英语听力：自然百科 吸血鬼乌贼

 This menacing-looking squid is just one of many species out of sight and out of mind that could be threatened by human activities far away from the part of the ocean in which they live.

 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium¹ Research Institute has released this video of the vampire² squid to emphasize a report that raises a red flag about the earth’s ocean.

 

The Vampyroteuthis infernalis is a type of a living fossil, meaning that it is seen very little change since it first appeared, before dinosaurs³ about 300 million years ago.

 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's Doctor Bruce Roberson who authored the report published in Conservation Biology narrates⁴ the institute's video.

 

Vampyroteuthis has very large eyes because it lives about half a mile deep in the ocean where the light is very dim. We took these pictures from a deep-diving robotic submarine. And you can see the reflection of our lights in that beautiful blue eye.

 

The vampire squid has 8 long arms and a long curly strand⁵ that serves as a sensory⁶ filament⁷. It has a unique ability to react when it's startled. It can curl its web and arms around the rest of its body, turning sort of inside out. This change of appearance may help it avoid being attacked by predators⁸.

 

These cephalopods, (they're technically⁹ not squids), live in the deep ocean with millions of other species, some of which are little known and on which little study has been done.

 

Roberson says human activities threaten all of these.

 

"They're threatened by ocean warming, decrease in oxygen, pollution, over-fishing, industrialization and dozens of other changes taking place in the deep. We have a responsibility to learn all we can about these amazing animals and to protect them from the greatest danger to life in the deep, the human species."

 

Roberson's focus is on the ocean's deep pelagic zone, which extends down from about 330 feet below the surface to just above the deep sea floor up to 6 miles below the surface.

 

While the sea floors had significant study, he points out little exploration has been done on this water above the deep floor. This zone is home to species eaten by fish that humans eat, such as tuna and salmon¹⁰. Many whales, turtles and giant squids also rely on the zone for their food. Even though all of this is out of sight, any upset in the balance here can ultimately have a devastating¹¹ effect on what humans have come to expect from the oceans, a place that provides food for millions of people.

1 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。

2 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

3 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

5 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

6 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

7 filament   

n.细丝；长丝；灯丝

参考例句：

• The source of electrons in an electron microscope is a heated filament.电子显微镜中的电子源，是一加热的灯丝。
• The lack of air in the bulb prevents the filament from burning up.灯泡内缺乏空气就使灯丝不致烧掉。

8 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》

9 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

10 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

11 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。