The whale is the largest animal in the world. It is so large, that perhaps you have never seen a room big enough to hold one. 鲸是世界上最大的动物。它如此之大，以至于你可能从没见过哪个房间大到可以容纳下它。

　　It is commonly called a fish; but learned men say that it is not a fish, for it breathes air as we do. 它被普遍地称为一种鱼；但是学者们认为它不是一种鱼，因为它像我一样呼吸空气。

　　As it does not live on land, it does not need legs to walk with.  由于它不生活在陆地上，因此它不需要用以行走的腿。

　　It swims in the sea by the help of its tail and fins. 它借助于自己的尾巴和鳍在海里游走。

　　Though it has a very large mouth, it has no teeth;  虽然它有一张非常大的嘴，它却没有牙齿；

　　so it lives on the small creatures that it finds swimming in the sea, and it swallows them whole. 所以它以吃在海中游动的小生物为生，它会把它们整个吞下去。

　　Only think what a number of shrimps a whale must need to eat for dinner! 想想看，一头鲸的晚餐会吃掉多少的虾啊！

　　Men go in ships to those parts of the world where whales are found, and kill them with iron spears, called harpoons. 人类乘船去世界上有鲸出没的地方，用被叫做鱼叉的铁矛杀死鲸。

　　But it is very dangerous work; for a whale often upsets a boat with a blow of its tail. 不过这可是非常危险的操作；因为一头鲸经常能用尾巴打翻一条船。

　　When the whale is dead, the sailors put its fat, called blubber, into casks, and bring it home, to be made into oil. 当鲸死后，水手将鲸身上被称作鲸脂的油脂放进木桶里，带回家，用以做成油。

　　Whalebone, which comes from its jaws, is used in making umbrellas, and many other things; 鲸须，取自其颌骨，被用来做雨伞，以及很多其他的制品；

　　and part of one kind of whale, called the Sperm Whale, is used for making candles. 有一种叫做巨头鲸的，它的肢体可以用来做蜡烛。