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The natural History of the Cockroach¹, on this Moment of Science.
科学一刻为您揭秘蟑螂的自然发展历史。

For certain species of cockroach, humans make the perfect roommates. Why do cockroaches² like living in our houses? And what do they do when they’re not bugging³ us?
对于某些品种的蟑螂来说，它们能够很好的融入人类的生活环境。为什么蟑螂会喜欢生活在我们房子里面呢？在烦扰我们之余，他们又都在做些什么?

Although most us think of cockroaches as vermin, they do have a useful ecological⁴ role. Cockroaches are professional recyclers, chowing down just about anything, including dead plants and animals, and animal waste.
尽管我们认为蟑螂是害虫，实际上他们对自然生态环境颇有益处。蟑螂是回收专家，能够吃下任何东西，包括死去的动植物以及动物的粪便。

Their digestive systems are up to the task because they contain bacteria and protozoa that help convert the world’s waste into easily-absorbed nutrients⁵. In the wild, the waste of roaches nourishes growing plants, continuing the cycle.
它们的消化系统功能强大，含有某些细菌与原生动物能将世间废物变成极易吸收的营养物质。在野外，蟑螂的粪便给植物提供生长养分，让生态系统继续循环。

Day In The Sun
辉煌之时

300 million years ago, the Carboniferous period was the cockroaches’ day in the sun so to speak. The whole earth was swampy⁶ and hot, with new plants and animals appearing on the scene, creating lots of waste for roaches to recycle. As the earth’s climate changed, becoming colder and dryer⁷, cockroaches survived mainly in the tropics
可以这么说，3亿年以前的石炭纪是蟑螂的辉煌之时。那时的地球非常湿热，新生动植物的出现造成了大量的废弃物可供蟑螂进行回收利用。当地球的气候变得干冷之后，蟑螂只主要生活在热带地区。

A few hundred million years later, ships full of food and humans set out from the tropics, carrying clandestine⁸ cockroaches on board. Cockroaches disembarked in ports all over the world, searching for new homes. You might not have compared your house to a Carboniferous swamp, but the similarities wouldn’t escape a cockroach.
几百万年以后，满载食物与人类的船只从热带出发，而蟑螂则偷偷摸摸地登上了船。蟑螂们登陆了全世界各个港口，寻找新家园。也许你不会将你的家与石炭纪的沼泽进行对比，但是蟑螂不会忽视其相似之处。

Cockroaches And Humans
蟑螂与人类

There are lots of tasty crumbs⁹ littering the floor, a nice warm temperature year-round, and endless crannies to hide in. Despite these ideal living conditions, not all wandering cockroaches chose to shack¹⁰ up with humans. Of the 55 species of cockroach in the US, only 12 prefer human dwellings¹¹. The rest live outside, recycling without bugging us at all.
人们房子里的地板上到处掉落着美味的面包屑，同时，常年保持温暖适宜的温度，而且有数不清的缝隙提供藏身之所。尽管生活条件理想，并不是所有蟑螂都选择与人们憩息在同一屋檐之下。在美国有55种蟑螂，其中只有12种喜欢与人类共处。其他种类都生活在室外，从不打扰我们，只是默默进行资源回收活动