# 第四册 Lesson 2 Spare that spider 不要伤害蜘蛛

## 一、课文原文

Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends? Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders. Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.

Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them. One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.

How many spiders are engaged in this work on our behalf? One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in a grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6 million spiders of different kinds on a football pitch. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.

—T.H. GILLESPIE *Spare that spider* from *The Listener*

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| devour | /dɪˈvaʊə/ | v. | 吞噬，毁灭 | devour crops 吞噬庄稼；也可表示贪婪地吃 |
| flock | /flɒk/ | n. | 羊群，禽群 | flocks and herds 羊群和牛群 |
| herd | /hɜːd/ | n. | 兽群，牧群 | a herd of cattle 一群牛 |
| fraction | /ˈfrækʃn/ | n. | 小部分，分数 | a fraction of 一小部分 |
| moreover | /mɔːˈrəʊvə/ | adv. | 此外，而且 | 用于补充论据，比furthermore更口语化 |
| belongings | /bɪˈlɒŋɪŋz/ | n. | 所有物，行李 | 常用复数形式 |
| related | /rɪˈleɪtɪd/ | adj. | 有亲缘关系的 | be related to 与...有亲缘关系 |
| authority | /ɔːˈθɒrəti/ | n. | 权威，专家 | an authority on spiders 蜘蛛学权威 |
| census | /ˈsensəs/ | n. | 统计，人口普查 | make a census of 对...进行统计 |
| acre | /ˈeɪkə/ | n. | 英亩 | 约合0.4公顷或6.07亩 |
| estimate | /ˈestɪmeɪt/ | v./n. | 估计 | estimate that... 估计... |
| content | /kənˈtent/ | adj. | 满足的，满意的 | be content with 对...满足 |
| wildest | /ˈwaɪldɪst/ | adj. | 最荒唐的 | the wildest guess 最离谱的猜测 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 虚拟语气（与现在事实相反）

> Insects **would** make it impossible for us to live in the world; they **would** devour all our crops... if it **were** not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals.

| 结构 | 用法 |
|------|------|
| if it were not for + 名词 | 若不是因为...（与现在事实相反的虚拟） |
| 主句用 would + 动词原形 | 表示假设的结果 |
| 若与过去事实相反 | if it had not been for... / would have done |

### 2. as引导的定语从句与方式状语

> Spiders are not insects, **as** many people think...

- as = which，引导非限制性定语从句，指代前面整个句子的否定含义
- as引导的从句可放句首：As many people think, spiders are not insects.

### 3. nor引导的倒装

> Spiders are not insects, **nor** even nearly related to them.

- nor + 助动词/be动词/情态动词 + 主语，表示"也不"
- 完整形式：nor are they even nearly related to them

### 4. it作形式主语/形式宾语

> Insects would make **it** impossible for us to live in the world.

- it = to live in the world，作形式宾语
- 类似：It has been estimated that...（it作形式主语）

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. if it were not for... 若不是因为

> ...if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals.

- **同义转换**：but for / without the protection...
- **仿写**：If it were not for his help, I would have failed.

### 2. owe a lot to 归功于

> We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects...

- owe sth. to sb. = 把某事归功于某人
- 仿写：We owe much to the scientists who discovered penicillin.

### 3. a fraction of 一小部分

> ...all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders.

- a fraction of = a small part of
- 对比：the bulk of = 大部分

### 4. make more than the wildest guess at 对...做出最粗略的估计

> It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill.

- more than + 名词 = 仅仅，不只是
- the wildest guess = 最荒唐/最大胆的猜测

## 五、课文翻译

你也许会惊奇，蜘蛛为什么是我们的朋友？因为它们消灭了那么多的昆虫，而昆虫包括人类最大的敌人。如果不是食虫动物保护我们，昆虫会使我们无法在世界上生活；它们会吞噬我们所有的庄稼，杀死我们的牛羊。我们很感激吃昆虫的鸟兽，但它们全部加在一起所杀死的昆虫也仅是蜘蛛所消灭的一小部分。此外，蜘蛛不同于其他食虫动物，它们对我们或我们的财物从不造成任何伤害。

蜘蛛不是昆虫，虽然许多人认为它们是，它们甚至与昆虫毫无近亲关系。人们几乎一眼就能看出二者的差异，因为蜘蛛总是有八条腿，而昆虫从不超过六条。

有多少蜘蛛在为我们效力呢？一位蜘蛛学权威对英国南部一块草地上的蜘蛛做了统计，他估计每英亩有2,250,000多只蜘蛛，这相当于一个足球场上大约有600万只不同种类的蜘蛛。蜘蛛至少有半年在忙于消灭昆虫。它们消灭了多少昆虫，我们不可能做出比最粗略的估计更精确的判断，但它们是饥饿的小生物，不甘心每天只吃三顿饭。据估计，英国蜘蛛一年内消灭的昆虫的总重量要大于该国所有人口的总重量。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 写作手法：设问开篇+数据论证

- 首句设问："Why...should spiders be our friends?" 引起读者好奇
- 用权威数据（census, 2,250,000 per acre）增强说服力
- 结尾用惊人对比（昆虫重量 > 全国人口重量）作有力的收束

### 2. 文化背景

- **蜘蛛与昆虫的分类差异**：蜘蛛属节肢动物门蛛形纲（Arachnida），昆虫属昆虫纲（Insecta），二者分类学上差异巨大
- **英亩（acre）**：英制面积单位，1英亩≈4,047平方米

### 3. 修辞分析

- **拟人**：not content with only three meals a day 赋予蜘蛛人的特征，增添趣味
- **对比**：birds and beasts vs spiders 的灭虫数量对比
- **夸张**：the wildest guess——强调估计的困难程度

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **理解题**：Why are spiders more useful than birds and beasts?（数量优势+无害性）
2. **语法题**：if it were not for 虚拟语气的时态变化
3. **词汇题**：区分 flock/herd/census/acre 的用法
4. **翻译练习**：注意 nor 引导倒装句的翻译

## 八、本课小结

本课论证**蜘蛛是人类的朋友**，核心论点：蜘蛛消灭昆虫的数量远超其他食虫动物，且对人类无害。语法重点为虚拟语气（if it were not for）、as引导的定语从句、nor倒装结构、it作形式主语/宾语。写作手法上运用设问开篇、数据论证、拟人对比等修辞策略，是说明文的典范。