国家地理:Wild: Whale Attack 鲸鱼攻击

Then as we got closer, I could see what it was. It was a California gray whale cow.
The California gray whale is one of the largest animals on the planet. A fully-grown female known as a cow can easily weigh up to 35 tons, the equivalent of eleven female African elephants. The barnacles are clustered on the upper surface of this creature's head, positively¹ identified it.
And then when we got a little closer, somebody yelled. I think it was Heidi that first realized that there were gray whales in the area, which is what had attracted the killer² whales.
Gray whales and killer whales are not related. Orcas are in fact a type of dolphin. They are known as killer whales, not because they are whales, but because they are whale killers³.
This was the attack that I never wanted to see.
One organization, especially equipped to reveal the dark mysteries of Monterey Bay. Marine⁴ biologist George Matsumoto had heard of killer whale attacks on gray whales. But even he had never seen one.
Even here the research assumed that we'll spend 300 days a year on two different ships out there, we've never actually observed a killer whale attack from our vessels⁵.
Up until now, reports of orca attacks were the stuff of legend, rarely glimpsed, even by those who study these animals. But the Mother's Day encounter would provide scientists with detailed⁶ video evidence from almost start to finish.
10:15, 18 minutes after Turah had first sighted the orcas, she spotted⁷ another body in the water.
My goodness, you guy, look after the left side, look over there.
In the midst of the mayhem, there was another smaller participant.
And we are told by Heidi that there the orcas are attacking a gray whale and her baby.
Gray whales have only one infant at a time. Judging by the size of this calf⁸, it was around 3 months old.
It was nothing anyone could do. The passengers could only watch in horror and fascination⁹.
You don't really want to watch, but you have to, because you want to know what's going on.
No, your mother's gonna understand it.
Truly, this was one of the most powerful scenes any of us on board had ever seen.
The orcas are so tough...
The killer whales were thrashing their tails at it.
The killer whales were trying to prevent the calf from breathing - they were trying to drown it.


orca: (n.) 〈动〉虎鲸

1 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 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。

8 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

9 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。