Giant Mammals
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Table of Content Introduction.
内容简介表.
4 Blue Whale Anatomy.
4 蓝鲸解剖学.
5 Diet and Feeding.
5 饮食与供养.
9 Whale Range and Habitats.
页:1 鲸鱼保护区和栖息地
11 Those Big Baby Blues.
11 那些大宝贝蓝调。
12 Call of the Cetaceans.
12 召出鲸目动物.
13 Conclusion.
13 结论。
15 Glossary.
15 词汇。
16 Introduction A research vessel motors along the glassy surface of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
导言 研究船发动机沿太平洋的玻璃地表沿加利福尼亚州近海.
Onboard is a group of marine biologists continuously scanning the horizon for signs of Earth’s largest creature.
船上有一群海洋生物学家不断扫描地平线,以发现地球最大生物的迹象。
Soon enough, they catch sight of what they are looking for—a towering water spout three stories high erupting from the ocean’s surface.
很快,它们就看到它们所寻找的东西——一股高耸起的水从海洋表面喷出出出三层高的水来。
Its source is Balaenoptera musculus—the majestic blue whale.
其出处为: Balaenoptera musculus-巨型蓝鲸.
Blue whales live in all of the world’s oceans, with one of the largest populations inhabiting the waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
蓝鲸生活在世界所有海洋中,最大的种群之一居住在东北太平洋水域。
An estimated 2,800 blue whales travel annually between Alaska and Costa Rica, a country in Central America, in search of temperate waters and food.
估计每年有2,800只蓝鲸从阿拉斯加到中美洲国家哥斯达黎加去寻找温带水域和食物.
Scientists attempt to locate the blue whales to learn more about the behavior and migration habits of these giant mammals.
科学家试图找到蓝鲸 来了解更多这些巨型哺乳动物的行为和迁徙习惯。
How Big Is It?
这么大?
Blue Whale Anatomy The blue whale is the largest known animal to ever inhabit Earth.
蓝鲸解剖学 蓝鲸是地球上已知最大的动物
Even the most gargantuan of the dinosaurs was no match for a blue whale.
即使是恐龙中最有胆量的 也比不上蓝鲸
Just one of these enormous sea creatures is the equivalent of four brontosauruses!
这些巨型海生生物中只有一种相当于四条生龙!
A typical adult blue whale weighs in at 200 tons (181.
典型的成年蓝鲸体重为200吨(181.
4 mt) and is approximately 100 feet (30.
4mt),约100英尺(30.
5 m) long.
5米)长.
Its tongue weighs as much as an elephant.
其舌重如象.
Its heart is so large that a person could crawl through its main blood vessels!
它的心脏如此之大 一个人可以爬过它的主要血管!
A creature as colossal as the blue whale could never live on land because the force of gravity would cause the animal’s body to collapse on itself.
蓝鲸这样巨大的生物永远无法活在陆地上,因为重力会导致动物的身体倒塌。
Water, on the other hand, provides buoyancy, which works against gravity and helps support the animal.
而水则能提供浮力,能与重力相抗衡并能帮助养活动物.
The only way the blue whale can be so gigantic and still survive is by living in the sea.
蓝鲸只有活在海里 才能生存下去
Blue whales may be humongous, yet they still move with ease and grace through their watery habitat.
蓝鲸可能很雄伟, 但它们仍然通过水生栖息地 轻松而优雅地移动。
They typically cruise at 5 miles per hour (8 kmph), although they can travel at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour (32 kmph).
它们一般以每小时5英里(8公里ph)的速度航行,尽管它们可以以每小时20英里(32公里ph)的速度行驶.
A blue whale’s graceful torso is long, with a flexible spine and elongated pectoral fins for maneuvering through the fluctuating ocean waters.
蓝鲸优雅的躯干很长,有柔软的脊椎和长长的胸鳍来在起伏不定的海水中作机动。
On its tail is a pair of enormous flukes, or lobe-like structures.
其尾部有一对巨大的花序,或叶状结构.
