078 蝌蚪变青蛙

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Mr. Ribbit, the science teacher, cleared his throat

科学老师瑞比特先生清了清嗓子。

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" Ribbit! Do you know how we became frogs?" he croaked

“呱呱！你们知道我们是怎么变成青蛙的吗？”他呱呱地叫道。

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The young frogs looked at each other

年轻青蛙们面面相觑。

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Mr. Ribbit held up two pictures

瑞比特先生举起了两张图片。

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In one hand was a picture of a tadpole

一只手拿着一张蝌蚪的图片。

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In the other was a picture of a frog

另一只手拿着一张青蛙的图片。

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" Today we are going to learn about metamorphosis. Ribbit!" he said

“今天我们要学习变态发育。呱呱！”他说。

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" Meta... what?" asked Freddy

“变态……什么？”弗雷迪问道。

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" Metamorphosis," Mr. Ribbit repeated

“变态发育，”瑞比特先生重复道。

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" It is how we change from tadpoles into frogs

“那就是我们从蝌蚪变成青蛙的方式。

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In the spring male frogs attract female frogs by singing

春天，雄蛙通过唱歌来吸引雌蛙。

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The frog couple starts their family in the pond. Ribbit!

这对青蛙夫妇在池塘里安家了。呱呱！

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The male frog fertilizes the eggs in the water

雄蛙在水里使卵受精。

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A few days later, the eggs begin to change."

几天后，卵开始发生变化。”

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" Do they become tadpoles?" asked Hetty

“它们会变成蝌蚪吗？”海蒂问。

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" Ribbit! Yes. At this stage, the head is big and the tail is very long," explained Mr. Ribbit

“呱呱！是的。在这个阶段，头很大，尾巴很长，”瑞比特先生解释道。

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" Soon the eggs hatch and the tadpoles come out

很快卵就孵化了，蝌蚪出来了。

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Tadpoles, like fish, use gills to breathe."

蝌蚪像鱼一样用鳃呼吸。”

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" But Mr. Ribbit, we aren't fish, are we?" asked Lily

“但是，瑞比特先生，我们不是鱼，对吗？”莉莉问。

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" Of course not! We are amphibians

“当然不是！我们是两栖动物。

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Who knows what that means?"

“谁知道那是什么意思？”瑞比特先生问道。

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" Amphibians can live on land and in water," answered Boris

“两栖动物既能在陆地上生活，也能在水中生活。”鲍里斯回答。

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" Right! But at first, tadpoles can only live in the water."

“没错！但一开始，蝌蚪只能生活在水里。”

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" What do tadpoles eat?" asked Freddy

“蝌蚪吃什么？”弗雷迪问。

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" Ribbit! As soon as they are born, tadpoles eat plants and algae

“呱呱！蝌蚪一出生就吃植物和藻类。

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A few days later, they develop teeth

几天后，它们会长出牙齿。

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Then the tadpoles start to eat insects."

然后蝌蚪就开始吃昆虫了。”

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Mr. Ribbit continued," Tadpoles use their tails to swim

瑞比特先生继续说道：“蝌蚪用尾巴游泳。

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They are very active at this age

它们在这个阶段非常活跃。

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Tadpoles swim around in a group called a school

蝌蚪会成群结队地游来游去，这群叫鱼群。”

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Six to nine weeks after they are born, metamorphosis begins. Ribbit!

出生后六到九周，变态发育就开始了。呱呱！

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The back legs begin to appear and the tadpoles use them for swimming

后腿开始出现，蝌蚪用它们来游泳。

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The body grows larger, and the head begins to take shape

身体长得更大，头部开始成型。

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Next, the front legs begin to grow."

接下来，前腿开始生长。“

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" That looks like my brother!" Hetty laughed

”那看起来像我哥哥！“海蒂笑着说。

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" Ribbit! It looks just like a small frog except for the long tail

”呱呱！它看起来就像一只小青蛙，只是还有条长尾巴。

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The tadpole is almost a frog now," said Mr. Ribbit

现在蝌蚪差不多就是青蛙了，“瑞比特先生说。

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" During the last days of metamorphosis, the tail slowly disappears into the body

”在变态发育的最后几天，尾巴会慢慢缩进身体里。

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Remember the tadpoles' gills? Ribbit!

还记得蝌蚪的鳃吗？呱呱！

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They don't need them any more

它们不再需要鳃了。

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The gills are covered over by skin

鳃被皮肤覆盖起来。

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So the little frogs learn to breathe with their lungs

这样小青蛙就学着用肺呼吸了。

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Once the tail is gone, the little ones can climb onto land

尾巴消失后，小家伙们就能爬到陆地上了。

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Now the tadpole is completely transformed into a frog

现在，蝌蚪完全变成了一只青蛙。

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In a few days, the new frogs can leave the pond

几天后，新长成的青蛙就能离开池塘了。

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They can enjoy life both in the pond and on land

它们可以在池塘里和陆地上享受生活。

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Metamorphosis takes about 12 to 16 weeks

变态发育大约需要十二到十六周。

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There are many different kinds of frogs

青蛙有许多不同的种类。

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Some like to live in the water

有些喜欢生活在水里。

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Others spend all their time on the land

另一些则把所有时间都花在陆地上。

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But we always have to return to the water to start our own families," concluded Mr. Ribbit

但我们总是得回到水中去建立自己的家庭，“瑞比特先生总结道。

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" Wow! We are special in many ways!" Victor exclaimed

”哇！我们在很多方面都很特别呢！“维克多喊道。

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" It's interesting to know how we got here," the young frogs croaked

”知道我们是怎么来的，这很有趣，“小青蛙们呱呱地说。

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" We are proud to be frogs! Ribbit!"

”我们为身为青蛙而自豪！呱呱！“