托福阅读机经背景材料：蜜蜂

　　托福阅读加试: 蜜蜂(貌似很少考到)

　　Entomology(昆虫学)

　　蜜蜂的沟通模式 讲小蜜蜂。分为 honeybee和 worker bee。讲了 honeybee是怎么寻找蜜源和如何告诉同伴蜜源的位置的。开头先说蜜蜂和 termite 白蚁 与很多 Species 不同，他们是 social。蜜蜂是一个是由社会分工合作的动物(有题问他们有什么共同点)，交流因此就变得很重要(有题)。然后科学家们就开始用他们的聪明才智研究小蜜蜂了。开始以为是 honeybee是靠 scent交流，然后某德国科学家研究发现 scout 用舞蹈来告诉工蜂蜜源的远近，远的用八字舞，近的用圆圈舞。他因此获得炸药奖。交流的内容靠跳 8 字舞或者 circle 区别 distance，而不是食物的类别(有题) 。原来 发现蜜蜂找到窝以后跳舞是指示food type，后来发现 more than that。跳舞还指示出了direction and distance。跳舞分两种一种是 nectar 花蜜 dance 另一种 pollen花粉 dance，有一道题问这个的，nectar 是跳圆圈舞，pollen 是跳 8 字舞。但是一直有科学家怀疑 这个说法直到 1989 年，一些科学家为了验证他的理论做了 machine bees 模仿 scout，就是不去有食物处(这里有考题问机器蜜蜂和其他小蜜蜂有什么不同) ，发现 robot使用这些动作果然可以向工蜂有效传递资讯。采蜜只是跳舞来做一些指示。最后发 现了小蜜蜂带回来的资讯和 wind 无关(这里有考题问 except 的问题，其他选项是 direction, distance 还有一个忘了)

　　Bees

　　Flowers provide food for bees. The bees collect tiny grains of pollen and a sweet liquid called nectar from the blossoms they visit. They make honey from the nectar, and use both honey and pollen as food. of six-sided compartments隔间 called cells.

　　Worker bees build the honeycomb of wax produced by their bodies. The wax oozes渗出 through small pores (holes) in the body and forms tiny white flakes on the outside of the abdomen.

　　They also collect a sticky substance bee glue, from certain kinds of trees.

　　The body of the honey bee

　　A bee has five eyes-three small ones that form a triangle on top of its head, and a large compound eye on each side of its head.

　　Honey bees were the first insects known to be able to distinguish colors. Bees have three kinds of color-sensitive cells in their eyes. These visual cells are especially sensitive to blue, yellow, and ultraviolet rays, which humans cannot see.

　　The sting of a worker bee is straight, with barbs (hooks) on it. When the bee thrusts the sting into flesh, the barbs hold tight, and the stinger 蛰针 pulls out of the bee's body.