一提起細菌，我們首先會想到疾病。其實，絕大多數細菌都是無害的。而且細菌的用途很廣泛，甚至還能充當作畫的顏料。
Bacteria become art tools
by Eva Amsen
There are about a trillion species of microbes on Earth, but usually we only pay attention when one of them has led to an outbreak of disease. However, besides a few disease-causing strains, we happily coexist with bacteria every day. Microbes are regularly used in food production, form a large part of the human body, and now they're also an art medium.
trillion /ˈtrɪljən/ n. 萬億
species /ˈspiːʃiːz/ n. 物種（單數和複數都是species）
microbe /ˈmaɪkrəʊb/ n. 微生物
lead to 導致
outbreak /ˈaʊtbreɪk/ n. （疾病、戰爭等）爆發
cause /kɔːz/ v. 造成
strain /streɪn/ n. 品種、品系
coexist /ˌkəʊɪɡˈzɪst/ v. 共存（由exist加上表示共同的前綴co-）
bacterium /bækˈtɪəriəm/ n. 細菌（bacteria /bækˈtɪəriə/ 是複數）
regularly /ˈreɡjələli/ adv. 常常
production /prəˈdʌkʃ(ə)n/ n. 生產
medium /ˈmiːdiəm/ n. 媒介
Scientists who use bacteria in research grow them either in a broth（培養液） or on a plate of a gel-like substance called agar（瓊脂）. They may be studying the microbes directly – for example, to identify the source of an infection – or use bacteria as a tool to produce DNA meant for other research applications.
gel /dʒel/ n. 膠狀物
substance /ˈsʌbst(ə)ns/ n. 物質
identify /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ v. 識別
source /sɔːs/ n. 源、源頭
infection /ɪnˈfekʃ(ə)n/ n. 感染
application /ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 應用、運用
In 2015, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) decided that it was time to let others get a glimpse of the diversity of microbial（微生物的） life, and launched the Agar Art contest. It was a chance for scientists to get creative in their labs, and show the world not only their skills at creating patterns and pictures with bacteria, but also to give people a unique look at microbes. Rather than being something invisible and threatening, these microbes have become the paints on scientists' palettes（調色板）.
society /səˈsaɪəti/ n. 協會、社團
microbiology /ˌmaɪkrəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒi/ n. 微生物學（由biology加上表示微小的前綴micro-）
glimpse /ɡlɪmps/ n. 一瞥、看一眼
diversity /daɪˈvɜːsəti/ n. 多樣性（由diverse加後綴-ity變成名詞）
launch /lɔːntʃ/ v. 發起、使開始
contest /ˈkɒntest/ n. 比賽
pattern /ˈpæt(ə)n/ n. 圖案
unique /juːˈniːk/ adj. 獨特的
invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/ adj. 不可見的（由visible加上表示否定的前綴in-）
threaten /ˈθret(ə)n/ v. 威脅
The ASM has just announced the winners of this year's competition, which feature a wide variety of styles and bacterial strains. People's Choice winner Zita Postényi, a microbiologist at SYNLAB Hungary Ltd, used three agar plates and four different bacteria to create a pattern inspired by Hungarian folk art.
feature /ˈfiːtʃə(r)/ v. 以…爲特徵
bacterial /bækˈtɪəriəl/ adj. 細菌的
microbiologist /ˌmaɪkrəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒɪst/ n. 微生物學家（由microbiology加上表示人的後綴-ist）
inspire /ɪnˈspaɪə(r)/ v. 啓發、給予靈感
Hungarian /hʌŋˈɡeəriən/ adj. 匈牙利的（匈牙利是中歐國家）
folk /fəʊk/ adj. 民間的
So how does this work? Bacteria are stored in a liquid stock, and can be spread onto an agar plate using a sterile（消過毒的） tool. At first, they're almost invisible. But after a few days in a warm incubator（培養箱）, individual bacteria have grown into little specks（斑點） and lines, following the exact location where they were spread on the plate.
store /stɔː(r)/ v. 貯存
stock /stɒk/ n. 高湯
spread /spred/ v. 攤開、塗抹
individual /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl/ n. 個體的
This year, ASM opened up the contest to allow anyone to try their hand at agar art, in separate "Maker" or "Kids" categories. Korey Abram took part through his school, Prairie View A&M University, where he is a Digital Media Arts student. His professors had provided him and other students with the materials and bacterial strains they could use to create their works.
separate /ˈsep(ə)rət/ adj. 分開的
category /ˈkætəɡri/ n. 類別、組別
material /məˈtɪəriəl/ n. 原材料
work /wɜːk/ n. 作品
"I had never once attempted agar art, nor had I even heard of it," says Abram. In the course of the project, he not only picked up the necessary skills to use bacteria as an art medium, but he learned more about microbiology as well.
course /kɔːs/ n. 發展過程
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 項目
pick up 學會
The human body has at least as many microbes as it has human cells, so it's fitting that Abram chose to create a self portrait with bacteria. His work, drawn with the bacteria Serratia marcescens and Micrococcus luteus, was chosen as the winner in the "Maker" category.
cell /sel/ n. 細胞
fitting /ˈfɪtɪŋ/ adj. 合適的
portrait /ˈpɔːtrət/ n. 肖像、半身像
（如果您發現某些行的最後一個單詞被分成兩半了，請把您使用的瀏覽器升級到最新版本就能正常顯示了。）