Black Widow Spider毒蜘蛛黑寡妇

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Black Widow Spider

Did you know that the black

widow spider is one of the most

poisonous spiders in the world? But only the females can hurt you. The males are harmless. The female's

poison is much stronger than that of a rattlesnake. A person who has been

bitten can die if he or she does not get treatment.

The female black widow is about 1/2 inch long. She is black and has red marks on her belly. The black widow gets her name from the fact that she sometimes eats her mate. The male is 1/3 of the female's size. He doesn't have any red marks.

Let's observe one black widow female. When we first see her, she is hanging upside down on her web. She stays there for three days without moving. Her skin becomes smaller, then she sheds it. She grows a new, larger skin. This is called molting, and it happens about eight times during her life.

One day a male black widow comes to the edge of the female's web. He strums on the web. If the female is ready to mate, she will strum too. If not, she may chase and eat him. It is unsafe to be a male black widow.

After mating, the female weaves a small silk sac. This is where she will lay from 250 to 750 eggs. Black widows lay their eggs in the spring. The female guards the egg sac for about a month. Then baby spiders, or spiderlings, hatch. The spiderlings are small and helpless when they come out of the egg sac. Many are eaten by birds or insects. Some are even eaten by their mother. Most, however, live and become adults.

必背词汇

练 习

1. When does the female black widow hang on her web without moving? ____________

A. after eating

B. before laying eggs

C. while she is molting

2. When does the female black widow strum on her web? ______________

A. when she is ready to mate

B. when she is hungry

C. when she is sleepy

3. When does the female make an egg sac? ________________

A. when she is molting

B. after mating

C. before biting someone

4. When do black widows lay their eggs? _______________

A. in the spring

B. during summer

C. before the first snow

译 文

毒蜘蛛黑寡妇

你知道黑寡妇是世界上毒性最强的蜘蛛之一吗？然而，只有母蜘蛛可以害人，公蜘蛛则是无害的。母蜘蛛的毒性要比响尾蛇的毒性强很多。人一旦被母蜘蛛叮咬又没有及时得到治疗，便必死无疑。

母蜘蛛约为0.5英寸（约1.27厘米）长，它通体为黑色，腹部有红色标记。人们之所以会称它们为“黑寡妇”是因为它们有时会吃掉自己的伴侣。公蜘蛛的体形只有母蜘蛛的1/3，身上也没有任何红色标记。

让我们来观察一只黑寡妇。当我们第一次看到它时，它正在网中倒挂着，在那里一动也不动地待了三天。它的表皮慢慢萎缩，然后脱落，再长出一层新的、面积更大的表皮，我们称这一过程为“蜕皮”。黑寡妇一生中大概要经历八次蜕皮。

一天，有只公蜘蛛来到母蜘蛛的网边，并在网上胡乱拨弄。如果母蜘蛛做好交配的准备，她也会用拨弄蜘蛛网的方式来回应。反之，就会猛追这只公蜘蛛并吃掉它，因此公蜘蛛常常深陷险境。

交配后，母蜘蛛会织一个小小的丝囊，在丝囊里她会产下250到750个卵。母蜘蛛通常选择在春季产卵，她会保护这个丝囊一个月左右，这时蜘蛛宝宝，或者小蜘蛛们就会孵化出来。刚出壳的它们很小，也没有自我保护的能力，很多都成了鸟儿和昆虫的美食。有些甚至被自己的母亲吃了。尽管如此，大部分的小蜘蛛还是能存活下来并长大。

练 习

1. 黑寡妇什么时候会悬在网中，一动也不动？_____________

A. 吃饱后

B. 产卵前

C. 当它蜕皮的时候

2. 母蜘蛛什么时候会在它的网上拨弹？______________

A. 当它做好准备要交配时

B. 当它很饿时

C. 当它想睡觉时

3. 母蜘蛛什么时候会编织丝囊？_______________

A. 当它蜕皮时

B. 在交配后

C. 在咬人之前

4. 母蜘蛛什么时候会产卵？_____________

A. 在春季

B. 在夏季

C. 在初雪来临前

答 案

1. C 2. A 3. B 4. A