万物简史 第406期:浩瀚的海洋(25)

 "Biologists," according to the New York Times, 据《纽约时报》说：“生物学家们估计，

"estimate that 90 percent of lobsters¹ are caught within a year after they reach the legal minimum size at about age six." 大龙虾大约在6岁达到法定的最小个儿以后，不出1年，90%已经被捕捞干净。

Despite declining catches, New England fishermen continue to receive state and federal tax incentives² that encourage them, 尽管捕捞量日渐减少，州政府和联邦政府仍在以税收优惠政策鼓励，

in some cases all but compel them—to acquire bigger boats and to harvest the seas more intensively. 在有的情况下差不多是强迫——新英格兰渔民购买更大的船，更彻底地扫荡大海。

Today fishermen of Massachusetts are reduced to fishing the hideous³ hagfish, for which there is a slight market in the Far East, 今天马萨诸塞州的渔民只能捕捞丑陋的盲鳗，因为这种鱼在远东还有点市场。

but even their numbers are now falling. 但是，连这种鱼的数量如今也在不断减少。

We are remarkably⁴ ignorant of the dynamics⁵ that rule life in the sea. 我们对支配海洋生命的动力简直一无所知。

While marine⁶ life is poorer than it ought to be in areas that have been overfished, 一方面，在捕捞过度的海域，海洋生物少于该有的数量，

in some naturally impoverished⁷ waters there is far more life than there ought to be. 另一方面，在天然至贫的水域，海洋生物远远多于该有的数量。

The southern oceans around Antarctica produce only about 3 percent of the world's phytoplankton, 在南极洲周围的南部海洋，只出产世界上大约3%的浮游植物，

far too little, it would seem, to support a complex ecosystem⁸, and yet it does. 少得似乎远远不足以维持一个复杂的生态系统，而它们却维持了。

Crab-eater seals are not a species of animal that most of us have heard of, 食蟹海豹这类动物我们大多数人也许还没有听说过，

but they may actually be the second most numerous large species of animal on Earth, after humans. 但实际上可能是地球上第二众多的大型动物，仅次于人类。

As many as fifteen million of them may live on the pack ice around Antarctica. 多达1500万头食蟹海豹在南极洲周围的浮冰上生活。

There are also perhaps two million Weddel seals, at least half a million emperor penguins⁹, and maybe as many as four million Adelie penguins. 还有大约200万头韦德尔氏海豹，至少50万只皇企鹅，也许多达400万只阿德利企鹅。

The food chain is thus hopelessly top heavy, but somehow it works. 因此，食物链是极其不平衡的，但不知怎的却运转良好。

Remarkably no one knows how. 引人注目的是，谁也搞不清这是什么原因。

All this is a very roundabout way of making the point that we know very little about Earth's biggest system. 我兜了这么个大圈子主要想说明，我们对地球上的最大体知道得少得可怜。

But then, as we shall see in the pages remaining to us, 然而，我们将在剩下的章节里看到，

once you start talking about life, there is a great deal we don't know, not least how it got going in the first place. 一旦开始讨论生命的问题，也有大量的东西我们不知道——尤其是，生命最初是怎么产生的。

1 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

2 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

4 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

5 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

6 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。

7 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

9 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》