1.What a lovely creature a butterfly is！Look at the butterflies in the picture，flying about among the blossoms.They are getting food from the flowers，but they are doing no harm to them；they are only sucking the sweet juices with their long tongues.
2.It seems a pity that any one should try to catch butterflies.Run after them if you like，and watch them as they fly；but do not try to kill or to catch them.
3.We cannot even take a butterfly in our
hands without doing it harm.Its wings areTONGUE OF BUTTERFLY（蝴蝶的喙）covered with thousands of tiny scales，and these are rubbed off by the least touch.
4.Where do the butterflies come from？If you look at the under sides of cabbage leaves in spring，you may find some tiny white specks①on them.These are the eggs laid by a butterfly.
5.After a few weeks，a little caterpillar crawls out of each egg.These caterpillars feed on the cabbage leaves.You can see many holes in the leaves，made by their tiny teeth.
①Specks，spots.
6.At last each caterpillar changes into a chrysalis；anda few weeks later the hard brown covering of the chrysalis splits open，and out of it crawls a butterfly.
7.The cabbage butterfly is white；but
the “brimstone butterfly，”which we see in early spring，is yellow.In summer we alsosee pretty little blue butterflies，and large ones with blue spots，called “peacock butterflies，”and many other kinds.
8.The butterfly is an insect.We see that its body is divided into three parts，and that each part is made of a number of rings joined to one another.
It has three pairs of jointed legs and twopairs of wings，all of which grow out of the middle part，or chest.
BUTTERFLY（蝴蝶）MOTH（蛾子）
9.A butterfly has the ends of the two feelers which grow out of its head thick or club-shaped①.The feelers of the moth have pointed ends.
10.In the head of the butterfly you can see two large eyes；but each of these eyes is really made of a number of small eyes joined together.
11.Did you ever notice how the butterfly flies？It does not go straight，but always flutters②from side to side.That way of flying makes it more difficult for any bird to catch it.Some birdskill and eat butterflies；but the butterfly when chased very often makes its escape，because of the funny way in which it flies.
12.I have often seen a bird chase a butterfly for a long distance without being able to catch it.If you have ever seen a game of football，you will know what I mean when I say that the butterflyis a good dodger③.
13.In hot countries，there are butterflies which are as large as the palms④of your two hands put together.And these insects are often of curious shapes，and have very pretty colours.
①Club-shaped，thick towards the outer end.
②Flutters，hovers；moves quickly backwards and forwards.
③Dodger，one who keeps out of the way by dodging，or suddenly shifting his place.
④Palm，the inner part of the hand.
SUMMARY
The butterfly is an insect.It has three pairs of jointed legs and two pairs of wings.It flies in a zig-zag way，and is therefore not easily caught by birds.It gets its food from the flowers by means of its long tongue.Its wings are covered with thousands of scales.It lays its eggs on the under sides of cabbage leaves.After a few weeks a caterpillar crawls out；the caterpillar changes into a chrysalis，and the chrysalis into a butterfly.Butterflies are of many different colours，and some grow very large in hot countries.
