1 . A cicada is a large insect. It is about three centimeters long. Like many other insects, it has six legs. On the forehead are two big eyes, between which is a long beak. It uses its beak to drink juice from trees. The adult cicada has two sets of wings which can shake together to produce a high, continuous sound when the weather is hot.

In its whole life, it mainly goes through two stages. In the beginning, when a cicada is under the ground, it is called a baby cicada. It drinks juice from tree roots and it is covered in a hard shell. At this time, it has no wings - just legs. After coming out of the ground, it breaks out of its old shell. Under the old shell is a new shell and four wings. The cicada finds a place in the sun to dry its new shell and wings. Gradually, the baby cicada grows into an adult. After a cicada becomes an adult, it sings loudly in hot summer. That’s why it is called a born singer in nature.

At present, over two thousand kinds of cicadas are distributed (分布) around the world. All of them spend most of their life underground. You can find about four hundred and fifty kinds in Africa. Besides, there are about one hundred and twenty kinds in China. There are also about seven special kinds in the US that stay under the ground for many years.