To the uninitiated(外行人，门外汉), the patch of yellowish grass could be any other parched(干枯的，焦干的) field in Surrey. Yet Cowslip Meadow is a site of special scientific interest. It sits on the chalky slopes of the North Downs(英格兰东南部的白垩丘陵地带), a species-rich grassland. Here a mix of herbs and flowers feeds a mix of insects. If you know what you are looking for, you can easily spot a rufous grasshopper or an adonis blue butterfly in the vetch(野豌豆). And where there are plenty of insects there are plenty of mice. A kestrel(红隼) hovers hopefully overhead, trying to catch one.
在外行人看来，这片泛黄的草地不过是萨里郡又一块干枯的田地。然而，牛唇草草甸却是一处具有特殊科学价值的保护地。它位于北唐斯丘陵的白垩质坡地上，是一片物种丰富的草原。这里各种草本植物和花卉养活了多种昆虫。如果你知道该找什么，就能轻易在野豌豆丛中发现红褐蚱蜢或阿多尼斯蓝蝶。而昆虫多的地方，老鼠自然也多。一只红隼满怀希望地盘旋在上空，试图抓一只老鼠。
Meadows like Cowslip are scarce(稀少的，稀缺的). Since the 1930s more than 97% of Britain’s species-rich grassland has vanished. Most has been turned into a protein-rich grass monoculture that is good for fattening livestock but anathema to insects.(大部分已被改造成富含蛋白质的单一草种种植地，这种草地适合养肥牲畜，却是昆虫的克星。)
像牛唇草这样的草甸已十分稀少。自20世纪30年代以来，英国超过97%的物种丰富型草地已经消失。大部分被改造成了富含蛋白质的单一草种种植地，这种草地适合养肥牲畜，却是昆虫的克星。
Britain’s insect population has been shrinking for decades, ever since farms began expanding and using synthetic pesticides in the 1950s.(自20世纪50年代农场开始扩张并使用合成农药以来，英国的昆虫数量已持续减少了几十年。) Since 2021 the number of flying insects has fallen by 63%. This has been bad for the mice and birds that eat them but also for farmers. Insects pollinate(给……授粉) plants, break down dung(粪便，畜粪) and keep pests at bay(控制害虫，使害虫无法靠近). Their loss makes growing food harder.
自20世纪50年代农场开始扩张并使用合成农药以来，英国的昆虫数量已持续减少了几十年。自2021年以来，飞行昆虫的数量下降了63%。这对以昆虫为食的老鼠和鸟类不利，对农民同样不利。昆虫为植物授粉、分解粪便、控制害虫。它们的消失让种粮变得更加困难。
