胡敏读故事记单词雅思词汇第17课:Ever for a bee即使是对一只蜜蜂

Ever for a bee…
      The brood of bees approached the new field of budding flowers with care. The breeze had changed and there was a strange smell in the air. Something bulky was also here. Several bees quickly browsed the area and noted that the ground was bulging in one portion of the field close to the brink of a cliff. This was also the area with the largest amount of flowers, so the queen bee let her workers make a breakthrough to begin briskly gathering nectar.
       It was a brief hesitation, but her breed of bees had always been very careful in choosing new lands. Ever since her breach of her mother' s command and the subsequent breakup of the bulk of their brood, she was even more careful. Her authority in this new group was brittle and, like the fear of a bugbear by all of the young bees, all of the worker bees were watching to see if she would lead well. She had to budget her commands and earn their respect.
      This was not her day, however. Suddenly a bee came back to report that the ground was bubbling near the bulging area. And then a buck sprung out of the forest and ran across the field, killing several of her best workers in the process. As she flew over to the area with bubbles she passed over an old brochure for the brewery that was buried beneath. She would bear the brunt of the blame for the deaths of the bees for not being aware of the buck, but at least she could make sure no nectar was harvested from the dangerous bubbling area. She quickly gathered her brood and moved on. Leadership was not easy, even for a bee.

         即使是对一只蜜蜂…
    那窝蜜蜂小心翼翼地靠近一块从未去过的田野，那里长满了含苞待放的鲜花。微风已经变了，空气中散发着一种怪味，这里还有个庞然大物。几只蜜蜂迅速吃掉了那里的花粉，发现紧靠悬崖边缘的一块地方正在向外膨胀。那块地上开的花儿也最多，所以蜂后让工蜂们来一次突破，开始很快采集花蜜。
    蜜蜂们只做了短暂的迟疑，但是她的这个蜂种选择新地盘时一向很谨慎。  自从蜂后违背母亲的命令，随后大部分蜜蜂分裂以来，她就更加小心了。她在这个新群体中的权威岌岌可危，就像所有小蜜蜂都害怕妖怪一样，所有工蜂都拭目以待，看她是不是能当好这个领导。她必须合理安排、指挥得当才能赢得他们的尊重。
    不过，今天她不太走运。突然一只蜜蜂回来报告说，凸起的那块地周围正在冒泡，接着一只雄鹿从森林里跳了出来，它跑过田野，在跑的过程中弄死了她手下几只最优秀的工蜂。她飞过去察看那个冒泡地区，没有注意到地下埋着一本古老的酿酒手册。她将为没有意识到有雄鹿从而导致工蜂丧命的事情负主要责任，至少她可以弄清楚不能从那个危险的冒泡地区采集花蜜。她迅速集合队伍，继续前行。当领导可真不容易，即使是对一只蜜蜂。

单词详解：

breakthrough     n.突破,重大成就,突破性进展
breakup          n.1分散,分离,分裂
breed            v.与...交配;育(种);繁殖;养育
                 n.品种,种族,种类
breeze           n.威风,轻风
brewery          n.啤酒厂;酿造厂
brief            a.短暂的;简短的
brink            n.(河、池等的)边,边沿;陡岸;边缘
briskly          ad.1轻快地,活泼地,快地
                 2猛烈地,繁忙活跃地
brittle          a.易碎的,易损伤的;靠不住的,易变的
brochure         n.小册子
brood            n.1一窝刚孵出的小鸡(鸟);
                    一次产出的卵;
                    一次孵化的幼虫(或幼鱼等)
                 2一类,一组,一批,一群,一窝
browse           v.(牲畜)吃(草、嫩叶等);浏览书刊,随意观看
                 n.嫩叶,青饲料,浏览
brunt            n.主要冲动(或压力等);冲击;最沉重(获最强烈的部分)
bubble           v.1冒烟,起泡2情感的激动,充溢,变的生机勃勃
budding          a.1正发芽的,发展中的2初露头角的
budget           n.预算;预算案;预算拨款v.把...编入预算,在预算中拨款给;规划,安排
bugbear          n.使人无端恐惧(或焦虑)的东西,妖怪;棘手的问题
bulge            v.膨胀;凸出
bulk             n.1体积,容积2主体,绝大部分,大多数
bulky            a.1大量的;大批的;成批的
                 2散装(货物)的;体积大的;庞大的;过大的;粗壮的,肥胖的