SC-L26 The Long Flight

The Long Flight by Mia Lewis 《漫長的飛行》作者：Mia Lewis

The Monarch's Migration **《帝王蝶的遷徙》**

It is late August on the border of Canada and the United States.八月下旬，在加拿大和美國交界的地方。  
A **gorgeous** monarch butterfly has just **struggled** out of its chrysalis.一隻**美麗的**帝王蝶才剛**努力掙扎著**從蛹裡鑽出來。  
This butterfly is different from its parents and grandparents.這隻蝴蝶和牠的爸爸媽媽、爺爺奶奶（上一代和上上一代）不一樣。  
It will not lay eggs right away like most females.牠不會像大多數雌蝶那樣立刻產卵。  
It will live much longer than the monarchs that were born earlier in the summer.牠會比夏天較早出生的帝王蝶活得久很多。  

This butterfly will make an amazing journey.這隻蝴蝶將展開一段令人驚嘆的旅程。  
So will millions just like it.有數百萬隻和牠一樣的帝王蝶也會這麼做。  
They will make their way to winter homes in Mexico and southern California.牠們會前往墨西哥和加州南部的過冬地。  

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The monarch will fly high.帝王蝶會飛得很高。  
It may fly almost two miles up in the sky.牠可能會飛到天空中將近兩英里高的地方。  
Its wings will beat from five to twelve times every second.牠的翅膀每秒會拍動五到十二次。  
It will fly thousands of miles to a place it has never seen.牠會飛行好幾千英里，到一個自己從沒看過的地方。  

Soon millions of monarchs will be in the air.很快地，數百萬隻帝王蝶就會飛在空中。  
A monarch usually lives alone.帝王蝶通常是獨自生活的。  
Now it travels with a large group of other monarchs.但現在牠會和一大群其他帝王蝶一起旅行。  
They will sip nectar from flowers along the way.一路上，牠們會吸食花蜜。  
This gives them the energy they need for the long trip.這能提供牠們長途旅行所需要的能量。  

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Life Stages of the Monarch **《帝王蝶的生命階段》**

All monarch butterflies go through four stages.所有帝王蝶都會經歷四個階段。  
First, the mother butterfly lays an egg on a milkweed plant.首先，母蝶會把卵產在馬利筋植物上。  
Then a caterpillar hatches from the egg.接著，毛毛蟲會從卵裡孵化出來。  
The caterpillar is very hungry.毛毛蟲非常餓。  
It eats the egg case.牠會先把卵殼吃掉。  
Then it eats leaves from the milkweed plant.然後牠會吃馬利筋的葉子。  
This helps it to build up fat for energy.這能幫助牠儲存脂肪，作為能量來源。  

The monarch also eats milkweed to protect itself.帝王蝶也會吃馬利筋來保護自己。  
These leaves are poisonous to most animals.這些葉子對大多數動物來說是有毒的。  
They will stay away from a butterfly that has eaten a lot of this plant!牠們會避開那種吃了很多這種植物的蝴蝶！  

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The caterpillar makes a chrysalis.毛毛蟲會做一個蛹。  
Inside, it **gradually** changes.在裡面，牠會**逐漸**改變。  
Finally, a butterfly crawls out!最後，一隻蝴蝶會爬出來！  
It rests.牠會休息。  
It waits for its wings to dry.牠等翅膀變乾。  
When they are dry, the monarch will be able to fly.當翅膀乾了，帝王蝶就能飛了。  
All monarchs are orange and black.所有帝王蝶都是橘色和黑色的。  
They all look very similar.牠們看起來都很像。  
But they are not **identical**.但牠們並不是**一模一樣**的。  

Shorter days and cooler weather tell the monarch it is time to leave.白天變短、天氣變涼，會告訴帝王蝶該出發了。  
It sets off on its long flight.牠開始牠的長途飛行。  
Scientists do not know how it can tell where to go.科學家不知道牠是怎麼知道該往哪裡走的。  
They think it might use the position of the sun to help it figure out which direction to go.他們認為牠可能會利用太陽的位置，來幫助牠判斷要往哪個方向前進。  

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Flying South **《往南飛》**

The distance to the monarch’s winter grounds can be as long as three thousand miles.到帝王蝶過冬地的距離，最遠可能長達三千英里。  
Wind or weather can take the butterfly out of its way, too.風或天氣也可能讓蝴蝶偏離路線。  
The monarch stops flying if the wind is too strong.如果風太強，帝王蝶就會停止飛行。  
It stops if it is raining or too hot.如果正在下雨，或天氣太熱，牠也會停下來。  

The journey takes about two months.這趟旅程大約要兩個月。  
When the monarch finally arrives, there will be millions of other butterflies there.當帝王蝶終於抵達時，那裡會有數百萬隻其他蝴蝶。  
Each year the monarchs return to the same exact trees.每一年，帝王蝶都會回到完全相同的那些樹上。  
They huddle together on the branches to keep warm.牠們會在樹枝上擠在一起取暖。  

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Flying Back Home **《飛回家》**

Thousands and thousands of monarchs crowd together through the winter.整個冬天，成千上萬隻帝王蝶會擠在一起。  
Spring finally arrives.春天終於來了。  
The monarch gets ready for the journey home.帝王蝶準備踏上回家的旅程。  
It will not make it all the way back, though.不過，牠沒辦法一路飛回到終點。  
It will die along the way.牠會在途中死去。  

The monarch lays eggs before it dies.帝王蝶在死前會產卵。  
These eggs will hatch.這些卵會孵化。  
The offspring will go through all the same stages and become butterflies.幼蟲後代會經歷相同的各個階段，並變成蝴蝶。  
Then they will continue the long trip back to their summer home.然後牠們會繼續這段漫長的旅程，回到牠們的夏季棲地。  

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Monarchs in Danger **《面臨危險的帝王蝶》**

The pattern will begin again.這個循環又會再次開始。Summer will come and go.夏天會來了又走。Several sets of monarchs will live their lives.好幾代的帝王蝶會度過牠們的一生。Then autumn will draw near.接著秋天就會慢慢靠近。The last monarchs of summer will get ready for their trip.夏天最後一批帝王蝶會準備好要出發旅行。

Today, monarchs face new dangers.如今，帝王蝶面臨新的危險。Human activities are **disturbing** their way of life.人類的活動正在**干擾**牠們的生活方式。There aren't enough safe places left for them anymore.留給牠們的安全棲身之處已經不夠了。Even their winter resting spots are in danger because trees there are being cut down.連牠們冬天休息的地方也有危險，因為那裡的樹正在被砍伐。Scientists want to protect forests in these areas.科學家想要保護這些地區的森林。That will help the butterflies.這樣就能幫助這些蝴蝶。

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