The king of the spiders

1、The king of the spidersTarantula 食鸟蛛Cultural salon1 world wide distribution of tarantulasThere are about 850 species of tarantulas world wide, according to some authoritative scientists research. Their range includes Africa and Madagascar, parts of the Middle East, southern Europe, south Asia, the i

2、ndo-pacific region, Australia, Northern New Zealand, some of the Micronesian Islands, all of Central and South America, parts of the Caribbean, and the united states north to central California and east to the Mississippi river. More than 4 dozen of all the species of tarantulas populate the U.S. ra

3、nge.The origin of its nameThe name “ tarantula” originated in 14th century in the town of Taranto, a port town in southern Italy, where people felt forced to dance the wildly erotic Tarantella if bitten by a spider. It was originally used for an unrelated species of European spider. When Europeans s

4、tarted traveling to areas where such large spiders were found, the name was borrowed to refer to the so-called “ theraphosides”, which, in Africa, are often called “ baboon(狒狒） spiders” and in Asia, “ earth tigers” or “ bird-eating spiders” while in Australia, “ barking spiders” or “ whistling spide

5、rs”.Moulting(蜕壳）蜕壳） and life cycleTarantulas, like other spiders, need to shed their exoskeleton periodically in order to grow. This process is called moulting. A young tarantula may go through this process a few times a year while full grown specimens will only moult once a year or even less, or so

6、oner so they can replace lost body parts such as limbs ro urticating hairs（螯毛）. Tarantula may live for years, with most species taking 2-5 years to reach adulthood. But some species may take longer time to reach fully maturity. Some may take up to 10 years, at the point of which, males typically hav

7、e but 1 to 1.5 year period left to live. Female will continue to moult after reaching maturity. They may live for several decades. The oldest spider, according to Guinness world records, lived to be 49 years old.Medical implicationAs we have seen on the video, no fatalities have been attributed tara

8、ntula bites. Nevertheless, sometimes spider bites can become sources of infection. Proper medical advice and preventative measures are more helpful in this respect. The consequences from contact with a tarantulas hairs are more serious than those from its bite. People may experience allergic rhiniti

9、s(过敏性鼻炎）, which causes cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose, congestion, sneezing and sinus pressure. Medical intervention is regarded as necessary when these symptoms or more serious ones, such as breathing difficulty or chest pain, develop.Goliath tarantula 巨人食鸟蛛 （P2)Para 1-8Reading the paragra

10、phs 1-8, and answering the following questions.1 what do Goliath tarantula look like?2 what is the history of the tarantula?3 how do most people feel about tarantulas? Why do they feel that way?4 what and how do the tarantulas eat ?Key words1. Largest ; hairy ; dinner plate; 30 cm; fangs 5 cm2. exis

11、t; evolve ; ancient hunters; 25 million years; master predators; adapt to3. scared; stay far away; poor and unfair; media; bad rap; malign; creep people out4. smaller insects; larger prey; snakes; wrap; inject; venom; fangsWords explanationEnormous adj. usually large in sizeEg. He brought me an enor

12、mous bunch of flowers. The past thirty years have witnessed enormous changes in China.PredatorN. Any cardinal animal that eats other animals.Eg. The lion is a fierce predator.Who can say that human beings are not predators?Adapt to = adjust to Eg tarantulas have always been successful in adapting to

13、 different climates.You should try to adapt yourself to the new environment instead of feeling homesick.Inaccessible Adj. Not accessible; unapproachableEg. The plant grows only in those most inaccessible places int the world.It seems an inaccessible goal for me to finish such a task within so short

14、a time.BiasVt. Cause to have a prejudiceEg. Most people are biased against tarantulas since these animals have always been described as being horrible and dangerous in the media. This old lady is always biased against people who try to help her.Other words in the textCreepInjectMalignGo for the jugu

15、larCreep ( someone) out Para 9-16Read the paragraphs of 9-16, and answer the following questions.1 why did West want to explore the cave in spite of the danger? How did he feel?2 how did West tease the tarantula out? Why did he give it back at last?3 can you briefly describe the dangers West may enc

16、ounter.4 what did tarantula do when it faces potential attacks.1. explore; caves; discover; unknown secrets; must; irresistible; compelling2. long stick; tease out; the particular type; earlier trip3. jungle: impossible; break through; razor grass; cut; scrape; Goliath tarantula : weapons; tiny hair

17、s ;urticating hairs; 4.launch; potential attackers; scratch; back legs; pain ; irritationWords explanationIdentify V prove or recognize as being a certain person or thingEg on an earlier trip, West identified this type of tarantula.It is not easy to identify your lost bicycle among the ones in the L

