英语听力文摘 English Digest 397、凶猛的鱼类（在线收听）

Ferocious Fish
凶猛的鱼类

The movie Jaws（大白鲨） was so frightening that many people who saw the film swore off swimming in the ocean. Consequently, when most people think of fearsome sea creatures, sharks come immediately to mind.

Less well remembered is the movie Piranha （食人鱼）, a Jaws knock-off that featured deadly tropical fish terrorizing a small-town river. But while Piranha the movie may have been toothless, in real life its featured predators put sharks and all other aquatic creatures to shame when it comes to underwater ferocity.

Piranha are native to South American freshwater rivers. Although legends abound about their eating prowess, most of the twenty species of piranha are actually vegetarian. They are flat, oval-shaped fish that grow from ten to approximately twenty-four inches in length.

The four species of piranha that are carnivorous, however, certainly earn their reputation as fierce fish. These meat-eaters have powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth that fit together like cutting shears when they bite.

Piranha travel and hunt in schools of about twenty fish, and can engage in impressive feeding frenzies when aroused by blood or commotion in the water. Carnivorous piranha will eat anything from other fish to large mammals such as cows and even jaguars that wander too far into the water.

Although flesh-eating piranhas sometimes attack people, humans tend to have the last laugh. In South America and elsewhere piranha are considered fine eating fish. It’s safe to say that many more piranha are eaten by people than the other way around.

很多人看了电影《大白鲨》心有余悸，不敢在海边游泳了。所以，每当人们想到可怕的海洋生物，就会立刻想到鲨鱼。

另外一部电影《食人鱼》也给观众留下深刻的印象，鲨鱼吃掉致命的热带鱼威胁小镇的安全。电影中食人鱼是没有牙齿的，但在现实生活里，当说到水下凶猛动物，这类食肉动物已经使鲨鱼和其它水生物相形见绌。

食人鱼是一种原产于美国南部的淡水鱼。虽然关于它们捕食本领的传说比比皆是，但实际上在这二十种比拉鱼中，大多数都是吃素的。它们的身体呈扁平椭圆状，长度从10到24英寸不等。

有四种食人鱼是食肉 的，当然可以称之为凶猛鱼类。这些食肉鱼有着强健的下颚和锋利的牙齿，这样组合在一起当它们吃东西的时候就像裁剪刀。

食人鱼一次可以捕猎到20只小鱼，水里的血液和骚动会引起一场激烈的食物猎取大战。食人鱼什么都吃，从其它鱼类到大型兽类，例如奶牛，甚至还有那些在水里散步的美洲虎。

虽然食人鱼有时也会攻击人类，但最终还是人类占据上风。在南美及其它地区，食人鱼被认为是很好的鱼类食物。可以这么说，许多食人鱼是被人类吃掉而不是食人鱼吃人。

Notes:

Piranha n. 比拉鱼又名“食人鱼”(能掠食活动物的南美淡水小鱼