英语听力：自然百科 深海奇鱼

 Rick swims through a shadowland thousands of feet deep. Out of the dark, animals can materialize not just from in front or behind, but above or below as well.

 

We’re down swimming around in that dark sea, looking in a miniature world and suddenly I feel a woosh underneath¹ my armpit, and I think it’s my dive partner, and I look towards him and he points towards the surface, and there is an adult sailfish² swimming right over our head feeding. That’s the last thing I was expecting.

 

Unlike swordfish and marlin, sailfish don’t see well in the dark. Until this image, the first of its kind, few suspected an adult sailfish would ever feed at night.

 

They are far more versatile³ than we’ve ever thought. This fish is taking advantage of the underwater light. It’s a kind of behavior we can only learn by getting into the water and spending a great deal of time in their world.

 

Then, drawn⁴ by the light, it appears, a miracle in miniature, a baby sailfish. It’s tiny but not defenceless. Though not all billfish are born with the bill, a sailfish baby comes into the world already armed. It has razor-sharp teeth, which it loses only as it grows larger. Its slick body makes it a formidable hunter even at only a few months old.

 

This baby is but one among dozens. Rick has found a nursery.

 

Launched on a life of perpetual motion, the tiny sailfish must swim constantly just to breathe. When it matures, it will travel 20 to 40 miles a day.

 

In a potential lifespan of 16 years, a sailfish will log some 200,000 miles. It is a superfish in the making.

1 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

2 sailfish   

n.旗鱼，姥鲛

参考例句：

• The state offers a huge variety of fish,from largemouth bass to sailfish.这里出产非常多种鱼类，从阔嘴黑鲈到旗鱼等不一而足。
• A fine start to the day,and my first sailfish on a fly.这一天的开局不错，这也是我第一次用飞杆钓到旗鱼。

3 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。