【英语时差8,16】鲸鱼怎么样？

we humans have many ways to catch fish. From simple poles to vast fishing nets, you might imagine we've cornered the market on fishing tools and strategies.   Not so. On today's Moment of Science we'll learn how the humpback whale uses strategy--and even its own kind of net--to hunt fishy¹ prey².

The mainstay of a humpback's diet is a small, shrimp-like creature. To eat these, all a whale has to do is open its mouth and swim through a thick concentration of them. This method, called "lunge feeding," works well for slow-moving prey, but what if the whale gets a taste for herring, or some other fish with enough presence of mind to swim to the side of a lunging whale? This is where the net comes in.

A humpback doesn't weave its net from rope, but from air bubbles instead. Called "bubble-net feeding," this method involves blowing bubbles in a tight, spiralling pattern underneath³ a school of fish. The rising bubbles surround the fish in a tube-shaped corral. When the tube is complete, the whale swims straight up, through its center. With bubbles to all sides and a hungry whale below, the confused fish try to escape by swimming upwards⁴ too.

Imagine yourself in a nearby boat: You'd see a circle of bubbles form on the water's surface, then the sudden flash as scores of herring break the surface. Before they can fall back, the huge whale lifts out of the water beneath them, snaps its jaws⁵ shut, then crashes back into the ocean to digest its meal. Hundreds of fish in a single catch: Whales must tell good fishing stories!  

1 fishy   

adj. 值得怀疑的

参考例句：

• It all sounds very fishy to me.所有这些在我听起来都很可疑。
• There was definitely something fishy going on.肯定当时有可疑的事情在进行中。

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 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。

5 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。