsand microorganisms thatha vebeenidentified,morethanhalf—orover800,000—areinsects.Andw hilenewspeciesofinsectsarebeingdiscovereddaily,over10millionmayy

etremainunknown.

我们人类可能不喜欢这个主意，但是不可否认：昆虫法则。估计有1018种昆虫生存在地球上，这些并不是全部的数量，但它们的物种多样性令人惊愕：总共有150万种植物，动物，微生物被确认，超过一半，或者80万种以上是昆虫，并且每天都有新的昆虫被发现，超过1000万的物种仍然未知。Whatmakesinsectsthemostsuccessfulinhabitantsoftheearth?Onea nsweristhattheyaresmall,whichhasmadeitpossibleforthemtocolonize literallyevery nook and cranny.Butthereisanotherreason:Insectsarebui lttolast.Itisthesefeaturesthathaveallowedthemtogaintheevolutionar yadvantagetheyhaveachieved.

是什么使昆虫成为地球上最成功的居住者？一是因为它们小，使它们能在角落和偏僻的地方有繁殖的可能性。但是另外一个原因是：昆虫生来就是为了生存，这些特征使它们在进化中拥有优势。Thesuitofarmorthatinsectsareencasedinprovidesthemwithprotect ionfrom predators andkeepsthemfromdryingout,thelatterbeingofcon siderableconcern,giventheirtinysize.Withouttheiroutercasing,theyw ouldneverhavemasteredlifeintheopen.Theinsectskeletonisappropria telyhingedinplacestoprovideformobility.Likeourown,theirlegshavefle xiblejoints,butsodotheirprincipalbodyparts—theirhead,thorax andab domen.Eventhewingsoftheinsect,whichcanbeatatfrequenciesofhun

dredsoftimespersecond,arenomorethan flaplike elaborationsoftheirs keleton.Itisthankstothecombinedmotorcapacityoftheirlegsandwings thatinsectsareabletoachievethefeatsof agility forwhichtheyarefamous .(Thinkofa housefly evading swats or cockroaches inyourkitchen,scurryi ng forcoverwhenyouturnonthelights.)Potentially,becauseofits rigidity, theinsectskeletonimposeslimitsongrowth.Insectssolvetheproblemby molting:Astheygettoolargefortheirarmor,theysimply shed it.

它们的盔甲是为了提供防止被捕食的保护和保持干燥，后者是相当的不安，给它们微小的体形。没有外壳，它们无法生存。昆虫骨架是在适当的地方连接提供流动性，就像我们自己的，它们的腿具有柔性接头，但这样做的主要身体部位是头部，胸腔和腹部。即使昆虫有每秒数百次击打的频率的翅膀，都比不上它们像折翼状的骨骼。多亏了它们的腿和翅膀机动能力的结合，昆虫有了它们有名的灵敏性（想象一下家蝇或者蟑螂在厨房躲避拍击，当你打开灯时它们急速跑到角落的情形）潜在的，因其刚度，昆虫加强限制其增长。昆虫靠脱皮来解决这些问题，当它们相对于它们的外壳越来越大时，他们很容易就脱壳了。Agilityinanimalscorrelateswithhighrespiratorydemand,andinsects havearemarkablewayofdeliveringoxygentotheirinternalorgans.Airflo wsintotheinsectbodythroughaseriesofopeningscalled spiracles thatle adinwardintotubes,or tracheae.Insteadofconveyingoxygenbywayofbl ood,insectsprovideordirect aeration oftheirtissues.Theflightmusclesof