读者文摘:令人惊奇的海洋秘密(2)（在线收听）

THE YONAGUNI MONUMENT. Are they human-made steps and ancient pyramids that sank in an earthquake, or natural rock formations created by currents?

与那国岛古迹。它们是人类制造的台阶和在地震中沉没的古代金字塔，还是由洋流形成的天然岩层？

These under-water structures off the coast of Japan, often called Japan's Atlantis, have baffled experts since a diver found them in 1986.

这些位于日本海岸附近的水下建筑，通常被称为日本的亚特兰蒂斯，自1986年一名潜水员发现它们以来，它们一直困扰着专家们。

MILKY-SEA PHENOMENON. Since the 17th century, sailors have reported encountering swaths of sea with a strange "milky" cast as far as the eye could see.

海面磷光现象。自17世纪以来，水手们就报告说，他们在海上遇到了一望无际的奇怪的“乳白色”海洋。

But scientists were unable to explain it—or confirm it was real.

但是科学家不能解释这种现象-或者证实它是真的。

Then, in 1995, a satellite captured an image of a milky sea off the coast of Somalia.

然后在1995年，一颗卫星拍下了索马里海岸外一片乳白色海洋的图像。

It is thought that the glow was from luminous bacteria that attract fish in order to be eaten and survive in their guts.

据认为，这种光来自发光细菌，它们吸引鱼来吃并在鱼的内脏中生存。

How the bacteria gather in numbers large enough for their bioluminescence to be seen from space is unknown.

这些细菌是如何聚集到足够大的数量，使它们的生物发光能在太空中被看到的，目前尚不清楚。

THE 11,500-FOOT WATERFALL. Earth's largest waterfall is actually underwater, beneath the Denmark Strait,

11500英尺高的瀑布。世界上最大的瀑布实际上是在水下，在丹麦海峡下面，

where cold water sinks below warmer water and flows over an estimated 11,500-foot drop.

在那里，冷水下沉到温暖的水下，并在大约11,500英尺的落差上流动。

Researchers are still trying to figure out how such a thing works.

研究人员仍在试图搞清楚这个瀑布是如何运作的。

It's much more powerful than waterfalls on land, with a downward flow of more than 123 million cubic feet per second, which creates what scientists describe as "massive turbulence."

它比陆地上的瀑布强大得多，每秒向下流动超过1.23亿立方英尺，这就产生了科学家们所说的“巨大的湍流”。

Blue whales are the largest animals to ever live. Even a newborn can weigh roughly 30 tons.

蓝鲸是有史以来最大的动物。甚至一个新生儿也能重达30吨左右。

The largest animal in history, the blue whale has a tongue that can weigh as much as an entire elephant.

蓝鲸是历史上最大的动物，它的舌头的重量和一整只大象的重量相当。

Still, scientists don't know how long they live or much else about them.

尽管如此，科学家们不知道它们能活多久，也不知道关于它们的其他东西。

When researchers captured a rare video of blue whales off the coast of Sri Lanka in 2017,

2007年研究人员在斯里兰卡拍到了一段罕见的蓝鲸视频，

it sparked controversy among experts: Were they racing or mating?

视频在专家中引发了争议：它们在赛跑还是在交配？