时差N小时 鳗鱼是如何发电的(上)

There's a reason you won't find electric eels² at your local petting zoo:

你在当地的宠物动物园找不到电鳗是有原因的：

these fierce creatures can release over 800 volts³ of electricity!

这些凶猛的生物可以释放超过800伏特的电流！

That's gotta hurt. But how are these powerful shocks made?

人被电到肯定会受伤。但这些强大的冲击是如何产生的呢？

Electricity is a big part of an eel¹'s make up—literally.

电是鳗鱼的主要组成部分——真的。

An eel's vital organs are all tightly packed in at the front of its body.

鳗鱼的重要器官都紧紧地挤在身体的前部。

The rest of the eel—about eighty percent of its total length!

剩下的部分——大约是它整个身长的80%！

—is dedicated⁴ to three electricity-producing organs.

那里有三个发电的器官。

The two biggest of these organs generate high-voltage shocks,

其中两个最大的器官会产生高压冲击，

which the eel uses to hunt or scare away predators⁵.

鳗鱼用它来捕食或吓跑捕食者。

The third organ, at the back of the eel, creates small electric pulses,

第三个器官在电鳗的后部，产生小的电脉冲，

letting the eel communicate and navigate⁶ its murky⁷ home.

帮助鳗鱼在黑暗的家里交流和游走。

All three organs rely on modified muscle cells called electrocytes.

这三种器官都依赖于被称为电细胞的改良肌肉细胞。

These cells are basically miniature batteries: they store and produce electricity.

这些细胞基本上是微型电池：它们储存并产生电能。

The cells work in sync. When one cell discharges a current, all the others do too.

这些细胞是同步工作的。当一个细胞放电时，所有其他细胞也放电。

1 eel   

n.鳗鲡

参考例句：

• He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
• In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆，他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。

2 eels   

abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system）

参考例句：

• Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。
• She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。

3 volts   

n.（电压单位）伏特( volt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The floating potential, Vf is usually only a few volts below ground. 浮置电势Vf通常只低于接地电位几伏。 来自辞典例句
• If gamma particles are present, potential differences of several thousand volts can be generated. 如果存在γ粒子，可能产生几千伏的电位差。 来自辞典例句

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 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》

6 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

7 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。