Most of us have been on the wrong end of an insect stinger. While it’s usually an unpleasant experience, stings are nothingpersonal. Animals sting for two reasons, to defend themselves or to catch prey. How they do it is wildly varied, from simple toelaborate. Take jellyfish, whose stingers are among the most sophisticated biological equipment ever evolved. Jellyfish tentaclesare lined with thousands of stinging cells called cnidocytes, or cnidae. ___(31)___
       Stonefish are the most venomous fish in the world. These experts at disguise lurk in shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific, theCaribbean, and the Florida Keys, looking like bumpy rocks and jagged coral on the ocean floor. When a stonefish feels threatened,sharp spines pop up on its back, each with a venom sac at the base. ___(32)___ There are several species of stonefish, all ofwhich use their dorsal fins to bury themselves in the sand and become nearly invisible. This is a brilliant strategy for ambushingprey, but dangerous for people.
      Bee and wasp stingers also work like hypodermics, but they’re actually modified ovipositors, or tubes for laying eggs. That’swhy all stinging bees and wasps are female, which use the same organ for both activities. Carnivorous wasps deploy their stingersto paralyze or kill prey, such as caterpillars and flies. Some digger wasps impale their prey on their stinger, a way to transporttheir meal home to their nest. Parasitoid wasps lay their eggs inside an insect. ___(33)___
      Bees sting, of course, but only in self-defense. In fact, the sting of all eight honeybee species are kamikaze missions. It’s theonly type of bee with double-shafted barbed stingers, which means each shaft has backward-facing hooks that anchor into theirtarget’s skin. ___(34)___ When the stinger breaks off, so does the venom sac and the musculature that pumps the venom. It’s aneffective defense, but always fatal for the female, who loses a large part of her body in the process. Her death may seem like ahigh price, but the trade-off is evolutionarily sound.
      Scorpions have a smooth stinger called a telson, which houses various parts, such as venom ducts and a barb. Like mostvenomous animals, scorpions would prefer to hide from predators or crush prey in their claws than deploy their venom.___(35)___ That’s why scorpions have a range of stings at their disposal. When faced with bigger, more persistent predators orprey, a scorpion will deploy actual venom, a mixture of numerous potent toxins that have maximum and often deadly impact.
【題組】31.(AB) Not only is the substance biologically expensive, taking weeks to replace, but not having it makes the arachnid even more vulnerable to attack.(AC) If prey or predators make contact, the fish sends the venom through the hollow spines to stab the interloper.(AD) It’s important to note that of the 1,750 scorpion species on Earth, only 25 are lethal to people.(AE) To accomplish this, the wasp must first take control of the host bug’s actions and behaviors—all of which is accomplished by stinging it.(BC) First one shaft goes in and embeds itself there, then the other, “walking” themselves into the skin.(BD) These contain stinging capsules, or nematocysts, with spring-loaded caps.(BE) Zooplankton, a favorite prey, gives off vibrations that trigger the capsules to open, releasing toxin-filled microtubules with a sharp tip that impale and envenomate prey