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外刊精读 | 考研英语素材:昆虫物种数可能不是六百万,而是两千万

2026-11-03 16:10:19

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一、背景速览

教科书上的老数字是：地球上约有六百万种昆虫。六月二十九日《美国国家科学院院刊》的一项新研究把这个数字推翻了一半以上——真实物种数大概在 1400 万到 2000 万之间。研究者在哥斯达黎加的瓜纳卡斯特保护区布下马氏网，回收一百六十多万只昆虫做 DNA 条形码，认出五万四千个物种；再挑出调查得最透的一类寄生蜂做尺子，反推保护区约有 33.3 万种昆虫，最后拿树木的物种比例量到全世界。研究者 Laura Melissa Guzman 说，这项研究给出的只是一个「还有多少活要干」的底数。坏消息是，授粉昆虫在锐减，栖息地在消失，很多物种还没被命名，就已经在离开。

二、英文节选

That huge group is also a diverse group. The generally accepted figure for the number of insect species on the planet is about six million. Or at least that was the number. According to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, however, that head count is also likely an undercount, with the actual number of insect species topping out at anywhere from 14 million to 20 million—or more than three times the current estimate. Within that census there are still local collapses: populations of pollinators like bees and monarch butterflies are declining precipitously, and climate change and habitat loss are claiming other insect species, disrupting the food chain, which is built in part on those tiny creatures at the bottom.

Those figures won't hold. As Guzman observes, as habitats are lost, their inhabitants go with them. It's humans—a single species against the millions-strong insects—who are largely responsible for that damage. We're doing a better job than ever of counting the species with which we share the planet; we could do an equally good job of protecting them.

三、中文译文

这个庞大的类群同时也是多样的一群。公认的全球昆虫物种数大约是六百万。至少，过去是这个数。但据《美国国家科学院院刊》上的这项新研究，这个统计也很可能是低估，真实的昆虫物种数最高可达 1400 万到 2000 万——是当前估计的三倍以上。在这份总数里，局部的崩塌仍在发生：蜜蜂、帝王蝶这类授粉昆虫的数量急剧下降，气候变化和栖息地丧失又带走了别的昆虫物种，打乱了食物链——而这条链子的一部分，正建立在底层这些微小生物之上。

这些数字站不住。正如 Guzman 所说，栖息地一旦失去，栖身其中的生物也就跟着走了。造成这种破坏的，主要是人类——以一个物种对上几百万个物种。我们比以往任何时候都更擅长清点和自己共处这颗星球的物种；保护它们，我们也一样能做到。

四、高频词短语

【biomass】　/ˈbaɪəʊmæs/　n. 生物量

例句：Insects make up the largest biomass of all land animals.

译：昆虫构成了所有陆生动物中最大的生物量。

【precipitously】　/prɪˈsɪpɪtəsli/　ad. 急剧地

例句：Pollinator populations have fallen precipitously in recent decades.

译：近几十年，授粉昆虫的数量急剧下降。

【disrupt】　/dɪsˈrʌpt/　v. 扰乱，打乱

例句：Losing one species can disrupt the whole food chain.

译：失去一个物种，可能打乱整条食物链。

【catalog】　/ˈkætəlɒɡ/　v. 编目，登记造册

例句：Researchers are racing to catalog species before they vanish.

译：研究者正赶在物种消失前为它们编目。

【extrapolate】　/ɪkˈstræpəleɪt/　v. 外推，推算

例句：The team extrapolated from one forest to the entire planet.

译：研究团队从一片森林外推到整个地球。

五、长难句速拆

原句：Within that census there are still local collapses: populations of pollinators like bees and monarch butterflies are declining precipitously, and climate change and habitat loss are claiming other insect species, disrupting the food chain, which is built in part on those tiny creatures at the bottom.

冒号前先给出判断：这份总数里仍有局部的崩塌。冒号后面是两件并排的坏消息，用 and 连接——授粉昆虫数量急剧下降，气候变化和栖息地丧失又带走了别的物种。第二件事后面挂着 disrupting the food chain，是现在分词作结果状语，说的是「带走物种」顺带把食物链打乱了；它的主语还是气候变化与栖息地丧失，不是昆虫。句末 which 引出非限定从句，补一句食物链的底子就是这些小生物，注意它修饰的是 food chain。

六、考场应用

雅思阅读·科普文结构：本文给的是区间与下限，媒体标题却常写成「物种数是原来的三倍」。考点是 a lower bound、a conservative estimate 这类限定词有没有出现在题干里。问「研究结论是什么」，答「至少 1400 万种，估计值 2000 万」，不选「昆虫有 2000 万种」这种把区间读成定值的选项。

考研写作·给区间不给点值：topping out at anywhere from 14 million to 20 million、a safe middle-of-the-road estimate 这类表述，专门用来交代「不确定但大致如此」。写图表作文或原因分析段时，与其硬报一个数字，不如写 estimated at somewhere between X and Y，既准确又留了余地。

考研阅读·强调句与插入语：It's humans—a single species against the millions-strong insects—who are largely responsible for that damage. 去掉两个破折号中间的插入语，剩下的 It's humans who are largely responsible 才是主干；插入语只补了「一个物种对上几百万个物种」的对比。识别强调句加插入，是考研阅读长句题的基本功。

试译：Three arrays of Malaise traps—one core array and two secondary arrays—resulted in the collection of more than 1.6 million insect specimens, all of which were shipped to a lab where a high-speed, robotically controlled system sequenced a part of their genome and produced a sort of barcode for each. 这句你打算怎么翻？提示：all of which 引出的那半句在中文里最好断开，where 从句里的动作有好几个，别一路用「的」串到底。