新奇事件簿 日本为海豚安装橡胶尾鳍

A dolphin in a Japanese water park, who couldn't swim because it had no tail, has been given a new lease of life after being fitted with an artificial fin¹. Fuji, the 36-year-old bottlenose dolphin, suffered a life-threatening disease which caused her tail to rot four years ago. Rather than let the disease spread to the rest of her body, veterinarians at the Churaumi Aquarium² in Okinawa, Japan, decided³ to amputate her tail fin. The result was a very depressed⁴ dolphin who could no longer frolic in the water with her aquatic⁵ pals⁶. Having no tail also meant Fuji was unable to exercise. This meant she started putting on the kilos, which caused a further threat to her life. Just when doom⁷ and gloom surrounded the future of Fuji, in stepped an unlikely saviour⁸ the Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone.

在日本海洋馆，一只海豚安“假肢”重获新生，此前它因无尾鳍而无法游行。四年前，36岁尖嘴海豚“富士”因患重病不得不切除尾鳍。冲绳海洋博公园兽医决定切断尾鳍，避免疾病蔓延全身。最终，“富士”再也无法与伙伴们在海中嬉戏。她也将无法进行训练。随着体重不断增加，生命将进一步遭受威胁。就在“富士”未来阴云密布之际，日本轮胎制造商普利司通成为救世主。

Bridgestone is more commonly associated with Formula One racing⁹ technology than artificial dolphin fins¹⁰. However, it seems dolphin fins and racing car tyres have more in common than we believed. Bridgestone saved Fuji’s life by pouring around US$83,000 dollars into creating the replacement¹¹ fin. The new prosthesis is made from the same kind of rubber that is used for Formula One car tyres. Fuji wears her new tail fitting for just two to three hours everyday. Her trainer hopes Bridgestone can make an improved version that can be worn for longer, as part of the new fin wears out quickly. This means Fuji will experience pain and discomfort¹² if she uses the fin for a long time, and she’ll end up getting hurt. Her trainer said: "Thanks to the new prosthetic creation Fuji is now able to lead a normal life."

比起制造人工尾鳍，普利司通通常会和F1赛车联系在一起。然而，海豚尾鳍和赛车轮胎似乎超出了我们的想象。轮胎厂商出资约8.3万美金打造人工尾鳍，并挽救“富士”生命。假肢制作材料同样来自F1轮胎橡胶。每天“假肢”佩戴时间为2-3个小时。因新尾鳍磨损时间快，培训师希望厂家能够生产耐磨型尾鳍。若佩戴时间增加，“富士”将感到疼痛和不适，并将在痛苦中死去。培训师表示：“多亏尾鳍假肢，如今她可以自由活动了。”

1 fin   

n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼

参考例句：

• They swim using a small fin on their back.它们用背上的小鳍游动。
• The aircraft has a long tail fin.那架飞机有一个长长的尾翼。

2 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

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 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

5 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

6 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

7 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

8 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。

9 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

10 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

11 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

12 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。