蜜蜂在未来将不复存在吗？
Is there a future without bees?
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
大家好。这里是BBC教学英语的《六分钟英语》。我是尼尔。
And I'm Sam.
我是萨姆。
How are you, Neil?
你好吗，尼尔？
I've been as busy as a bee this week, Sam.
萨姆，我这周忙得不可开交。
Oh, don't you sound like the bee's knees!
哦，你听起来很了不起啊！
All right, Sam, there's no need to get a bee in your bonnet!
好了，萨姆，你没必要胡思乱想！
As you can hear, English is full of idioms involving bees.
正如你所听到的，英语中有很多和蜜蜂有关的习语。
But the sad truth is that bee numbers are declining at an alarming rate and in some places disappearing altogether.
但可悲的是，蜜蜂数量正在以惊人的速度减少，而且在有些地方蜜蜂甚至完全消失了。
And this has serious consequences for humans.
这给人类造成严重的后果。
Today, one third of the food we eat depends on insects to pollinate crops, fruit and vegetables.
今天，我们所吃的食物中有三分之一依赖昆虫为农作物、水果和蔬菜授粉。
But bees are in trouble.
但蜜蜂有麻烦了。
In some European countries up to half of all bee species are facing extinction, placing our food supply chain at risk.
在一些欧洲国家，多达一半的蜜蜂物种正面临灭绝，使我们的食品供应链处于危险之中。
Bees are vital in pollinating hundreds of crops, from apples and blackberries to cucumbers.
蜜蜂对从苹果、黑莓到黄瓜等数百种作物的授粉起着至关重要的作用。
In fact, almost all plants need insects to reproduce – which is my quiz question.
事实上，几乎所有植物都需要昆虫才能繁殖——那就是我的测试问题。
Of the world's top 50 crops, how many rely on insect pollination?
在世界前50种农作物中，有多少种依靠昆虫授粉？
Is it: a) 35 out of 50, b) 40 out of 50, or c) 45 out of 50?
是a) 前50种农作物中的35种，b) 前50种农作物中的40种，还是c) 前50种农作物中的45种？
I reckon those busy bees pollinate b) 40 out of 50 of the most common crops.
我认为那些忙碌的蜜蜂为b) 前50种农作物中的40种授粉。
OK, Sam, we'll find out the answer later.
好的，萨姆，我们稍后将揭晓答案。
Now, if you think back to your school biology lessons, you may remember that plants and flowers contain both male and female reproductive parts inside.
现在，如果你回想一下学校里的生物课，你可能会记得植物和花朵内部包含雄性和雌性繁殖部位。
But what exactly is going on when bees pollinate a plant?
但蜜蜂给植物授粉的时候到底发生了什么呢？
Here's Claire Bates from BBC World Service programme People Fixing the World to remind us:
这是BBC全球服务节目People Fixing the World的克莱尔·贝茨给我们的提醒：
What is pollination?
什么是授粉？
All flowering plants need it to reproduce.
所有开花植物都需要授粉来繁殖。
Pollen is moved from the male part of a flower to the female part of a flower, then fertilisation can happen causing fruit to grow.
花粉从花的雄性部位转移到雌性部位，然后导致果实生长的受精就发生了。
Some staple crops such as wheat, rice and corn are pollinated by the wind,
一些主要农作物，如小麦，大米和玉米是通过风授粉的，
however many plants don't release their pollen easily and this is where insects, and especially bees, come in.
然而许多植物不容易释放它们的花粉，在这里就需要昆虫了，特别是蜜蜂。
As they collect nectar to eat, pollen sticks to them and they carry it from flower to flower.
当它们采集花蜜来吃的时候，花粉会粘在它们身上，然后花粉就被它们从一朵花带到另一朵花上。
Pollination is the process in which pollen is taken from one plant to another so that it can reproduce.
授粉是指将花粉从一株植物传到另一株植物以进行繁殖的过程。
This is the important work done by bees and insects.
这是蜜蜂和昆虫所做的重要工作。
Only after pollination can the next process occur – fertilisation
只有在授粉之后，下一个过程才会发生——受精
- when the pollen carried from another plant fertilises a female ovule to make new seeds.
——从另一株植物上带过来的花粉使一个雌性胚珠受精，从而产生新的种子。
Fertilisation occurs in all flowering plants, some of which like wheat, potatoes and rice are staple crops
受精会发生在所有开花植物身上，其中一些是像小麦、土豆和大米这样的是主要农作物
- food that is eaten in large amounts as part of a community's daily diet and provides a large fraction of their energy and nutrient needs.
