美国小学英语教材5:第85课 松毛虫(4)

 The eggs hatch in September. 卵在九月孵化。

If one lifts the scales of the muff, one can see black heads appear, which nibble¹ and push back their coverings. 如果你把皮手筒的鳞片拿起来，你会看到黑色的脑袋出现了，它们咬着皮手筒，把它的覆盖物往后推。

The tiny creatures come out slowly all over the surface. 这些微小的生物慢慢地爬出水面。

They are pale yellow, with black heads twice as large as their bodies. 它们是淡黄色的，黑色的脑袋是身体的两倍大。

First they eat the pine needles on which their nest was placed; 期先它们吃筑巢的松针；

then they eat the near-by needles. 随后他们吃附近的松针。

From time to time, three or four, who have eaten as much as they want, fall in line and walk in step in a little procession. 不时地，三四只想吃多少就吃多少的毛虫排着队，整齐地走在一个小队伍里。

This is practice for the coming processions. 这是即将到来的游行的惯例。

If I disturb them, they sway the front half of their bodies and wag their heads. 如果我打扰它们，它们会摆动前半部分的身体，摇着头。

The next thing they do is to spin a little tent at the place where their nest was. 接下来它们要做的就是在他们的巢所在的地方搭一个小帐篷。

The tent is a small ball made of gauze, resting on some leaves. 帐篷是用纱布做成的小球，放在一些树叶上。

Inside it they take a rest during the hottest part of the day. 在一天中最热的时候，它们会在里面休息。

In the afternoon they leave this shelter and start feeding again. 下午，它们离开这个庇护所，重新开始进食。

 

1 nibble   

n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵

参考例句：

• Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
• The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上，啄着砖缝。