经济学人: 海洋生物的隐身斗篷 (2)

 　　The deep ocean has other sources of light than astronomical¹ bodies, though. 除了天体，深海还有其他光源。

　　Three-quarters of marine² organisms off the coast of California produce their own, and that is probably true in most oceans, 加利福尼亚沿岸3/4的海洋生物会发光，大部分海洋情况都是如此，

　　says Steve Haddock of the Monterey Bay Aquarium³ Research Institute. 蒙特雷湾水族馆研究所的史蒂夫·哈多克说道。

　　Recently, Dr Haddock brought back the first full-colour high-definition videos of bioluminescence in the abyss. 最近，哈多克博士带回了关于深海生物光的首部彩色高清录像。

　　At a meeting in Monterey, in September, he offered a preview. Sea cucumbers, normally pale and beige, rippled⁴ with waves of blue bioluminescence. 在九月蒙特雷的一次会议上，他播放了该视频。海洋海参类通常是浅色和浅棕色的，它们会微微泛起蓝色生物光。

　　A shimmery⁵ gold viperfish, when disturbed by Dr Haddock's remotely operated submarine, suddenly switched its lights on, covering every detail in its skin. 闪闪发光的金色蝰鱼受到哈多克博士的远程操控潜水艇打扰后，突然发光，全身每一寸皮肤都被光覆盖。

　　A jellyfish displayed swirling⁶ blue pinwheels. A brittleworm glowed yellow. 水母亮出了自己的蓝色旋转风车。海蛇尾发出黄色的光。

　　Dr Haddock hopes his new submarine borne camera will grant him a better understanding of how animals use bioluminesce in the deep. 哈多克博士希望他的潜水艇运载摄影机可以让他对深海动物如何利用生物光有更好的理解。

　　Some predators⁷, for instance, employ glowing lures⁸ to attract prey⁹. Others produce pulses of light to illuminate¹⁰ their targets 例如，一些捕食者利用发光的鱼饵吸引猎物。其他捕食者会产生脉冲强光照亮它们的目标

　　—in which case, from the prey's point of view, having an invisibility cloak has obvious advantages. —在这种情况下，从猎物的角度来讲，拥有一件隐身斗篷就占据绝对优势。

　　Some organisms use bioluminescence as a defence mechanism¹¹. Lighting¹² up an attacker can make it more vulnerable to the attentions of others. 一些生物体利用生物光作为一种防御机制。照亮袭击者可以让它们不那么容易引起其他生物的注意。

　　And there are times when switching the lights on is a better camouflage¹³ than absorbing light. 有时产生光是一种比吸收光更好的伪装。

　　Watases lanternfish are generally hunted by predators that strike from below. 渡濑眶灯鱼通常会被来自下方的捕食者袭击捕获。

　　It may seem surprising, therefore, that among the light-producing cells distributed across their bodies 这看似让人意外，在分布它们全身的发光细胞中

　　they have a set that point downward from their bellies¹⁴ towards the sea floor. They also, however, have light-sensing cells pointing upwards¹⁵ on their backs. 有一种细胞从它们的肚皮处向下指向海底。但它们背部还有一种光敏细胞指向上。

　　At the meeting in Monterey José Paitio, of Chubu University in Japan, described how the two sets of cells work together. 在蒙特利会议上，来自日本中部大学的 José Paitio描述了两类细胞是如何合作的。

　　The dorsal¹⁶ ones sense the colour and intensity¹⁷ of light filtering downwards¹⁸. 背部细胞感知颜色以及下方过滤光的强度。

　　The ventral ones respond to that signal, generating exactly the amount of light required to blend in, 腹部细胞对这种信号做出反应，产生混合所需的确切数量的光

　　so that the fish disappears from view when seen from underneath¹⁹. A truly bright idea. 当从下边往上边看时，这条鱼就消失在了视野中。这真是个好主意。

1 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

2 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。

3 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。

4 rippled   

使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The lake rippled gently. 湖面轻轻地泛起涟漪。
• The wind rippled the surface of the cornfield. 微风吹过麦田，泛起一片麦浪。

5 shimmery   

adj.微微发亮的

参考例句：

• Apply shimmery shadow over eyelids and finish with black mascara. 用发光的眼影涂在眼皮上，最后用黑色睫毛油。 来自互联网
• And see your shimmery eyes again. 又见你如水的眼睛。 来自互联网

6 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

7 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》

8 lures   

吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式）

参考例句：

• He left home because of the lures of life in the city. 他离家是由于都市生活的诱惑。
• Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. 可能正是寻觅幽静的去处，或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。

9 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。

10 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

11 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

12 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

13 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

14 bellies   

n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的

参考例句：

• They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童

15 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

16 dorsal   

adj.背部的，背脊的

参考例句：

• His dorsal fin was down and his huge pectorals were spread wide.它的脊鳍朝下耷拉着，巨大的胸鳍大张着。
• The shark's dorsal fin was cut off by the fisherman.鲨鱼的背鳍被渔夫割了下来。

17 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

18 downwards   

adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地）

参考例句：

• He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
• As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。

19 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。