Now, it's time for Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.

Spring is in the air! Well, at least, in half of the world. The amount of daylight in the northern half is increasing, day by day. And air temperatures are slowly rising.

Spring is a season for growth and rebirth. Many insects, plants and even some animals are coming out of a deep, deep sleep. Bees and birds are especially active.

In this Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, photo, a bird flies by flowers of an orange silk cotton tree in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

All around life is buzzing.

And for many people, spring is a time for love. All this talk of love and rebirth might get some people thinking about sex. And children, who seem to overhear everything interesting, might start asking questions. A few of these questions adults sometimes have trouble answering, such as "Where do babies come from?"

It is important for parents to talk with their children about sex. But such discussions can be uncomfortable and even embarrassing. To make this subject easier to talk about, adults sometimes explain sex and sexual reproduction by telling the child how animals reproduce.

Years ago, parents and even schoolteachers would call the subject of human sexuality and reproduction "the birds and the bees." This gave them a way to avoid saying the word "sex."

Several language websites give the English writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge credit for this expression. Let's listen to a reading from his poem "Work Without Hope."

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