读者文摘:令人惊奇的海洋秘密(2)

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。

MILKY¹-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 luminous² bacteria that attract fish in order to be eaten and survive in their guts³.

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 turbulence⁴."

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 controversy⁵ among experts: Were they racing⁶ or mating?

视频在专家中引发了争议：它们在赛跑还是在交配？

1 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

2 luminous   

adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的

参考例句：

• There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
• Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

3 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。