18、ost and Found office.Launch V start off or set in motionEg. The hairs Goliath tarantula launches can sink deep into the skin, eyes or nose of any animal that comes too close.People never expected the tragedy of Titanic after the ship was launched on May 31, 1911.Potential Adj possible but not yet ac

19、tualEg if you come too close to a tarantula, the giant spider may take you as a potential danger.He has never tried to take any measures to prevent the potential problems because of his conceit.PrimordialSwirl aroundCompellingTease ( something ) out Scrape Para 17-25Read the following paragraphs of

20、17-25, and answer the questions.1 what does “ electric” mean? Why did he feel electric?2 why West was not frightened of the tarantula when it was on his body?3 what does its silk use for? Can you describe the Goliath tarantulas process of hunting its prey?4 according to the passage, whats his real r

21、eason to study Goliath tarantula?1. exciting; nighttime; wonderful time; thrilling ; skitter; rush2. walk on; a piece of wood; injure; scare;3. hunting; trip wire; within range; attacks mouse; touch; dinner bell; jumps; wraps; inject; venom; die4. painful; not deadly; no confirmed human death; no re

22、ason to be frightened; turn fear into fascinationWord explanationRush N a sudden surge of sensationEg. When he goes into the jungle at night and hears all the little noises, West gets a rush of excitement.The story she is reading causes a rush of nostalgia for her childhood.Suspect Think that someth

23、ing is probably ture, especially something bad.Eg. The floor mouse would never suspect that the silk on the ground is a trap set by the tarantula.She strongly suspected he was lying to her.VictimA person or thing that suffers harm, death, etc, from another or from some adverse act, circumstance, etc

24、.Eg a lot of wild species have become victims of mans exploitation of the earth.Faced with todays environment crisis, we human beings are not only victims but also the problem.Confirm V prove to be ture or valid; vertifyEg this report confirms that tarantulas are not human killers.Two cases of viral

25、 fever were confirmed in the city.SkitterA rush捕鸟蛛 tarantula捕鸟蛛属于较原始之蜘蛛，其全身密生细毛。南美洲及北美洲捕鸟蜘身上某些地方可能具一种刺激性的短毛，遇到老鼠等敌物便向敌物用后脚扫散这种自然的致痒粉。敌物之反应如工人铺设织维玻璃毛毡后，全身会发痒。因可使用这种护身方式，则未必有亚洲等地捕鸟蜘那么会咬。美洲捕鸟蜘，毒性因此常低于亚洲等地的。 习性捕鸟蛛原生活在南方的深山丛林中,因靠捕鸟为食而得名。捕鸟蛛的蛛毒具有治疗老年痴呆症、癫痫等病的功效。因此，需求量很大。近年来，人们开始人工养殖捕鸟蛛。 亚马逊巨人捕鸟蛛是最大型的蜘蛛，最大

26、的足展 30厘米。原产自亚马逊雨林区，生活在树洞里，喜欢吃麻雀的幼仔，可以一次吃下整只乳鸽。它们有很长的牙齿，一般有5 毫米长，以方便将毒液注入猎物体内。不过一物降一物，它们最怕非洲土人，因为土人百毒不侵，喜欢用薄荷叶将它们卷着生吞，因为它们含有丰富的蛋白质和钙。 捕鸟蛛是蜘蛛中的“巨人”，大小像拳头相当(515厘米)，四足外展时体宽可达20多厘米，最大捕鸟蛛可达到30厘米长。因最初被发现命名时正在捕食鸟类而得名。 有的捕鸟蛛是自然界中最巧妙的猎手之一。有的捕鸟蛛有喷丝织网的独特本领，在树枝间编织具有很强粘性的网，一旦食鸟蛛喜食的小鸟、青蛙、蜥蝎和其他昆虫落入网中，必定成为食鸟蛛的口中之食。食

27、鸟蛛一般多在夜间活动，白天隐藏在网附近的巢穴或树根间，一有猎物落网，它就迅速爬过来，抓住猎物，分泌毒液将猎物毒死作食物。由于它十分凶悍，人类也得提防。捕鸟蛛织的蛛网能经得住300克的重量。1975年,在墨西哥曾发现一株大树的几根树枝，被一张巨大而多层的蛛网所遮盖，最大的网竟能将一棵18.3米高的大树上部3/4的树枝遮蔽掉。 新大陆的的捕鸟蛛在遇到围攻时，能用足擦掉腹部的毛，一旦对手粘上,就会又痒又痛不敢再追。捕鸟蛛头部有8只眼,所以叫“八眼蜘蛛王”，不过它却高度近视。捕鸟蛛头部嘴边还生有一对强有力的螯牙，好像一把钳子，能自如转动。螯牙下连毒腺，毒液能从螯牙的尖端分泌出来。南美洲的亚马逊热带雨林是捕鸟蛛的故乡。捕鸟蛛性喜独处。卵生，一般能活十多