——这些食物作为一个地区日常饮食的一部分被大量食用，并提供了人们所需的大部分能量和营养物质。
Fewer bees reduces pollination levels, meaning fewer new seeds are created and fewer crops grown.
蜜蜂数量较少降低了授粉水平，那意味着产生的新种子更少以及长成的农作物更少。
But it isn't just the decline in bee numbers causing a problem.
蜜蜂数量减少会造成问题，但不光如此。
Like us, bees need to rest and this has led some to come up with creative new ways of supplementing bee pollination.
和我们一样，蜜蜂也需要休息，这就导致一些人想出补充蜜蜂授粉的创造性新方法。
One such innovator is Keren Mimran, co-founder of agro-tech company, Edete.
农业技术公司Edete的联合创始人克伦·米姆兰就是这样一位创新者。
Here she is, explaining how dropping pollen from drones can pollinate crops, giving a helping hand to hard-working bees.
在这里，她解释了无人机撒下的花粉是如何为农作物授粉的，那为辛勤工作的蜜蜂提供了帮助。
How come our food security is so much dependent on an insect that we cannot really control?
为什么我们的粮食安全如此依赖于一种我们无法真正控制的昆虫？
We can bring the bees to the orchard or to a field but we cannot control their behaviour.
我们可以把蜜蜂带到果园或田地里，但我们无法控制它们的行为。
They do not come out of the hive when it's raining or when there's heavy wind, they work only during daytime.
下雨或刮大风时，它们不会从蜂巢里出来，它们只在白天工作。
There must be a possibility of developing a mechanical solution to the pollination challenge.
我们必须研究出一种机械化解决方案来解决授粉这个挑战。
Keren Mimran speaking on the BBC World Service programme People Fixing The World.
那就是克伦·米姆兰在BBC全球服务节目People Fixing The World中谈到的。
Bees' behaviour can't be controlled - when it rains they won't leave their hive.
蜜蜂的行为无法控制——下雨的时候它们不会离开它们的蜂巢。
That's the structure where bees live, either built by people or made by the bees themselves.
蜂巢是蜜蜂居住的地方，要么是人类建造的，要么是蜜蜂自己建造的。
So Keren's company has developed drones to drop pollen on her orchard – an area of land on which fruit trees are grown.
因此克伦的公司研发了无人机来在她的果园里撒花粉——果园是果树生长的地方。
The need for these high-tech solutions reflects the seriousness of the pollination problem for food security
对这些高科技解决方案的需求反映了授粉问题对粮食安全的严重性
- everyone getting enough affordable and nutritious food to meet their daily dietary needs.
——粮食安全是指每个人都能获得足够的负担得起的营养食物来满足他们的日常饮食需求。
I had no idea bees were so important, Neil.
我不知道蜜蜂如此重要，尼尔。
Maybe I underestimated how hard they work.
也许我低估了它们努力工作的程度。
Ah, you mean today's quiz question.
啊，你是说今天的测试问题。
I asked how many of the top 50 world crops rely on insect pollination.
我问世界前50种农作物中有多少依靠昆虫授粉。
And I said b) 40 out of 50 of the top crops.
我说是b) 前50种农作物中的40种。
And you are right!
回答正确！
They certainly are the bee's knees when it comes to pollinating plants!
在给植物授粉时，它们确实很了不起！
So in today's programme we've been hearing about the important role bees play in pollination
所以在今天的节目中，我们一直听到说蜜蜂在授粉中起到了重要作用，
– transferring pollen from plant to plant, necessary for the next stage of fertilisation
授粉是指将花粉从一株植物传到另一株植物，这是下一阶段受精所必需的，
– producing new seeds and fruit inside a plant.
受精是指在植物内部产生新的种子和果实。
Bees and insects play a vital role in growing the world's staple crops
蜜蜂和昆虫在种植世界主要农作物方面，
- food which, eaten in large amounts, makes up the majority of a community's daily diet and meets their nutrient needs.
主要农作物是指大量食用的粮食，它是一个地区日常饮食的主要组成部分，而且满足了人们的营养需求。
So bee numbers are directly linked to the issue of food security
所以蜜蜂的数量直接关系到粮食安全问题
- everyone getting enough affordable, nutritious food to meet their dietary needs.
——每个人都能获得足够的负担得起的营养食物来满足他们的饮食需求。
Which explains why, when bees won't leave their home - or hive,
那就解释了为什么当蜜蜂不离开他们的家或蜂巢时，
some people have started using drones to pollinate their orchards – land growing fruit trees.
一些人会开始使用无人机为他们的果园——种植果树的地方——授粉。
And that's it for this edition of 6 Minute English.
以上就是本期《六分钟英语》的全部内容。
Bye for now!
再见了！
Goodbye!
再见！