Lesson 02 Spare That Spider
How much of each year do spiders spend killing insects?
Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends? Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders. Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.
Spiders are not insects, as many people think, not even nearly related to them. One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.
How many spiders are engaged in this work on our behalf? One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in a grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.
📝 文章大意
蜘蛛是人类的朋友，因为它们消灭了大量昆虫，而昆虫是人类最大的敌人之一：要不是有食虫动物保护，昆虫会吃光庄稼、咬死牲畜，让人类无法生存。鸟兽吃掉的昆虫加起来也只是蜘蛛消灭的一小部分，而且蜘蛛对人类毫无危害。蜘蛛并不是昆虫，一眼就能分辨：蜘蛛有八条腿，昆虫最多六条。一位专家统计，英格兰南部的草地上每英亩有 225 万多只蜘蛛，一年中至少有半年在捕食昆虫。据估计，英国的蜘蛛一年消灭的昆虫，重量超过全国人口的总重量。
标题问题的答案：蜘蛛每年至少有半年在捕食昆虫（at least half the year）。
📚 核心单词
| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 含义 | 文中用法 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| devour | /dɪˈvaʊə(r)/ | v. | 吞食，吃光 | devour all our crops |
| crop | /krɒp/ | n. | 庄稼 | devour all our crops |
| flock | /flɒk/ | n. | （羊、鸟）群 | flocks and herds（牲畜） |
| herd | /hɜːd/ | n. | （牛等大型牲畜）群 | flocks and herds |
| beast | /biːst/ | n. | 兽，动物 | birds and beasts（鸟兽） |
| fraction | /ˈfrækʃn/ | n. | 小部分；分数 | only a fraction of the number |
| belongings | /bɪˈlɒŋɪŋz/ | n. | 财物（常用复数） | us or our belongings |
| glance | /ɡlɑːns/ | n. | 一瞥 | at a glance（一眼就能看出） |
| behalf | /bɪˈhɑːf/ | n. | 代表；利益 | on our behalf（为我们） |
| authority | /ɔːˈθɒrəti/ | n. | 权威，专家 | one authority on spiders |
| census | /ˈsensəs/ | n. | 普查，统计 | make a census of … |
| acre | /ˈeɪkə(r)/ | n. | 英亩（约 4047 平方米） | in one acre |
| pitch | /pɪtʃ/ | n. | （英）球场 | a football pitch |
| content | /kənˈtent/ | adj. | 满足的 | not content with …（不满足于） |
📖 难句解析
1. Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends?
- 主干是
Why should spiders be our friends?，you may wonder是插入语 should表示惊讶、不解的语气：（凭什么）竟然要……- 开篇设问，下一句
Because ...直接作答 - 译: 你可能会感到奇怪，蜘蛛为什么会是我们的朋友呢？
2. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals.
make it impossible for sb to do：it 是形式宾语，真正的宾语是to live in the worldif it were not for ...= 要不是有……，与现在事实相反的虚拟语气，所以主句用would make、would devour- 分号后的句子是对前半句的具体说明
we get from ...是省略了 that 的定语从句，修饰 protection- 译: 要不是有食虫动物保护我们，昆虫会使我们无法在这个世界上生存；它们会吞食我们所有的庄稼，咬死我们的牛羊。
3. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders.
owe a lot to sb= 多亏了某人，很大程度上归功于某人all of them put together是all of them加过去分词短语，put together = 加在一起only a fraction of= 只是……的一小部分destroyed by spiders是过去分词作后置定语，修饰 the number- 译: 我们很感激吃昆虫的鸟兽，但它们捕食的昆虫全部加起来也只是蜘蛛消灭的昆虫数量的一小部分。
4. Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.
never ... the least= 一点也不，双重强调否定do harm to sb= 对某人有害- 译: 而且，和别的食虫动物不同，蜘蛛对我们和我们的财物丝毫无害。
5. Spiders are not insects, as many people think, not even nearly related to them.
as many people think修饰的是”蜘蛛是昆虫”这个观点，即”不像许多人以为的那样”，不是”正如人们所想”not even nearly related to them是省略句，= they are not even nearly related to insectsnot even nearly= 甚至连近亲都算不上- 译: 蜘蛛并不像许多人以为的那样是昆虫，它们甚至与昆虫没有什么亲缘关系。
6. One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.
tell the difference= 区分，辨别for是并列连词，表示补充说明理由，比 because 更书面an insect never more than six省略了 has，= an insect never has more than six- 译: 人们几乎一眼就能看出它们的区别，因为蜘蛛总是八条腿，而昆虫的腿从来不超过六条。
7. … he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch.
that is指代前面整件事，表示换算：这相当于……something like= 大约，相当于 about- 译: ……他估计每英亩草地上有 225 万多只蜘蛛，这就是说，一个足球场上大约有 600 万只各种各样的蜘蛛。
8. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day.
it是形式主语，真正主语是to make ... guessmake a guess at= 猜测；impossible to make more than the wildest guess= 除了极粗略地猜一猜，什么也做不到how many they kill是宾语从句，作 at 的宾语not content with ...是形容词短语作 creatures 的补充说明- 译: 蜘蛛究竟消灭了多少昆虫，我们只能做非常粗略的猜测，但它们是贪吃的动物，不满足于一日三餐。
9. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.
It has been estimated that ...= 据估计，it 是形式主语- 从句主干：
the weight ... would be greater than the total weight ... destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰 insectswould表示推测- 译: 据估计，英国的蜘蛛一年中消灭的昆虫的重量会超过全国人口的总重量。