英语听力精选进阶版 7190

Background: 虎鲸，俗称杀人鲸，本是非常善于交流的物种。不过最近，英国圣安德鲁斯大学的研究人员发现，虎鲸在捕食过程中不发出任何声音，以确保不被猎物发现。

Killer¹ whales whistle to talk to each other and click to find their way around. It's the echoes from these clicks that help the animals to map their surroundings and to pinpoint² the location of their next meal.

But while one type of killer whale eats fish, the other hunts marine³ mammals, including seals and porpoises⁴. A shoal of salmon⁵ can't hear the clicking of an approaching killer whale, but the mammals, with their highly sensitive underwater hearing, can.

The researchers used underwater microphones to listen to killer whales hunting seals off the coast of Alaska. They found that the animals fell completely silent when they were hunting. But, somehow, they still managed to organise⁶ themselves into groups - often spreading out up to a mile apart, before coming back together and calling loudly to each other while they shared their catch.

The scientists now hope to attach satellite trackers to individual killer whales, to find out more about this stealthy behaviour.

Glossary⁷ 词汇表

whistle 吹口哨 

echo 回声，共鸣 

surroundings （周围的）环境或事物 

to pinpoint 准确地找出或确定（位置） 

mammal 哺乳动物 

shoal 大量，许多，一大群鱼 

to fall silent 安静下来 

to spread out 分散 

catch 猎物 

stealthy 隐秘的，鬼鬼祟祟的

Questions and Answers

1. Why do whales whistle to each other? 

Researchers believe that it helps the animals to become familiar with the area where they are swimming and find their prey⁸.

2. List some of the animals killer whales eat. 

You could have mentioned: fish, seals and porpoises.

3. How have scientists found out how killer whales hunt? 

They used underwater microphones to record killer whales while they were hunting seals.

4. How do researchers hope to find out more about how killer whales behave? 

They intend to attach satellite trackers to individual animals.

1 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。

2 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

3 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。

4 porpoises   

n.鼠海豚( porpoise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A shoal of porpoises are well on the feed. 一群海豚正在吞食。 来自辞典例句
• In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。 来自辞典例句

5 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

6 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

7 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。