【轻松英文阅读】透明的鱼

 The Barreleye fish lives at depths of 400 to 2,000 meters and is perhaps one of the strangest creatures in the sea. The fish are very rare. A dead specimen¹ was first discovered in 1939. A live specimen was not seen until 2004. The one in the video below was photographed with a remotely controlled camera at a depth of 2,000 feet off the California coast.

 

The fish gets its name from its eyes that are shaped like barrels. The eyes have beautiful green lenses as you can see in the photo. Perhaps their most interesting feature is the dome² of their head; it is completely transparent³. This transparent dome was never seen until 2004, because it bursts when it is brought up to the lower pressures near the surface of the ocean.

 

The barreleye fish like to hunt just below the boundary between light and dark. The ocean is a very dark place below 200 meters. Their eyes are super sensitive and from the darkness they can look up and see the silhouettes⁴ of their prey⁵. It is a very unique adaptation.

 

Find more information about the barreleye in the links listed below.

1 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

2 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

3 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

4 silhouettes   

轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影

参考例句：

• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• They could see silhouettes. 他们能看得见影子的。

5 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。