When a whale dives, its flukes rise from the ocean and create a circular “flukeprint” on the water’s surface.
当一头鲸鱼下潜时,它从海洋起伏,在水面上形成一个圆形的"花纹".
What Makes a Blue Whale a Mammal?
为什么蓝鲸是哺乳动物?
All mammals • breathe air • have hair on their bodies at some stage in their development • are warm-blooded • produce milk to feed their babies Whale watchers look for flukeprints on the water’s surface to locate whales.
• 所有哺乳动物在发育的某个阶段都有头发; 鲸鱼观察者在水面上寻找花纹,
A blue whale breathes air through blowholes on the top of its head.
蓝鲸通过头顶的口井呼吸出空气.
A blue whale has a layer of fat, called blubber, that helps keep it warm.
蓝鲸有一层脂肪,叫"鲸脂",有助于保暖.
A blue whale has baleen— hairlike structures inside its upper jaw.
蓝鲸的上下巴内有发状结构
Blue whales have lungs and breathe air just like humans, but on a much larger scale.
蓝鲸拥有肺部,呼吸出与人类一样的空气,但规模要大得多.
Whale lungs can hold more than 1,000 gallons (3,785.
鲸肺可容纳1000多加仑(3,785.
4 L) of air, while adult human lungs hold only about 1.
4L)的空气,而成年人的肺只持有约1个.
3 gallons (5 L).
3加仑(5升).
A whale rises to the surface and exhales through the pair of blowholes at the top of its head, spraying air and condensed water vapor 30 feet (9.
一头鲸从头顶上起出气孔,喷出空气并凝结出水气30英尺(9.
1 m) into the air.
1米)入于空中.
Then it quickly inhales, filling its massive lungs with air in under two seconds.
然后它迅速吸入, 在两秒内用空气充入其巨大的肺.
The blowholes connect to the whale’s lungs through its trachea.
吹口通过其气管与鲸鱼肺相接.
A blue whale cannot breathe through its mouth.
蓝鲸无法从口中呼吸
A whale takes several breaths before its descent into the ocean depths.
鲸鱼在沉入海洋深处之前要呼吸几口.
A flap covers its blowholes when the whale dives.
鲸鱼下潜时会有一个襟翼盖住它的喷口.
Blue whales typically remain underwater for twenty to thirty minutes.
蓝鲸一般在水下停留20至30分钟.
Classified as shallow divers, they rarely go deeper than 700 feet (213.
被归类为浅水潜水员,很少会更深地超过700英尺(213英尺).
4 m).
页:1
In comparison, the sperm whale can reach depths more than four times greater.
相较而言,精子鲸可以达到4倍多的深度.
Even the shallowest of tropical waters can get cool, but that doesn’t present a problem for blue whales.
即使最浅的热带水域也能变凉,
Like all cetaceans, these whales have a thick layer of fatty tissue called blubber just beneath their skin that serves to insulate them from cold temperatures.
和所有鲸目动物一样,这些鲸鱼在皮肤下方有一层厚厚的脂肪组织,称为"脂肪"(blubber),可以使它们免受寒冷的温度.
Since blubber is not as dense as water, it provides buoyancy and makes it easier for blue whales to float and swim.
由于鲸脂不像水那么稠密,因此可以提供浮力并让蓝鲸更方便地漂浮和游泳.
Female whales build up extra layers of blubber before giving birth so they won’t have to leave their newborn calves to search for food.
母鲸在分娩前会积聚出多层脂肪,
The surplus energy stored in their blubber tides them over until they can get food.
他们的脂肪中储存的剩余能量 将他们引来,直到他们得到食物。
The two blowholes on a blue whale’s head are like human nostrils.
蓝鲸头上的两个口孔就像人类鼻孔.
Blubber provides insulation and helps whales maintain food reserves.
Blubber提供绝缘性,并帮助鲸鱼维持食物储备.
Diet and Feeding When blue whales dive, they are searching for their favorite meal—tiny shrimplike crustaceans called krill.
