一、Honey Bee Pollination
pollination
英 [ˌpɒlə'neɪʃ(ə)n]
n.传粉
pollinate
英 [ˈpɒləneɪt] 美 [ˈpɑːləneɪt]
v.授粉;传粉
pollen
英 [ˈpɒlən] 美 [ˈpɑːlən]
n.花粉
pollinator
英 [ˈpɒlɪneɪtə] 美 [ˈpɑləˌneɪtər]
n.传粉者;(尤指)传粉昆虫
almond
英 [ˈɑːmənd] 美 [ˈɑːmənd]
n.扁桃仁;杏仁(扁桃树的果仁)
beekeeper
英 [ˈbiːkiːpə(r)] 美 [ˈbiːkiːpər]
n.养蜂人
colony
英 [ˈkɒləni] 美 [ˈkɑːləni]
n.殖民地;殖民地定居者群体;(来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的)聚居人群
Honey bees play an interesting and important role in nature.
In addition to making honey, honeybees help many plants reproduce.
They do this by pollinating the plant, which means to transfer pollen.
Pollination occurs when pollen is moved within a plant's flower or carried to another flower.
This is how the plants reproduce.
For reproduction to succeed, the pollen must be transferred from the male part of a flower to the female part.
Q：Pollination is how some plant?
A：reproduce
Many plants depend on pollination for reproduction.
These include many fruits and vegetables.
Besides honey bees, there are many other pollinators, including birds, insects and other kinds of bees.
Without enough pollinators, many of our favorite fruits and vegetables would become more expensive and hard to find.
These include almonds and cherries.
Honey bees are important pollinators and play an important role in agriculture.
Beekeepers are people who keep honey bees.
In addition to collecting honey, some beekeepers provide pollination services to farmers.
They do this by raising and managing colonies of bees.
Farmers need the colonies to pollinate their crops.
Beekeepers can provide and manage bee colonies for farmers.
Q：How do beekeepers provide pollination services?
A：They raise and manage colonies of bees.
二、Colony Collapse
immature
英 [ˌɪməˈtjʊə(r)] 美 [ˌɪməˈtʃʊr]
adj.
(行为)不成熟的，不够老练的，幼稚的;未长成的;发育未全的
pesticide
英 [ˈpestɪsaɪd] 美 [ˈpestɪsaɪd]
n.杀虫剂;除害药物
infection
英 [ɪnˈfekʃn] 美 [ɪnˈfekʃn]
n.传染;感染;(身体某部位的)感染;传染病
interdependent
英 [ˌɪntədɪˈpendənt] 美 [ˌɪntərdɪˈpendənt]
adj.(各部分)相互依存的，相互依赖的
complex
英 [ˈkɒmpleks] 美 [kəmˈpleks , ˈkɑːmpleks]
adj.复杂的;难懂的;费解的;复合的(指词根加有词缀或主句含有从句)
n.(类型相似的)建筑群;相关联的一组事物;不正常的精神状态;情结
unforeseen
英 [ˌʌnfɔːˈsiːn] 美 [ˌʌnfɔːrˈsiːn]
adj.未想到的;始料不及的
Honey bees are social insects that live in colonies.
A bee colony consists of a queen bee, male drones and thousands of female worker bees.
Each colony also contains eggs and immature bees in various stages of development.
The number of bees within a colony depends on seasonal changes.
A colony's population increases during the warm seasons and decreases during colder seasons.
Q：What does the population of the colony depend on?
A：seasonal changes.
In recent years, many bee colonies have collapsed or disappeared.
A bee colony collapse occurs when a majority of the bees in a colony disappear and leave behind the queen.
Some beekeepers have reported losing 30 to 90 percent of their colonies.
This loss of bee colonies can cause significant problems for farmers who depend on them to pollinate their crops.
In some parts of the world，a shortage of bees has increased the cost of renting bees by up to 20%.
There are several possible causes for bee colony collapse.
One possible cause is the use of new pesticides.
Other possible causes include infections from viruses, genetic factors, and malnutrition.
Changing weather patterns may also play a role as summers get hotter and winters get colder.
These changes in weather may weaken the bees, making it more difficult for them to fight infections.
Whatever the cause of colony collapse， it's important to understand that many parts of our world are interdependent.
Changes that affect one species may have serious effects on other species.
A change to our environment can start a chain of events that is difficult to predict.
In any complex system such as the Earth's environment, small changes can have unforeseen consequences.
The danger of unforeseen consequences is something we all need to understand better.
An unforeseen consequence occurs when an action produces a result that isn't expected
The earth's environment is an extremely complex system.
