2007-09-06, Coral Reef Erotica 神奇的珊瑚礁

You may think you are gazing upon a sleepy coral reef in the Caribbean Sea, and of course you are. But hiding in plain sight, is a riving teeming¹ hotbed of erotica , that makes a Hollywood hot up party seem like a trip to the dentist.

This is a coral reef regenerating² itself. Now here's a brain coral . What looks like planets drifting through space are tiny bundles of brain coral eggs and sperm³ filling the sea. OK, maybe the word erotica doesn't quite apply, but still, this is Mother Nature at her most voluptuous⁴ , saying yes to the universe.

Some corals are hermaphroditic , releasing packages that contain both eggs and sperm. Somehow it works out so that dozens of different species release eggs and sperm at just the right time on particular days of the year. But how does a tube spun⁵ sperm know not to mate with a coral egg? I mean who's directing traffic down here? Somehow, Nature works it out.

In this primordial⁶ soup of life stuff, eggs and sperm of each species flow towards the surface and find each other. It's in that magic moment of fertilization that larvae⁷ are created. Some of the larvae free-float as far as 100 miles, and then settle at the bottom, where they find a patch of seafloor they call a home. Here they morph into their adult form called a polyp . Hundreds of generations of polyps each build tiny cup-shaped homes by secreting⁸ a hard skeleton of limestone⁹. After the polyps die, others land on top, and form new skeletons. Slowly, gradually, a huge coral reef is built beneath them. The abandoned homes, billions upon billions of them, are what form these huge coral reefs. They are by far the largest structures built by living creatures in the world.

These coral reefs take millions of years to build. Careless divers¹⁰, boulders¹¹, and global warming can destroy huge parts of them in little time. Scientists predict that more than half of the world’s reefs may be gone by 2030. That’s not just a problem for the coral themselves. Over a quarter of all sea creatures call the reefs home.

1 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

2 regenerating   

v.新生，再生( regenerate的现在分词 )；正反馈

参考例句：

• It is not proposed to deal with the detailed histology of regenerating tissues here. 这里未提出详细的再生组织的组织学。 来自辞典例句
• This is accomplished by using a thermocompressor to recycle regenerating steam through the absorber. 它用热压机使再生蒸汽经吸附器循环完成解吸过程。 来自辞典例句

3 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

4 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。

5 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

6 primordial   

adj.原始的；最初的

参考例句：

• It is the primordial force that propels us forward.它是推动我们前进的原始动力。
• The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors.的尼安德特人是我们的原始祖先之一.

7 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

8 secreting   

v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的现在分词 )；隐匿，隐藏

参考例句：

• It is also an endocrine gland secreting at least two important hormones. 它也是一种内分泌腺，至少分泌二种重要的激素。 来自辞典例句
• And some calcite-secreting organisms also add magnesium to the mix. 有些分泌方解石的生物，会在分泌物中加入镁。 来自互联网

9 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

10 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

11 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》