饮食和饲料 当蓝鲸下潜时,他们正在寻找他们最喜欢的一餐——叫"磷虾"的细虾类甲壳动物。
While it may seem strange that the largest animal in the world feeds on one of the smallest, it does so for good reason.
虽然世界上最大的动物 以最小的动物之一为食 似乎很奇怪 但这样做是有原因的
Blue whales are huge, but their throats are actually quite narrow.
蓝鲸是巨大的,但是它们的喉咙实际上相当窄.
A blue whale’s esophagus is only inches wide, making it impossible to swallow anything big.
蓝鲸的食道只有一英寸宽,
In addition, blue whales lack teeth and must swallow their food whole.
此外,蓝鲸缺乏牙齿,必须把食物全部吞下.
Scientists divide whales into two groups.
科学家将鲸鱼分为两组.
Some, like sperm whales, have teeth and are classified in the suborder Odontoceti, while others, like blue whales, have baleen, which places them in the suborder Mysticeti.
有的如精子鲸有牙齿并被分入"奥多多塞蒂"(Odontoceti)亚序;有的如"蓝鲸"(Blue Charles)有"花地"(baleen),将花地置于"花地"(Mysticeti)亚序.
Instead of teeth, blue whales have hundreds of plates of baleen lining their upper jaw.
蓝鲸的上下巴有上百个板块
Baleen consists of keratin—the same substance found in human hair and fingernails.
巴林由克来汀(keratin)组成——人类发型和指甲中发现的同一种物质.
It’s fringed on the end, making it seem as though a mustache is growing inside the whale’s mouth.
似乎鲸鱼口中长出胡子。
The baleen in a whale’s mouth functions as a strainer.
鲸鱼口中的花盆充当教练。
When feeding, a blue whale takes an enormous gulp of seawater teeming with krill.
在喂食时,一头蓝鲸需要大量的海水和磷虾。
Its throat expands to accommodate thousands of gallons of seawater.
其咽喉扩张至可容纳上千加仑海水.
Next, it closes its mouth and uses its massive tongue to push the water through the baleen and out into the sea.
接下来,它闭上口,并用它巨大的舌头将水从地上推入海中.
Since krill cannot pass through the baleen, they remain in the whale’s mouth and are eventually swallowed whole.
由于磷虾不能从地浆中穿行,所以它们留在鲸鱼口中,最终被全部吞下.
A blue whale eats about forty million krill each day.
蓝鲸每天能吃到四千万磷虾
Blue whales make multiple dives into a swarm of krill while feeding.
蓝鲸在进食时会多次潜入一团磷虾.
A whale must consume huge quantities since it burns up to 3 million calories (300,000 kcal) per day.
鲸鱼每天燃烧到300万卡路里(30万克卡),因此必须消耗大量的鲸鱼。
Krill are the main staple of a blue whale’s diet.
Krill是蓝鲸饮食的主要主食。
Krill often swarm near the water’s surface.
Krill经常在水面附近聚集。
A blue whale has up to eight hundred baleen plates in its mouth.
一只蓝鲸的口腔有多达800块花板
Whale Range and Habitats Blue whales can be found gliding through the depths of every ocean on our planet.
鲸鱼保护区和生境 蓝鲸在地球上的每一个海洋的深处 都能发现它们的滑翔
While some species of whales travel in groups called pods, blue whales typically travel alone or in pairs.
虽然有些鲸类以被叫作"吊舱"的组群出行,而蓝鲸通常单独出行或成对出行.
They migrate from higher to lower latitudes during the winter months in search of krill.
它们于冬季几个月从高纬度向下纬度迁徙以寻找磷虾.
A popular location for Pacific blue whales is the Costa Rica Dome, off the southern coast of Central America.
太平洋蓝鲸的一个受欢迎的地点是位于中美洲南岸外的哥斯达黎加穹顶.
Water currents there force frigid air to the surface during summer months, resulting in large amounts of plankton and krill.
那里的水流在夏季数月将冷空气逼入地表,导致大量浮游生物和磷虾.
Those Big Baby Blues Female blue whales give birth while wintering in warm waters.
