TED演讲：揭露海底惊奇(4)

 　　So, we're learning lots new from the shallow water. 我们从浅海中学到了很多新东西。

　　Still exploring the deep, but learning lots from the shallow water.  继续来探索下深海领域，同时从浅海中学到很多新东西。

　　There's a good reason why: the shallow water's full of predators¹ -- here's a barracuda 这有个原因来解释：在浅海里，到处都是捕猎者。这是条梭鱼。

　　and if you're an octopus² or a cephalopod, you need to really understand how to use your surroundings to hide. 如果你是条章鱼或是头足类动物的话，你确实需要知道怎么利用周围的环境来隐藏自己。

　　In the next scene, you're going to see a nice coral bottom.  下个画面里，你可以看到一个美丽的珊瑚。

　　And you see that an octopus would stand out very easily there if you couldn't use your camouflage,  你会发现，一条章鱼如果不进行伪装，极易被发现。

　　use your skin to change color and texture³.  伪装是改变你皮肤的颜色和纹理。

　　Here's some algae⁴ in the foreground -- and an octopus. Ain't that amazing? 前面这里有些海藻，还有一条章鱼。难道不神奇么？

　　Now, Roger spooked him, so he took off in a cloud of ink, and when he lands, the octopus says,  不过现在，显然Roger（摄影师）吓到了它，它马上释放烟雾弹--墨水来掩护逃脱。当它停下来，会想，

　　"Oh, I've been seen. The best thing to do is to get as big as I can get."  “啊，我被发现了，那我最好变到最大来保护下自己。”

　　That big brown makes his eyespot very big. So, he's bluffing⁵. Let's do it backwards⁶.  那片棕色让它的眼睛看起来十分大。它在唬人。让我们看一次倒放。

　　I thought he was joking when he first showed it to me. I thought it was all graphics⁷.  我第一次看到的时候还以为他在开玩笑呢。我以为是电脑特效。

　　So here it is in reverse. Watch the skin color; watch the skin texture.  让我们看看倒放。注意看它皮肤的颜色以及皮肤的纹理。

　　Just an amazing animal, it can change color and texture to match the surroundings.  多么神奇的动物，可以改变自己的颜色和质地来变得和背景一样。

　　Watch him blend right into this algae. One, two, three. 看它消失在海藻中。一，二，三。

　　And now he's gone, and so am I. Thank you very much. 它不见了，我也该下去了。谢谢大家！

1 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

3 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

4 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

5 bluffing   

n. 威吓，唬人 动词bluff的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I don't think he'll shoot—I think he's just bluffing. 我认为他不会开枪—我想他不过是在吓唬人。
• He says he'll win the race, but he's only bluffing. 他说他会赢得这场比赛，事实上只是在吹牛。

6 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

7 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。