经典对话
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 bottcxn 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。
王牌句型
1.Crazy!
真怪!(较随便)
2.What a surprise!
真令人吃惊!(通用)
3.This really is a surprise!
这真是想不到的事。(通用)
4.I must say your words surprise me.
我得说你的话让我吃惊。