那些大宝贝蓝 雌性蓝鲸在取暖水域入冬时生出.
The gestation period lasts about one year.
妊娠期约为一年.
At birth, baby blue whales, called calves, weigh more than 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg) and measure approximately 25 feet (7.
出生时,婴儿蓝鲸被称作"小牛",重达5000多磅(2,268公斤),能测量出约25英尺(7.
6 m) in length.
页:1
Within minutes, a calf swims to the surface with its mother to take its first breath.
几分钟内,一头小牛会和母亲一起游到地表来呼吸.
Blue whales give birth in warm waters since newborn calves do not have much insulating blubber.
蓝鲸在温暖的水域出产,因为新生的小牛没有多少绝缘脂肪.
A female whale gives birth to a calf every two or three years.
雌鲸每两三年生一头小牛.
A blue whale calf has strong bonds with its mother and stays close by for at least the first six months of its life.
蓝鲸幼崽与母鲸有很强的亲缘关系,并且至少在其生前6个月中保持相近.
During that time, the calf consumes up to 100 gallons (378.
在此期间,小牛消耗量可达100加仑(378.
5 L) of milk and gains over 200 pounds (90.
5L)的牛奶和超过200磅(90.
7 kg) every day.
7公斤),每日开通.
After migrating to summer feeding grounds, the calf is eventually weaned and goes off alone to look for krill.
在迁徙到夏季取食地后,小牛最终被断奶并独自去寻找磷虾.
A blue whale is considered mature by the time it’s ten years old.
蓝鲸在十年后就被认为成熟了。
Where Blue Whales Live NORTH AMERICA AFRICA AUSTRALIA ANTARCTICA ASIAEUROPE SOUTH AMERICA PACIFIC OCEAN PACIFIC OCEAN INDIAN OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN The grooves on a blue whale’s throat expand to help it gulp up to 17,000 gallons (64,352 L) of water at a time.
蓝鲸生活在非洲北部 南极洲 南极洲 南极洲 南极洲 蓝鲸喉咙上的沟槽会扩张,
Call of the Cetaceans Not only are blue whales the largest animals in the world, but they are also the loudest.
呼叫鲸目动物 蓝鲸不仅是世界上最大的动物,它们也是最响的.
Their sounds, which are louder than a jet engine, can travel for miles through the water.
他们的声音比起喷气发动机更响亮,可以穿越多英里的水.
Yet even though whale sounds are powerful, they are difficult for people to hear since they are produced at extremely low frequencies.
然而,鲸鱼的声音虽然很强大,但人们很难听到,因为这些声音的频率极低。
The frequencies are too low for the human ear to detect without special equipment.
频率太低,人耳无法在没有特殊设备的情况下探测出.
Some scientists think blue whale sounds, or songs, function as a type of sonar that allows the whales to navigate dark ocean waters.
一些科学家认为"蓝鲸"的声音,或作"歌",是一类能使鲸鱼通航入暗洋水域的声纳.
Other scientists think that these whales sing to communicate with each other about where they are and what they’re doing.
其他科学家认为这些鲸鱼会唱歌互相交流,
Researchers know that only male blue whales sing.
研究人员知道只有雄性蓝鲸会唱歌.
They have also found that whales in one part of the world sing songs that are slightly different from songs sung by whales elsewhere.
他们还发现,世界上某个地方的鲸鱼所唱的歌曲与其他地方由鲸鱼所唱的歌曲略有不同.
In calm seas, their songs can be detected by other blue whales up to 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away.
在平和的海洋中,其歌曲被其他最远可达1000英里(1600公里)外的蓝鲸所探测出.
The blue whales of the Indian Ocean have the most musical and versatile songs, producing four separate “notes” as they sing.
印度洋的蓝鲸拥有最有音乐和多才多艺的歌曲,在演唱时分别出出出四首"注".
When a blue whale leaps out of the water, the behavior is called breaching.
当一头蓝鲸从水中跳出时,行为被称为"突破".