【中文阅读】
1．蝴蝶是一种多么美丽的生物啊！看看这幅画里的蝴蝶，在花丛中翩翩飞舞。蝴蝶的食物是从花里得到的，但蝴蝶并没有伤害花儿，只是用长长的舌头吸取甜甜的汁液。①2．有人想要抓蝴蝶，是一件很让人难过的事！小朋友可以追着蝴蝶跑，看着蝴蝶飞，但千万不要试图弄死蝴蝶，或者抓住蝴蝶。
3．连把蝴蝶拿在手里，都一定会让它受伤。蝴蝶翅膀上覆盖着成千上万片细小的鳞片，最轻微的触碰，也能把这些鳞片蹭掉。②4．蝴蝶是怎么来的？在春天，看看卷心菜的叶子底下，可能会找到一些白色的小块，这就是蝴蝶产的卵。③5．几个星期过后，每颗卵里都会钻出小小的幼虫。这些幼虫就以卷心菜的叶子为食。你可以在叶子上见到很多小洞，就是这些幼虫用小牙咬出来的。④6．最后，每只幼虫都会化蛹，再过几个星期，蛹外面的棕色硬壳就会破开，爬出一只蝴蝶！
7.“菜粉蝶”也叫“纹白蝶”，是白色的，但是早春时节，我们看到的“钩粉蝶”是黄色的。夏天，我们还能看到漂亮的小“灰蝶”，带着蓝色斑点的大蝴蝶“孔雀蛱蝶”，还有很多其他的种类。⑤8．蝴蝶是一种昆虫，我们看见，它的身体分成三部分，每个部分都是几个体节连在一起构成的。蝴蝶有三对分节的足，两对翅膀，都是从中间的部分“胸部”长出来的。
9．蝴蝶头上长着两只触角，触角末端很粗，呈“棒状”。但是蛾子触角的末端是尖的。
10．可以看到蝴蝶头上还有两只大眼睛，但是这两只眼睛，其实都是由很多小眼睛聚在一起构成的。⑥11．你注意过蝴蝶是怎么飞的吗？蝴蝶不是直线飞行的，而是左右来回飘动的。这种飞行方式，让鸟类更不容易抓住它。有些鸟可以把蝴蝶杀死吃掉，但是鸟追蝴蝶的时候，蝴蝶经常能够逃跑，就是多亏了它这种奇怪的飞行方式。
12．我经常见到鸟儿追蝴蝶追得很远，最后却还是抓不着蝴蝶。小朋友如果看过足球比赛，就知道我说“蝴蝶很会躲闪”是什么意思啦！
13．在一些炎热的国家，蝴蝶可以长到你的两只手掌并在一起那么大。这些昆虫还经常拥有奇怪的形状和非常艳丽的颜色。⑦译注①这不是真正的舌头，而是“虹吸式口器”的“喙”。
②这些鳞片是翅膜细胞长出来的附属物，形状、大小、密度，都随着蝴蝶种类的不同而千差万别，所以蝴蝶翅膀才会五颜六色。鳞片可以加固翅膀，防水，还可以调节蝴蝶的体温。鳞片本身的掉落并不会损害蝴蝶的飞行能力，蝴蝶在撞到蜘蛛网上的时候，会让鳞片大量地掉落，好让自己逃跑。但是，如果蝴蝶翅膀撞到人手或者其他硬物，很可能会折断或者撕裂，从而造成损伤。如果必须要抓蝴蝶，要用专门的捕捉蝴蝶的网；如果不得已要用手抓，必须把手指并在一起，轻轻地把蝴蝶的四只翅膀拢在一块儿，尽量不让蝴蝶乱动。
③这种蝴蝶是最常见的蝴蝶之一，名叫“菜粉蝶”。
④当然，这就让菜粉蝶成为了一种重要的害虫。大部分蝴蝶幼虫吃的是植物，但有少数几种蝴蝶幼虫，如“蚧灰蝶”、“竹蚜灰蝶”、“拟蛾大灰蝶”的幼虫是吃昆虫的。
⑤几类最漂亮的蝴蝶是“凤蝶科”、“斑蝶科”和“闪蝶科”。闪蝶科有些种类，翅膀有着光怪陆离的反光，是非常复杂的鳞粉结构导致的，也是全世界蝴蝶爱好者最为喜爱的种类之一。
⑥这种眼睛的学名是“复眼”，是昆虫纲和甲壳纲动物的主要视觉器官。“小眼睛”的学名是“单眼”，一个单眼相当于一个光的导管，末端有一些感光细胞。一个单眼只能感觉到一个方向的光的明暗，但是复眼就能看到粗略的图像。
⑦一般认为世界上最大的蝴蝶是“亚历山大女皇鸟翼凤蝶”，雌蝶的翼展能达到31厘米，生活在巴布亚新几内亚，目前属于濒危物种。
THE CABBAGE
