VIP Class Notes (Lily) [R]

Vocabulary

1. energy (noun)= 能量
ex: I’m very energetic today because I woke up late.
ex: I have no energy, I can’t go swimming with you.

2. nutrient (noun)= the good things in the food 营养
ex: you should eat foods with high nutrients.
ex: You should eat fish, vegetables, and fruits, because they have lots of nutrients.

3. transfer (verb)= pass on 转移
ex: the energy is transferred to the slug.
ex: when I take the subway, I need to transfer line 2 to line 7.

4. link= connection 链接
ex: beetle is the third link in the food chain.
ex: the book is linked to my library card.

5. prepare= get ready
ex: are you prepared for the test?
ex: My mom always prepares dinner for the family.

6. predator= the animal that hunts
ex: tiger is a big predator in the jungle.

7. environment= the place around us 环境
ex: do you like the environment in SH?

A simple garden shows how a food chain works. Suppose you have lettuce growing in your garden. That lettuce gets energy from sunlight. It also soaks up water and nutrients from the soil. It now has everything it needs to frow. Think of this as the first link in a garden food chain.

Suppose one night a slug slithers onto a leaf of the lettuce and begins eating it. The energy from the lettuce is now transferred to the slug. The slug becomes the second link in the food chain. In the morning, a beetle comes along and eats the slug. The energy from the slug is now passed on to the beetle, which becomes the third link in the chain.

Just then, along comes a hungry shrew that eats the beetle. Now the shrew is enjoying all the energy in the chain. But the food chain is not over. A wise old owl swoops down, picks up the shrew, and returns to its nest to prepare it for dinner.

The owls has no natural predators. That means that there is no animal that tries to kill the owl for food. The owl is at the top of this food chain and benefits from all the energy.