Notes:
beetle 甲虫;
rhinoceros beetle：かぶと虫;
stag beetle クワガタ;

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Do you have a pet? If so, what kind of pet do you have? Dogs and cats are probably the most common pets around the world, but many people keep smaller pets such as fish and turtles. Children in Japan even keep insects as pets. When I came to Japan, I was surprised that you could buy beetles. Rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles live in the forests of Japan, so children in the city can’t catch them. Instead, they can buy them at department stores. When I was growing up in the U.S., I never met anyone who kept beetles, and I never saw any insects for sale in a store. (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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Notes:
petal 花びら;
rosemary 【植】 ローズマリー;
sting: 〈昆虫･植物が〉(針･刺毛などで)〈人･体の部分: を〉刺す;
stinger (刺す動物の)針; (植物の)刺毛;
nectar 【植】 花蜜;
pollen 【植】 花粉;
pollinate【植】〈…に〉授粉する;
extinct 絶滅した;

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When I was an elementary school student, I sometimes played in my garden during the summer vacation and found a honey bee on a petal of rosemary. At that time I didn’t like bees because I was afraid of being stung by them. I knew some bees have poison in their stinger, so I thought of bees as killers. But, in fact, honey bees are not killers. On the contrary, you cannot live without them. It is said that about one-third of the farmers around the world depend on honey bees for their agricultural production. When the bees collect nectar from some flowers, the pollen of the flowers gets on their legs, and then the bees take it to other flowers. In this way, flowers can be pollinated. Honey bees play a very important role in the reproduction of plants. However, the number of the bees is decreasing now, and this will cause serious problems to our food production.. We must protect these great workers, honey bees, for our own survival. I still don’t like honey bees, but now I hope they will not become extinct. (written by student Mr. K, edited by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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