10-15 来自另一个世界的歌声

 

Melody¹ from the Other World

 

In October on the east coast of Australia migrating humpback whales² pass very close to the shore. With the help of Max Egan, we went to film them near Byron Bay. It was incredibly exciting to spot the little puffs³ of spray on the horizon -- the tell-tale⁴ blow of a whale. When migrating, the whales can be traveling at speeds of about 12 km/hour and can dive under for anywhere between five and forty minutes, but with many years of experience Max usually guided our boat to exactly the right place to provide us with spectacular⁵ sighting. As the whales break the surface like submarines, the water spill off their broad dark backs and huge tails. Then, with a powerful downstroke⁶, they dive back into the depths of the sea, leaving just a smooth glassy patch of water or “footprint” on the surface to indicate where they had been.

 

On one day we had traveled up and down the shore and far out to sea in search of whales, but the horizon was deserted². There was no report of whales in the area so we decided³ to test out Max’ new, highly sensitive hydrophone⁷ and the result was astonishing. As soon as the hydrophone was in the water, we found ourselves listening to the most beautiful voices. What may have seemed like a vast empty ocean was filled with the singing of whales.

 

It is the males which sing, as they migrate between feeding and breeding grounds. No one knows for sure what the purpose of these songs is, whether they are love songs to the females or warnings to other males to stay away, but they have a mesmerizing⁸, other-worldly⁹ quality. Like musical notes in a human song, whales use about twenty syllables¹⁰, uttered in patterns called “motifs⁶¹¹”. Two or three motifs make up a phrase, and in turn, several of these make up a theme. The songs are composed of several different themes and while the basic song is continually repeated, the individual phrases can vary considerably⁷ in length, which means each song can last nearly an hour.

 

It was thought that each population of humpbacks had its own song which remained constant but recent findings suggest that the whales appreciate a catchy⁸¹² tune⁹ and quickly adopt any new songs they hear.

 

注释：

1. melody [5melEdi] n. 美妙的音乐，悦耳的声音

2. humpback [5hQmpbAk] whale [动] 座头鲸

3. puff¹ [pQf] n.（空气、烟雾、气味等的）一股

4. tell- tale [5telteil] a. 泄露秘密的，暴露内情的

5. spectacular [spek5tAkjulE] a. 壮观的，壮丽的

6. downstroke [5daun7strEuk] n. 向下的一击

7. hydrophone [5haidrEfEun] n. 水听器，水下测音器

8. mesmerize¹⁰ [5mezmEraiz] vt. 迷惑，迷住

9. other-worldly [5QTE 5wE:ldli] a. 非现实世界的

10. syllable⁴ [5silEbl] n. [语] 音节

11. motif⁵ [mEu5ti:f] n. [音] 动机，乐旨

12. catchy [5kAtFi] a. 容易记住的，引起注意（或兴趣）的

 

来自另一个世界的歌声

 

每年的10月份，迁徙的座头鲸都会游到离澳大利亚东海岸很近的地方。在马克斯·伊根的帮助下，我们来到拜伦湾附近拍摄鲸的风采。发现一个个小水柱在海平面喷射真是一件令人兴奋不已的事情——那是鲸出现了。鲸在迁徙时的速度可以达到约12公里/小时，而且能下潜到水中任何地方达5到40分钟不等，但有着多年丰富经验的马克斯却常常能将我们的船准确地开到鲸出没的水域，使我们有幸目睹那壮观的景象。当鲸像潜水艇一般浮出海面时，海水从它们宽阔的黑色脊背和硕大的尾部落下。随后，它们又一猛子扎入深邃的大海，将一片光滑晶莹的细浪或者说“足迹”留在海面，表示它们曾到此一游。

有一天，我们的船沿着海岸线来回行驶，然后又出海去寻找鲸，但是海面上却无声无息，没有鲸在这个水域出没的任何信息。于是我们决定测试一下马克斯新的高灵敏度水中听音器。结果令我们惊奇万分。我们刚刚将听音器放入水中，耳边便传来了世上最美妙的歌声。曾经似乎是空旷无际的海洋充满了鲸的歌声。

这是雄鲸从觅食地到繁殖地迁徙过程中的歌唱。没有人知晓这些歌的真实目的，是向雌鲸奉献的情歌？抑或是让其他雄鲸远离的警告？不管怎样，这迷人的歌声仿佛是来自另一个世界。如同人类谱写的音符，鲸的歌曲用大约20个音节，不同的组合构成一个个“乐旨”。每两个或三个乐旨构成一个乐句。若干个乐句组成一个主题。鲸的歌由几个不同的主题组成，基本曲调被不断地重复，但各乐句长度可能大不相同，这意味着每一首歌可以持续将近一个小时。

人们曾经认为每个座头鲸群有着自己群体不变的基本曲调。但是最新的研究却发现鲸喜欢容易记住的旋律，而且会很快学唱它们听到的新歌。

 

1 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

2 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

5 motif   

n.(图案的)基本花纹，(衣服的)花边；主题

参考例句：

• Alienation is a central motif in her novels.疏离感是她小说的一个重要的主题。
• The jacket has a rose motif on the collar.这件夹克衫领子上有一朵玫瑰花的图案。

6 motifs   

n. （文艺作品等的）主题( motif的名词复数 )；中心思想；基本模式；基本图案

参考例句：

• I try to develop beyond the old motifs. 我力求对传统的花纹图案做到推陈出新。 来自辞典例句
• American Dream is one of the most important motifs of American literature. “美国梦”是美国文学最重要的母题之一。 来自互联网

7 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

8 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

9 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

10 mesmerize   

vt.施催眠术；使入迷，迷住

参考例句：

• He could mesmerize an audience by the sheer force of his presence.他只要一出场，观众就为之倾倒。
• He was absolutely mesmerised by Pavarotti on television.他完全被电视上的帕瓦罗蒂迷住了。