英语听力：自然百科 大堡礁 堡礁内外(16)

But that pales into insignificance¹ when compared to the daily vertical² migration³ of these microscopic⁴ animals called zooplankton.

但是当和每天在珊瑚礁墙上垂直活动的浮游生物相比它显得又是那么微不足道。

At sunset,all of these tiny creatures swim upwards,and, under cover of darkness,they graze on floating algae⁶ close to the surface.

日落之时所有这些微小的生物都向上游,在黑暗的掩护下,它们去吃靠近水面的海藻。

Many of them are fish larvae⁷.

它们中有很多是鱼类的幼虫。

In fact, almost every fish species on the Great Barrier Reef starts life in the plankton⁵.

事实上大堡礁上的几乎每种鱼的生命都是从浮游生物开始的。

There are billions upon billions of them making the roundtrip, the greatest daily migration on Earth.

每天都有数十亿只浮游生物进行着这场双程旅行，这是地球上最伟大的动物迁徙。

They all travel an extraordinary distance,size for size, it would be like me running a marathon twice a day.

它们都要游非常远的距离，如果按比例算的话就像我每天跑两次马拉松一样。

That's if they're not caught on the way up.

但是前提是它们在路上没有被捕食。

On the reef wall, at about 150 metres deep,are huge sea fans.

在珊瑚墙上，大约150深处是巨大的柳珊瑚。

They look like plants, but they're colonies of animals,whose branching arms capture the rising plankton.

它们看起来像植物，但是实际上是动物的栖息地，它们的枝叉都被上浮的浮游生物占领了。

Hidden amongst the branches is a pygmy seahorse.

躲藏在树枝之间的是一只小海马。

It's a tiny fish that also feeds on plankton.

它们是一种以浮游动物为食的鱼类。

At little more than a centimetre long, fully⁸ grown,it's one of the world's smallest fish.

它们长成也不超过一厘米长，它是世界上最小的鱼之一。

1 insignificance   

n.不重要；无价值；无意义

参考例句：

• Her insignificance in the presence of so much magnificence faintly affected her. "她想象着他所描绘的一切，心里不禁有些刺痛。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• It was above the common mass, above idleness, above want, above insignificance. 这里没有平凡，没有懒散，没有贫困，也没有低微。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

5 plankton   

n.浮游生物

参考例句：

• Plankton is at the bottom of the marine food chain.浮游生物处于海洋食物链的最底层。
• The plankton in the sea feeds many kinds of animals. 海的浮游生物成为很多种动物的食物。

6 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

7 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。