听播客学英语 146 鲸鱼

 　　Welcome back, everyone, after our summer break.

　　Today’s podcast is about whales. Not the country Wales, but the animals called whales. Whales live in the sea. But they are not fish. Young whales do not hatch¹ from eggs, like young fish do. Young whales are born live, like human babies. Whales are mammals, like human beings are. And because whales live in the sea, we call them marine² mammals – “marine” just means “of the sea”. In fact, a species³ of whale called the blue whale is the largest mammal on earth.

　　For hundreds of years, people have hunted whales. They ate whale meat, and used whale oil as a fuel for lamps, and to make candles. In the 20th century, commercial whaling drove some species of whales almost to extinction⁴. Many countries now prohibit⁵ whale hunting. But whale hunting by Japan, Norway and some other countries continues. There is a lot of controversy⁶ about whale hunting – people have very strong opinions either for or against it.

　　Well, I went whale hunting this summer – with a camera. I travelled on a boat from Portsmouth in England to Bilbao in northern Spain. During the journey, the boat crosses the Bay of Biscay, which is the area between the west coast of France and the north coast of Spain. In this area, whales are plentiful⁷. So, on the boat with me there were lots of enthusiastic whale hunters. First thing in the morning, the whale hunters went to the top deck⁸ of the boat. They set up telescopes, binoculars⁹ and cameras. They had notebooks, and pencils, and books about whales. Anxiously, they looked out to sea. Nothing. Only the waves and the sky, and a few birds. Eventually, someone saw something. All the whale hunters ran to the side of the boat. About a kilometer away, there was a jet¹⁰ of water. Then there was another, and another. It was a group of whales, close to the surface of the sea, blowing water out through the blow holes on the tops of their heads. But they were too far away – we could not see the whales themselves, or tell what sort of whales they were. But later in the day, we saw whales close to the boat – there is a picture of one on the website. And we saw dolphins as well, though there are fewer dolphins in the Bay of Biscay this year than in previous years.

　　My children soon got bored with whale hunting. There are more exciting things to do on the boat, they said. But I can now understand why the whale hunters, with their telescopes and cameras, are so enthusiastic. In Europe today, there are not many places where you can see big animals in the wild. But at sea you can. For a long time, there is nothing. But when, suddenly, a whale appears close to you, it is as thrilling as watching elephants or lions in Africa.

1 hatch   

n.孵化，舱口；vt.孵，孵出，策划；vi. 孵化

参考例句：

• No one knows how the new plan will hatch out.谁也不知道这新方案将怎样制订出来。
• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

4 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

5 prohibit   

vt.禁止；阻止，使不可能

参考例句：

• Laws must be put through to prohibit this act.必须通过法律来制止这种作法。
• Swimming after drinking is strictly prohibit.严禁酒后下水。

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

8 deck   

n.甲板；公共汽车一层的车厢；纸牌；vt.装饰

参考例句：

• Let's have a walk round the deck.我们去甲板上散步吧。
• The sea wind swept over the deck.海风席卷过甲板。

9 binoculars   

n.双筒望远镜

参考例句：

• He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。
• If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜，我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。

10 jet   

n.喷气发动机，喷气式飞机；v.喷出，喷射

参考例句：

• Put a match to the jet to light the gas.将火柴放在煤气喷嘴上点燃煤气。
• I don't see the jet of your plan.我不明白你的计划的要点。