2024年5月6日发(作者：水星路由器怎么无线桥接)

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文章导读：

黑夜中荧光点点的画面常常让人觉得如梦如幻，而随着萤火虫生存环境的恶

化，这一美景恐将不复存在。研究显示，由于栖息地丧失以及光污染加剧，萤火

虫在世界范围内濒临灭绝。人造光如何影响萤火虫的生存？无处不在的光，恐让

萤火虫面临灭绝，我们能为此做些什么？

Fireflies Have a Mating Problem: The Lights Are Always On

By Shola Lawal

These are tough times for fireflies. Like a lot of other insects, they face increasing threats

from habitat loss, pesticides and pollution. But they also have a problem that’s unique to luminous

bugs: It’s getting harder for them to reproduce because light pollution is outshining their mating

signals.

Fireflies, it turns out, use their special glowing powers in courtship: Males light up to signal

availability and females respond with patterned flashes to show that they’re in the mood. But

bright light from billboards, streetlights and houses is interfering and blocking potential firefly

couples from pairing up.

The problem can reach far from big cities: Bright light gets diffused in the atmosphere and

can be reflected into the wilderness. In addition to messing with mating signals, it also disrupts the

feeding patterns of the females of some species that glow to attract and eat males.

The finding was part of a study published Monday in the journal BioScience.

The study warned that fireflies could eventually face extinction globally because of multiple

threats, including light pollution and habitat loss and habitat degradation from insecticides and

chemical pollution.

(c) 2020 The New York Times Company

生词好句：

y /ˈfaɪəflaɪ/ n. 萤火虫

/'meɪtɪŋ/ n. 动物的交配；植物杂交 mate n. 伙伴

mate vt. 配对（动物间） mate with 与……配对

Mating a horse with a donkey produces a mule.

骡子是马和驴交配后生出的。

mating season 交配季节 mating behavior 交配行为 mating signal 交配信号

times 艰难时刻 tough adj. 艰难的，困苦的

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a tough day 难熬的一天 a tough childhood 不幸的童年

overcome the tough times 度过难关，克服困难

We will overcome the tough times.

我们会共度难关的。

ide /ˈpestəsaɪd/ n. 杀虫剂 pest n. 害虫

词根：-cid- 切开，杀

suicide v. 自杀 insecticide /ɪnˈsektəsaɪd/ n. 杀虫剂，杀虫药

to … ……特有的 unique adj. 独特的

unique skills 绝技，绝招

The panda is unique to China.

熊猫是我们中国独有的。

us bugs 发光类昆虫 luminous adj. 发光的；发亮的

uce /ˌriːprəˈdjuːs/ vi. 繁殖 前缀：re- 再，再次

produce v. 制造

ne /ˌaʊtˈʃaɪn/ vt. 胜过（better or more impressive than someone or something else）

outshine sb. 比某人好 outshine sb. in sth. 在某方面比某人好

She outshines me in writing.

她在写作方面比我出色。

/ɡloʊ/ vi. 发光（柔和、持续的光）

hip /ˈkɔːrtʃɪp/ n. 求偶

11. in the mood 有兴致 in a good mood/in a bad mood 好心情/坏心情

be/feel in the mood for sth./to do sth. 想要做某事

I’m in the mood for shopping. 我想去逛街。

be in no mood for sth./to do sth. 没心情做某事

I'm in no mood to chat. 我没有心情聊天。

I’m in no mood for a joke. 我没心情开玩笑。

ere /ˌɪntərˈfɪər/ vi. 干扰，妨碍

/blɑːk/ vt. 阻碍

up 配对

/ˈsɪɡnəl/ vt. 发信号；表明，显示 signal sth. 表明某事

signal massive changes 显示有重大变化 signal the end of winter 表明冬天的结束

signal vt. 示意 signal a taxi 打车

signal (to) sb. to do sth. 示意某人做某事

The teacher signaled to the children to come inside. 老师示意孩子们进来。

signal the child to be quiet

示意那个孩子安静

e /dɪˈfjuːz/ vt. 扩散，弥漫 get diffused 发生散射

reflected into 反射到……

with sth 干扰某事（interfere with sth.）

t /dɪsˈrʌpt/ vt. 干扰，扰乱

h /ˈpʌblɪʃ/ vt. 出版 publish … in … 把……发表在……上

be published in Nature 发表在《自然》期刊上

extinction 面临灭绝

近义表达：be in danger of extinction，be threatened with extinction

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Many plants are in danger of extinction.

Many plants are threatened with extinction.

许多植物都濒临灭绝。

ation /ˌdeɡrəˈdeɪʃən/ n. 恶化 degrade v. 恶化，退化，变糟

前缀：de- 向下 grade n. 等级 environmental degradation 环境恶化

Fireflies Have a Mating Problem: The Lights Are Always On

萤火虫面临交配难题：躲不开的灯光

By Shola Lawal

These are tough times for fireflies. Like a lot of other insects, they face increasing threats

from habitat loss, pesticides and pollution. But they also have a problem that’s unique to luminous

bugs: It’s getting harder for them to reproduce because light pollution is outshining their mating

signals.

如今萤火虫的日子很难过。和许多其它昆虫类似，它们面临着栖息地不断丧失、杀虫剂

和污染加剧等威胁。但它们还有一个发光类昆虫独有的烦恼：光污染盖过了它们的求偶信号，

因而繁衍后代越来越难。

Fireflies, it turns out, use their special glowing powers in courtship: Males light up to signal

availability and females respond with patterned flashes to show that they’re in the mood. But

bright light from billboards, streetlights and houses is interfering and blocking potential firefly

couples from pairing up.

研究证明，萤火虫在求偶时会用到它们特殊的发光能力：雄性萤火虫发光来传递可以交

配的信号，雌性萤火虫则用规律性的闪烁来表明自己也感兴趣。但广告牌、街灯以及屋舍的

强光会造成干扰，阻碍潜在萤火虫伴侣的配对。

The problem can reach far from big cities: Bright light gets diffused in the atmosphere and

can be reflected into the wilderness. In addition to messing with mating signals, it also disrupts the

feeding patterns of the females of some species that glow to attract and eat males.

这个问题远不仅限于大城市：强光在大气中发生散射，可被反射到野外。这样不仅会干

扰萤火虫的交配信号，还会扰乱某些雌性物种的哺育模式，它们靠发光来吸引并吃掉雄性。

The finding was part of a study published Monday in the journal BioScience.

该发现源自周一发表在《生物科学》杂志上的一项研究。

The study warned that fireflies could eventually face extinction globally because of multiple

threats, including light pollution and habitat loss and habitat degradation from insecticides and

chemical pollution.

该研究警告称，面对光污染、栖息地丧失以及杀虫剂和化学污染导致的栖息地退化等多

重威胁，萤火虫可能最终面临全球性灭绝。

(c) 2020 The New York Times Company