Life in the Freezer 冰雪童话 - 4

Humpback whales. During the brief summer they gorge¹ themselves on krill. When the krill swarms² are near the surface, the humpbacks collect them by lunging. They simply open their cavernous mouths and scoop³ it up. Often the whales cooperate, working together as fishing boats do. When the krill is more dispersed⁴, the whales have to dive deeper. After a while, lines of bubbles appear on the surface. The bubbles gradually form a pattern that spirals inwards, then suddenly in its center, the whales appear.

Time and again, the pair dive. When they reach the bottom of the dive, they start releasing bubbles and continue to do so as they swim upwards⁵, spiraling around one another. These curtains of bubbles rise through the water, creating a ring on the surface. Underwater, the curtains drive the krill into the center of the spiral and the humpbacks then surge up through the middle, jaws⁶ agape.

The humpbacks that visit Antarctica only feed during the brief southern summer, building their reserves for the winter that will be spent in less productive northern waters. And so, for hour after hour, throughout the long Antarctic day, these 40-ton creatures perform a splendidly synchronized⁷ and very productive underwater ballet.


New Words & Phrases

Humpback: (n.) A humpback whale. 座头鲸
lunge: (v.) A sudden forward movement or plunge⁸. 冲，扑
scoop: (v.) To gather or collect swiftly and unceremoniously; grab 掏
agape: (a.) Wide open. 大张着的

1 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

2 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。

3 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

4 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

5 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。

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 synchronized   

同步的

参考例句：

• Do not use the synchronized keyword in Managed Objects. 不要在管理对象上使用synchronized关键字。 来自互联网
• The timing of the gun was precisely synchronized with the turning of the plane's propeller. 风门的调速与飞机螺旋桨的转动精确同步。 来自辞典例句

8 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。