国家地理 水母为何如此迷人(4)

Then there are the ctenophores (pronounced TEH-nuh-fores), which are such oddballs they've been placed in a phylum of their own. Also known as comb jellies, for the comblike rows of tiny paddles they use to swim, they tend to be small, delicate, and hard to study. They come in an array of weird¹ body types: Some are flat and ribbonlike; others look more like pockets or little crowns. Most use an adhesive² to nab their prey³. "They have what's like exploding glue packets embedded⁴ in their tentacles," explains Steve Haddock, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium⁵ Research Institute.

此外还有栉水母（发音为TEH-nuh-fores），由于它们实在太古怪了，所以自成一门。它们也叫做comb jellies，这是来自它们用来游泳、一排排像梳子的栉板，这类动物往往体积小巧，非常脆弱，因此难以研究。栉水母有各式各样怪异的体形：有些呈扁平缎带状，有些看起来像口袋或小皇冠。大部分栉水母都会用一种黏液来捕捉猎物。“它们的触手里面埋着一种类似爆炸黏胶包的东西”，蒙特利湾水族馆研究所资深科学家史蒂夫·哈达克解释道。

In recent decades jellyfish populations in some parts of the world have boomed. In the 1980s a comb jelly that's known formally as Mnemiopsis leidyi and informally as the sea walnut⁶ showed up in the Black Sea. A native of the western Atlantic, it presumably had been transported in a ship's ballast water and then been discharged. In the Black Sea it reproduced so prolifically⁷ that by 1989 it had reached densities⁸ of up to 11 per cubic foot of water. Fish couldn't compete with the jellies for food -- sea walnuts⁹ eat as much as 10 times their body weight a day -- and many fish became food for the jellies. Local fisheries collapsed¹⁰.

近几十年来，世界上有些地方的水母族群激增。20世纪80年代，一种官方名称叫梳状水母、俗称海胡桃的淡海栉水母出现在黑海。这种原生在大西洋西部的栉水母，可能是被船舰的压舱水运到黑海水域后排出。淡海栉水母在黑海大量繁殖，至1989年的密度已经高达每立方公尺海水有11只个体。当地的鱼类无法与淡海栉水母争夺食物（淡海栉水母每天会吃掉体重十倍的食物），许多鱼儿也成为栉水母的食物。结果就是，当地渔业崩溃了。

In other parts of the world, swarms¹¹ of jellyfish have menaced swimmers and clogged¹² fishing nets. In 2006, beaches in Italy and Spain were closed because of a bloom of jellyfish known as mauve stingers. In 2013 a Swedish nuclear plant temporarily shut down because moon jellies were blocking its intake¹³ pipes.

在世界上其他地方，成群的水母对泳客造成威胁，也堵塞了渔网。2006年，意大利与西班牙因为夜光游水母大量出现而关闭海滩。2013年，瑞典的一座核电厂因为海月水母堵住进水管而暂时关闭。

Situations like these led to a spate¹⁴ of reports that jellyfish were taking over the seas. One website warned of the "attack of the blob." Another predicted "goomageddon."

这类情况造成媒体上大量出现水母正接管海洋的报道。一个网站警告说“水母的攻击”。另一个则预测“水母大灾难”。

But scientists say the situation is more complicated than such headlines suggest. Jellyfish populations fluctuate naturally, and people tend to notice only the boom part of the cycle.

然而科学家表示，实际状况比这些头条新闻所言还更复杂。水母的族群数量本来就有自然波动，而大众往往只注意到周期中大量繁衍的时期。

1 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

2 adhesive   

n.粘合剂；adj.可粘着的，粘性的

参考例句：

• You'll need a strong adhesive to mend that chair. 你需要一种粘性很强的东西来修理那把椅子。
• Would you give me an adhesive stamp?请给我一枚带胶邮票好吗？

3 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。

4 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

5 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

6 walnut   

n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色

参考例句：

• Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
• The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸，材质分胡桃木和红木两种。

7 prolifically   

adv.多产地，丰富地

参考例句：

• He wrote prolifically both in Ireland and England, nearly constantly shuttling from one to the other. 他几乎不断穿梭于爱尔兰和英国之间，并在两地写出大量作品。 来自互联网
• He had directed his first film in 1923 and had worked prolifically throughout the silent era. 1923年，沟口健二执导了他的处女作，在之后的整个默片时代里，他创作了大量作品。 来自互联网

8 densities   

密集( density的名词复数 )； 稠密； 密度（固体、液体或气体单位体积的质量）； 密度（磁盘存贮数据的可用空间）

参考例句：

• The range of densities of interest is about 3.5. 有用的密度范围为3．5左右。
• Densities presumably can be probed by radar. 利用雷达也许还能探测出气体的密度。

9 walnuts   

胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木

参考例句：

• Are there walnuts in this sauce? 这沙司里面有核桃吗？
• We ate eggs and bacon, pickled walnuts and cheese. 我们吃鸡蛋，火腿，腌胡桃仁和干酪。

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

12 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

13 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

14 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。