The worker bees have many different roles to perform, and one of the most interesting is the “undertaker” role. Ideally,when a bee is sick, it will fly away from the hive. Any bee that dies in the hive creates work for other bees. When this happens, it must be removed. Living bees release a special chemical that allows other bees to acknowledge them. Undertaker bees identify dead bees by the lack of the chemical and then remove them.
Another job of the worker honeybee is to collect nectar to turn into honey. They find the nectar in flowers and then drink it.Inside a bee’s stomach, the nectar’s sugar is processed. The bee then travels back to the hive and passes the nectar down a chain of other worker bees. This removes water, preventing it from being infected with bacteria. With enough water removed, the nectar is reduced to honey, which is used to feed larvae. Interestingly,science has recently revealed that honeybees prefer nectar with some salt.We’re not yet sure how salt could affect bees, but they sure find it delicious!
工蜂有许多不同的角色要执行，其中最有趣一个角色的是「送葬者」角色。理想情况下，当一只蜜蜂生病时，牠会飞离蜂巢。任何在蜂巢内死亡的蜜蜂都会为其他蜜蜂增加工作。当这种情况发生时，必须将其移除。活蜜蜂会释放一种特殊的化学物质，让其他蜜蜂能够注意到牠们的存在。送葬者蜜蜂通过缺乏该化学物质来识别死亡的蜜蜂，然后将牠们移除。
工蜂的另一项工作是采集花蜜并将它变成为蜂蜜。牠们在花朵中找到花蜜，然后饮用。在蜜蜂的胃中，花蜜的糖分会被处理。蜜蜂接着返回蜂巢，将花蜜传下去给一连串其他工蜂。这么做可以去除水分，防止花蜜受到细菌感染。当足够的水分被去除后，花蜜就会变稠成为蜂蜜，用来喂养幼虫。有趣的是，科学最近揭示蜜蜂更喜欢含有一些盐分的花蜜。我们尚未确定盐分是如何影响蜜蜂，但肯定的是牠们认为它非常美味！
1. chemical (n.)化学物质
You need to wear gloves when handling these chemicals. They’re not safe to touch.
2. identify (v.)认出；发现
Susan was able to identify her friend in the crowd by his bright red hat.
3. process (v.)处理
This local farm collects fresh milk and processes it to make butter and cheese every day.
4. prevent (v.)防止；预防
prevent sth(from) V-ing sth 防止…（做）…
The doctor told me that this medicine would help prevent the illness from making me feel worse.
5. bacteria (n. pl.)细菌（单数形为 bacterium）
Before you eat, you should wash your hands with soap to remove the bacteria on them.
6.reduce (v.)使（液体）变稠
When making jam, you need to boil the fruit mixture over low heat and allow it to reduce.
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