第100课 惊奇

　　A:Well, in the oceans around Antarctica the temperature of the water is freezing, always below zero, do you know?

　　A：在南极大陆周围的海洋里。水是冻结的，温度总是在零度以下，你知道吗？

　　B:I know this. But there are still fish in the water. Fish can live in these temperatures only because their blood contains a particular chemical. In these oceans live huge numbers of a small fish just 5cm long. These fish swim together, often in a group that may be 4—5 metres thick and hundreds of metres long.

　　B：我知道。但是水里照样有鱼生存。在这种温度下鱼还能存活，是因为它们的血液里含有一种特殊的化学物质。在这些海洋区域里，生活着大量身长只有5厘米的小鱼。这些小鱼在一起游荡，通常聚集成宽4—5米，长好几百米的鱼群3

　　A:I've even read a magazine, it says that there may be 63,000 fish per cubic metre. These fish provide the main food for whales. A whale may eat a ton of them of a time, and may enjoy four meals a day!

　　A：我曾读过一份杂志，上面说每立方米的水里可以有63，000头鱼。这些鱼为鲸鱼提供了主食。鲸鱼一次可以吃掉一吨这样的小鱼，一天可以吃4次之多！

　　B:Isn't it astonishing? Well, the squid lives in the dark at a great depth at the bottom of the ocean. It can grow to a length of 15 metres. It is eaten by a type of whale called the sperm whale, which is over 18 metres long.

　　B：真令人惊讶！唔，枪乌贼生活在海洋底部最深的黑暗处，它能长到15米长，它是一种长达18米之多，叫做抹香鲸的鲸鱼的食物。

　　A:It is really inconceivable. But It's true. The sperm whale does not feed on small fish like other whales. Instead it has teeth and feeds on squid. It can dive to a depth of 1,000 metres. On one ship which had equipment for measuring the depth of the water, the captain noticed a sperm whale diving to a depth of nearly 2,250 metres.

　　A：不可思议吧.但它却是真的。抹香鲸不像其他鲸鱼那样以小鱼为食。相反，它有牙齿，以枪乌贼为食。它能潜到1，000米深处的海水中。在一艘配备测定水深装备的船上，船长发现一条潜到近2，250米深处的抹香鲸。

　　B:Do you know how the sperm whale manages to do this?

　　B：你知道抹香鲸怎样设法做到这个的吗？

　　A:Yes, I know that. When it dives, its heart slows to half its normal speed. By doing this, the animal can hold its breath for a longer time. You know, it is completely dark at the bottom of the ocean, therefore the sperm whale has to look for the squid by using sound waves.

　　A：是的，我知道。当它潜水的时候，它的心脏跳速可以变慢到正常速度的一半。这样，这种动物便能更长时间地屏住呼吸。你知道，在海洋底部一片漆黑，因此抹香鲸必须利用声波才能找到枪乌鱼。

　　B:I think youVe given a very good explanation. You know, we are used to the idea of aging ourselves. We are so used to this that it comes as a surprise to find that there may be some animals that do not age. Well, sea anemones are an example.

　　B：我想你说得非常清楚。你知道，我们太习惯于自己会变老的想法，以至于一了解到可能有些动物不会变老，我们就感到十分惊奇。唔，海葵就是一个例子。

　　A:That's true indeed. Some sea anemones have been kept for already a century withuout showing any sigis of life lessons. Some kinds of sea worms can even "grow backwards"!

　　A：这确实是真的。有些海葵几乎已经存在了一个世纪而不显示任何生命迹象。有些种类的海虫甚至能“逆长”！

　　B:Yes. They get steadily smaller if eating nothing and kept in the dark. They finally end as a ball of cells looking rather like the egg from which they come.

　　B：是这样。如果不吃东西，而且放在暗处，它们会不断变小。最后，它们会变成看起来像它们出生时鸡蛋那样大的球孢。

　　A:And under good conditions, the ball will turn back to a worm and start growing again.

　　A：而且，在条件良好的情况下，这球孢会变回到蠕虫，再次开始生长。

　　B:Well,it's really very strange, isn't it? Oh, there is another strange sea life, you know, the sea horse, it is a fish, but it does not look like one. And it seldom swims. When it does,it swims upright, And, it is often found with its tail hooked round seaweeds.

　　B：唔，真奇怪，是吧？噢，还有一种怪异的海洋生物，那就是海马。海马是鱼，但是它长得又不像鱼。它极少游动。当它游动的时候，它只做直立游泳，而且，人们常常发现它用尾巴钓住海草。

　　A:I've heard of the sea horse, too. Its body looks like a matchstick frame covered with fine cloth, and it's about five inches tall. Its brown skin matches the seaweeds, so it's hard for you to find it.

　　A：我也听说过海马。它的身体长得像裹着漂亮外衣的火柴棒，它的体高大约为5英寸，其褐色的皮肤和海草相称，所以，它不容易被发现。

　　B:Exactly so! These are very interesting!

　　B：的确如此！这些真的很有趣。