三、Business and Economics
transmission
英 [trænzˈmɪʃn] 美 [trænzˈmɪʃn]
n.传送;传递;传达;传播;传染;(电子信号、信息或广播、电视节目的)播送，发射，发送，传输;(电台或电视)信息，广播
Goods and services supply what people need or want.
Goods are things such as food and clothing.
Services include things such as health care and police protection.
A country needs natural and human resources.
Natural resources include fresh water supplies, farmland and energy sources, such as oil and wind.
Human resources include a skilled workforce that can produce goods and services.
Once we have a supply of goods or services, they need to be distributed throughout a country.
Highways and railways are both ways to transport things from one part of a country to another.
Electricity is distributed through a system of transmission lines.
We live in an age of advertising.
Advertising lets people know about goods and services.
It educates people about the products being advertised.
Trade allows for the exchange of goods and services between different countries.
Exports are goods and services that are sold to another country.
Imports are goods and services that are bought from another country.
For example, many countries import oil from countries such as Saudi Arabia.
四、Career Building
truck
英 [trʌk] 美 [trʌk]
n.(铁路上运送货物或动物的)敞篷车，无盖车皮;(运送货物、士兵、动物等后面敞开的)载重汽车;(运送东西的)手推车，手拉车
v.用卡车装运
entrepreneur
英 [ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜː(r)] 美 [ˌɑːntrəprəˈnɜːr]
n.创业者，企业家(尤指涉及财务风险的)
Employees are the people who work for a company.
Some employees do basic work, such as operating a machine or driving a truck.
The people who hire and direct the work of other employees are managers.
Interviews are one way to find out about a person who applies for a job.
In an interview, a job applicant can ask questions about a company, and the company can find out about a person's skills and experience.
An entrepreneur is someone who starts a new company.
Entrepreneurs often have new ideas and ways of doing things, that can give their company an advantage.
Salary and benefits are used to attract new employees into a company.
If the salary and benefits are good enough, employees may take the job, and stay with the company.
Benefits include vacation time, health insurance and bonuses for employees who do a good job.
When applying for a job, it's important to have the skills and experience needed for the job.
Developing and increasing skills and experiences is a good way to prepare for a good job.
Each job a person has is an opportunity to learn new things and develop new skills.
五、Landlord Trouble
landlord
英 [ˈlændlɔːd] 美 [ˈlændlɔːrd]
n.业主;地主;房东;(酒吧或招待所的)店主，老板
deposit
英 [dɪˈpɒzɪt] 美 [dɪˈpɑːzɪt]
n.订金;订钱;押金;存款
v.放下;放置;使沉积;使沉淀;使淤积;将(钱)存入银行;存储
evil
英 [ˈiːvl] 美 [ˈiːvl]
adj.恶毒的;邪恶的;有害的;道德败坏的;恶魔的;罪恶的
n.邪恶;罪恶;恶行;害处;坏处;弊端
You don't look good.
Is something bothering you?
Yes, it's my landlord.
Oh, it there something wrong with your flat?
No, there is nothing wrong with the flat.
But I'm going to have to move out.
She doesn't look good because she has to move out of her flat.
Why do you have to move out?
For the last two months, a friend has been staying with me.
She is staying until she can find a job.
That's nice of you.
Yes, but I'm not supposed to have anyone staying there.
Was that in the rental agreement?
Yes, it was.
It's okay if a friend stays for a few days, but not for more than that.
Her friend was going to stay until she could find a job.
So you broke the agreement, even though it was for a good reason.
Anyway, one of my neighbors told the landlord about my friend.
So now I'm in trouble.
The landlord is angry and says she can't trust me.
That's ridiculous.
I told her about my friend and how I'm trying to help her, but she doesn't care.
Wow, she doesn't sound very nice.
That's right, she isn't nice.
She is just interested in money.
In fact, she is going to keep my security deposit.
How can she do that?
Nothing is damage, right?
Right, everything in the flat is fine.
She's keeping the deposit because I broke the rental agreement.
Q：Why can the landlord keep the deposit?
A：She broke the rental agreement.
What about your rent?
Yes, that's another problem.
I've already paid three months rent, so I hope I get it back.
What can you do if she doesn't return it?
I don't know.
I'll talk to my agent.
He's nice, and maybe he can help.
Maybe I should refuse to leave the flat until I get it back.
Be sure to take pictures of the flat.
What for?
Just to show the condition of the flat.
Then she can't say your friend damage it in anyway.
Good idea.
She's a small-minded, evil woman.
I should never have rented it from her in the first place.
网友评论