A decibel (d B) is a unit that measures the loudness or softness of a sound.
分贝(d B)是测量一个声音的响度或软度的单位.
Just How Loud Is a Blue Whale’s Song?
蓝色鲸鱼的歌有多响?
Conclusion Blue whales continue to fascinate researchers around the world.
结论 蓝鲸继续迷上世界各地的研究人员.
In the early to mid-twentieth century, so many blue whales were hunted that they were nearly driven to extinction.
在20世纪初到中叶,许多蓝鲸被猎杀,以至于几乎被驱赶去灭绝.
Blue whales also face other dangers, including collisions with ships in the open ocean.
蓝鲸还面临其他危险,包括与公海上的船只相撞.
As an endangered species, these whales are protected under the International Whaling Commission.
作为濒危物种,这些鲸鱼受到国际捕鲸委员会的保护.
However, hunting bans remain hard to enforce, and the blue whale population has yet to fully recover.
然而,狩猎禁令仍然难以执行,而蓝鲸种群尚未完全恢复.
Marine biologists and other scientists study migration movements and feeding patterns in order to better understand how these giants of the deep live and what they can teach us about life and survival in the ocean.
海洋生物学家和其他科学家研究了迁徙运动和觅食模式,以更好地理解这些深海生物的巨头们如何生活,以及他们能教我们什么关于海洋中的生命和生存.
By monitoring environmental and human-related threats, the goal of keeping blue whales safe from harm and helping their numbers rebound may still be achieved.
通过监测环境和与人类有关的威胁,蓝鲸免受伤害和帮助其数量回升的目标仍有可能实现。
Glossary baleen (n.)
词汇baleen (n.)
a material in the mouth of certain whales that filters food from ocean water (p.
a 某些鲸鱼口中从海水中过滤出食物的材料(p.
9) buoyancy (n.)
9) 浮力 (n.
the ability or tendency to float (p.
浮起的能力或倾向(p.
6) cetaceans (n.)
6)鲸目动物 (n.
ocean mammals, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises (p.
海洋哺乳动物,包括鲸鱼,海豚和海豚(p.
8) crustaceans (n.)
8)甲壳动物 (n.
members of a group of mostly aquatic invertebrates, such as crabs, lobsters, and shrimp (p.
以水生无脊椎动物为主的一群成员,如螃蟹,龙虾和虾(p.
9) flukes (n.)
9) 绒毛 (n.
the two halves of a whale’s tail (p.
鲸鱼尾巴的两半(p.
6) frequencies (n.)
6)频率 (n.
the rates of vibration of a sound wave (p.
声音波的振动率(p.
13) gestation (n.)
13) 妊娠 (n.
the period when a baby develops inside its mother’s body before being born; the development that occurs during this time (p.
婴儿出生前在母亲体内发育的时期; 在此期间发生的发育(p.
12) keratin (n.)
12) 克兰汀 (n.
a strong material produced by the bodies of some animals that makes up hair, hooves, claws, feathers, and fingernails (p.
由一些动物的身体所生成的能构成毛发,蹄,爪,羽毛和指甲(p.
10) krill (n.)
10) 磷虾 (n.
tiny crustaceans that live in oceans and are food for many other animals (p.
生活在海洋并是许多其他动物的食物的细小甲壳类动物(p.
9) pectoral (adj.)
9) 发作 (adj.
of, relating to, or located in or on the chest (p.
或位于胸口或胸口(第2页)。
6) plankton (n.)
6) 浮游生物 (n.
tiny plants and animals that live on or near the ocean’s surface (p.
生活在或靠近海洋表面的小型动植物(p.
11) sonar (n.)
11) 声纳 (n.
a system that sends high-frequency sound waves through water and registers the vibrations bounced back by an object (p.
一个通过水来发送高频声波并记录被物体反弹的振动的系统(p.
13) An estimated ten to twenty-five thousand blue whales live in the world’s oceans.
13) 估计有一万到二万五千只蓝鲸生活在世界海洋中。
At one time, there were over three hundred thousand.
一度有三十余万.