With reasonable accuracy, they lived up to their nicknames of basket sponges, chalice sponges, distaff sponges, elkhorn sponges, lion's paws, peacock's tails,  看见这些形状的海绵，诗人意味比学者意味重的渔人们给它们取的名字很美妙，例如花篮、花枣、羚羊角、狮子蹄、孔雀尾、

　　and Neptune's gloves-designations bestowed on them by fishermen, more poetically inclined than scientists.  海王手套等等…，都是非常恰当的。

　　A gelatinous, semifluid substance coated the fibrous tissue of these sponges, and from this tissue there escaped a steady trickle of water that, after carrying sustenance to each cell, was being expelled by a contracting movement.  从它们附有半液体胶质的纤维组织中，不断流出线一样的水，这线水把生命带进了每一个细胞中，成后就被收缩的运动排除出来。

　　This jellylike substance disappears when the polyp dies, emitting ammonia as it rots.  这种半液体胶质在水熄死后便不再分泌，它同时腐烂了，发出阿摩尼亚气体来。这时候就只剩下那日用海绵所有的角质纤维或胶质纤维了。

　　Finally nothing remains but the fibers, either gelatinous or made of horn, that constitute your household sponge, which takes on a russet hue and is used for various tasks depending on its degree of elasticity, permeability, or resistance to saturation. 刀用海绵是茶褐色，根据它的弹力、渗透力或抵抗浸渍力的程度大小，可以安排它作各种不同的用途。

　　These polyparies were sticking to rocks, shells of mollusks, and even the stalks of water plants.  这些水螅丛附在岩石上，软体动物的介壳上，并且附在蛇婆茎上。

　　They adorned the smallest crevices, some sprawling, others standing or hanging like coral outgrowths.  它们把最轻微的凹凸都铺平了，有的是摆开来）有的是竖起或垂下，像珊瑚形成的瘤一样。

　　I told Conseil that sponges are fished up in two ways, either by dragnet or by hand.  我告诉了康塞尔，海绵可用两种方法来采取，或用打捞机，或用手。

　　The latter method calls for the services of a diver, but it's preferable because it spares the polypary's tissue, leaving it with a much higher market value. 后一种方法要使用潜水的采绵人，这种方法比较好，因为不损伤水螅丛的纤维，可以给它保留了很高的使用价值。