一提起细菌，我们首先会想到疾病。其实，绝大多数细菌都是无害的。而且细菌的用途很广泛，甚至还能充当作画的颜料。
Bacteria become art tools
by Eva Amsen
There are about a trillion species of microbes on Earth, but usually we only pay attention when one of them has led to an outbreak of disease. However, besides a few disease-causing strains, we happily coexist with bacteria every day. Microbes are regularly used in food production, form a large part of the human body, and now they're also an art medium.
trillion /ˈtrɪljən/ n. 万亿
species /ˈspiːʃiːz/ n. 物种（单数和复数都是species）
microbe /ˈmaɪkrəʊb/ n. 微生物
lead to 导致
outbreak /ˈaʊtbreɪk/ n. （疾病、战争等）爆发
cause /kɔːz/ v. 造成
strain /streɪn/ n. 品种、品系
coexist /ˌkəʊɪɡˈzɪst/ v. 共存（由exist加上表示共同的前缀co-）
bacterium /bækˈtɪəriəm/ n. 细菌（bacteria /bækˈtɪəriə/ 是复数）
regularly /ˈreɡjələli/ adv. 常常
production /prəˈdʌkʃ(ə)n/ n. 生产
medium /ˈmiːdiəm/ n. 媒介
Scientists who use bacteria in research grow them either in a broth（培养液） or on a plate of a gel-like substance called agar（琼脂）. They may be studying the microbes directly – for example, to identify the source of an infection – or use bacteria as a tool to produce DNA meant for other research applications.
gel /dʒel/ n. 胶状物
substance /ˈsʌbst(ə)ns/ n. 物质
identify /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ v. 识别
source /sɔːs/ n. 源、源头
infection /ɪnˈfekʃ(ə)n/ n. 感染
application /ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 应用、运用
In 2015, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) decided that it was time to let others get a glimpse of the diversity of microbial（微生物的） life, and launched the Agar Art contest. It was a chance for scientists to get creative in their labs, and show the world not only their skills at creating patterns and pictures with bacteria, but also to give people a unique look at microbes. Rather than being something invisible and threatening, these microbes have become the paints on scientists' palettes（调色板）.
society /səˈsaɪəti/ n. 协会、社团
microbiology /ˌmaɪkrəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒi/ n. 微生物学（由biology加上表示微小的前缀micro-）
glimpse /ɡlɪmps/ n. 一瞥、看一眼
diversity /daɪˈvɜːsəti/ n. 多样性（由diverse加后缀-ity变成名词）
launch /lɔːntʃ/ v. 发起、使开始
contest /ˈkɒntest/ n. 比赛
pattern /ˈpæt(ə)n/ n. 图案
unique /juːˈniːk/ adj. 独特的
invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/ adj. 不可见的（由visible加上表示否定的前缀in-）
threaten /ˈθret(ə)n/ v. 威胁
The ASM has just announced the winners of this year's competition, which feature a wide variety of styles and bacterial strains. People's Choice winner Zita Postényi, a microbiologist at SYNLAB Hungary Ltd, used three agar plates and four different bacteria to create a pattern inspired by Hungarian folk art.
feature /ˈfiːtʃə(r)/ v. 以…为特征
bacterial /bækˈtɪəriəl/ adj. 细菌的
microbiologist /ˌmaɪkrəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒɪst/ n. 微生物学家（由microbiology加上表示人的后缀-ist）
inspire /ɪnˈspaɪə(r)/ v. 启发、给予灵感
Hungarian /hʌŋˈɡeəriən/ adj. 匈牙利的（匈牙利是中欧国家）
folk /fəʊk/ adj. 民间的
So how does this work? Bacteria are stored in a liquid stock, and can be spread onto an agar plate using a sterile（消过毒的） tool. At first, they're almost invisible. But after a few days in a warm incubator（培养箱）, individual bacteria have grown into little specks（斑点） and lines, following the exact location where they were spread on the plate.
store /stɔː(r)/ v. 贮存
stock /stɒk/ n. 高汤
spread /spred/ v. 摊开、涂抹
individual /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl/ n. 个体的
This year, ASM opened up the contest to allow anyone to try their hand at agar art, in separate "Maker" or "Kids" categories. Korey Abram took part through his school, Prairie View A&M University, where he is a Digital Media Arts student. His professors had provided him and other students with the materials and bacterial strains they could use to create their works.
separate /ˈsep(ə)rət/ adj. 分开的
category /ˈkætəɡri/ n. 类别、组别
material /məˈtɪəriəl/ n. 原材料
work /wɜːk/ n. 作品
"I had never once attempted agar art, nor had I even heard of it," says Abram. In the course of the project, he not only picked up the necessary skills to use bacteria as an art medium, but he learned more about microbiology as well.
course /kɔːs/ n. 发展过程
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 项目
pick up 学会
The human body has at least as many microbes as it has human cells, so it's fitting that Abram chose to create a self portrait with bacteria. His work, drawn with the bacteria Serratia marcescens and Micrococcus luteus, was chosen as the winner in the "Maker" category.
cell /sel/ n. 细胞
fitting /ˈfɪtɪŋ/ adj. 合适的
portrait /ˈpɔːtrət/ n. 肖像、半身像
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
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