Nature is amazing! Take a close look at the world of insects, and you'll discover many unbelievable things. Consider butterflies, for example. They have beautiful, colourful wings, and strong, fantastic flying skills. On summer days, you always see them flying freely over gardens and wild fields.
大自然真是令人惊叹！仔细观察昆虫的世界，你会发现许多不可思议的事情。以蝴蝶为例。它们拥有美丽多彩的翅膀，还有强大、非凡的飞行技能。夏日里，你总能看到它们在花园和野外自由地飞翔。
How a butterfly appears is one of the amazing wonders of nature. In the beginning, female butterflies lay a small egg on a leaf or stem of a plant. The egg will become something completely different in a few days. It first becomes a walking insect called caterpillar. It then has legs, eyes and a body that looks fat. But it is still not a butterfly.
蝴蝶诞生的过程是大自然令人惊叹的奇迹之一。起初，雌蝶会在植物的叶子或茎上产下一个小巧的卵。 几天后，这个卵会变成完全不同的东西。它首先会变成一种名为毛毛虫的爬行昆虫。接下来它会有腿、眼睛和看起来胖乎乎的身体。但它还不是蝴蝶。
Soon, after growing big, the caterpillar produces silk threads to make a cover for itself. It covers itself in the nice protective blanket to go to sleep. It ties itself to a leaf or a branch, where it is not easy for birds to find. This stage is known as the “pupa” stage. The pupa stays shut until it finishes the transformation.
很快，当毛毛虫长大后，它会吐出丝线为自己做一个外壳。它用这漂亮的保护毯将自己包裹起来，进入休眠状态。它把自己固定在一片叶子或一根枝条上，在那里它不容易被鸟类发现。这个阶段它被称为“蛹”。蛹会一直闭合，直到完成蜕变。
After a period of time, the blanket breaks and a wet, weak butterfly appears. It now has six legs, a mouth, eyes, a slim body and wings. It may look ugly at first, but shortly, the wings fill with blood, and the beautiful, colourful butterfly spreads its wings. Now this insect can fly to the left and to the right to look for food and a partner.
一段时间后，“毯子”裂开，一只湿漉漉、虚弱无力的蝴蝶出现了。这时它有六条腿、一张嘴、眼睛、纤细的身体和翅膀。起初，它可能看起来有些丑，但不久后，翅膀就会充满血液，这只美丽多彩的蝴蝶就展开了它的翅膀。现在，这只昆虫可以忽左忽右地飞翔，寻找食物和配偶了。
After a few weeks, this adult butterfly lays her eggs, and the cycle begins all over again.
几周后，这只成年蝴蝶会产卵，于是，生命的循环再次开始。