VOA慢速英语2016--海底发现章鱼新种类

AS IT IS 2016-03-09 Trending: New Octopus¹ Spotted² on Ocean Floor 海底发现章鱼新种类

This is What’s Trending Today:

There are still lots of undiscovered areas around the globe – but most are below the surface of the ocean.

Recently, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric³ Administration, or NOAA, discovered something new on the ocean floor.

And everyone is calling it “cute” and “adorable".

And people on social media love it.

Scientists say it might be a new species of octopus. It is similar to some octopi that live in shallow water, but this one was found more than 4,000 meters below the surface.

Before this new discovery, the only octopi found in water this deep were very different.

Some people want to name it Casper after the famous ghost of cartoons and movies.

NOAA posted a video to YouTube of the octopus sitting on the ocean floor and wiggling its arms. It has more than 200,000 views since March 3.

The science writer Melissa Dahl called the octopus “adorable.”

The magazine Popular Science called the octopus a “cutie.” And wrote about it with this headline “Aww and Awe⁴…”

“Aww” is the sound people make when they are looking at something cute, like a puppy or baby. “Awe” is a word used to describe something unique and impressive.

But the octopus is not only “cute” and “adorable.” It looks to be an important scientific discovery. The scientists at NOAA say the octopus may be part of a new species.

And the funny thing is, NOAA was not looking for new sea creatures. It is investigating the way some islands near the U.S. state of Hawaii formed many years ago.

To do this, the scientists aboard a ship drop some remote-controlled submarines into the ocean. They go down to the floor, more than 4,000 meters deep, and collect rock samples.

As soon as the investigators⁵ saw this octopus, they said it was “beautiful … different than the two we got on video last year.” They also said it was definitely not in the “HURL guide,” which is a directory of undersea creatures in the Pacific Ocean.

NOAA released images and video of this new octopus in early March and people on social media sites started talking about it over the weekend.

Words in This Story

cute – adj. having a pleasing and usually youthful appearance

adorable – adj. very appealing or attractive : very lovable

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants : a group of related animals or plants that is smaller than a genus

scary – adj. causing fear

awe – n. a strong feeling of fear or respect and also wonder

remote control – n. a process or system that makes it possible to control something from a distance by using electronic signals

wiggle – v. to move up and down or from side to side with short quick motions

globe - n. an object shaped like a large ball with a map of the world on it

ghost - n. the spirit of a dead person

cartoon - n. a series of pictures that tell a story

unique - adj. special

impressive - adj. worthy of attention or respect

1 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

4 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》