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Cold Water: Warm Life 孕育生命的冷泉

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

If you’ve ever swum in a warm tropical ocean, you’ve probably marveled at the sparkling clear waters and the explosion of undersea life. Compared with cool, murky northern waters, it probably seemed to burst with marine life. But would you believe that cooler waters are more fertile and support more life than tropical seas?

如果你曾在温暖的热带海洋中游泳，或许你曾赞叹过那清澈粼粼的海水底下旺盛的生命力。和冰冷、阴郁的北方海域比起来，热带海水似乎蕴涵丰富的海洋生物。但你相信较冷的海水其实比热带海水包含更多养分且能供养更多生命吗?

It doesn’t make sense at first until you consider that the reason tropical waters are usually clear is that they are lacking in nutrients. And water without nutrients cannot support much life. Cold waters, on the other hand, contain an abundance of nutrients that have flowed in from rivers, or have been churned up from the ocean floor. In spring, when the warm sun shines on these nutrient-rich waters, plankton starts to multiply at an incredible rate. The plankton feeds tiny marine animals, which in turn feed larger fish, which in turn feed even larger fish, and so on up the food chain.

乍听之下这好像没什么道理，但当你了解热带海水之所以清澈是因为它们缺少养分，而没有养分的水无法供养太多生命时，你就会认同这个说法了。另一方面，寒带水域则包含了来自河川或由海床翻搅上来的丰富养分。在春天，温暖的阳光照耀在这些富含养分的水面上时，浮游生物便开始以惊人的速度繁殖。浮游生物是小型海洋动物的食物；小型海洋动物则是稍大型鱼类的食物；而稍大型鱼类又是更大型鱼类的食物；此模式不断向上链接便形成了食物链。

Because of this, the bodies of water with the most fish are usually those in the northern regions or off the southern coast of South America. One interesting exception to this rule is the water surrounding the tropical Galapagos Islands. These barren islands lie right on the equator but are actually surrounded by cold nutrient-rich water brought from Antarctic by ocean currents. The unique ecosystem there supports a number of large animals, but their lives are precariously balanced between the extremes of the hot land and the cold sea.

基于这个原因，富含最多鱼类的水域通常是北方区域或是南美洲南部外海。有个值得关注的例外是环绕加拉帕戈斯热带群岛的海水。这些贫瘠的岛屿位于赤道上，但事实上却被洋流自南极洲所带来富含养分的冷水流所包围。这个特殊的生态系统供养了许多大型动物，但牠们的生命却在酷热的岛屿和冰冷的海水这两个极端间维持着一个不稳定的平衡状态。

Vocabulary

tropical [ˋtrɑpɪk!] adj. 热带的

marine [məˋrin] adj. 海的，海洋的

nutrient [ˋnjutrɪənt] n. 营养物，滋养物

abundance [əˋbʌndəns] n. 丰富；充足

multiply [ˋmʌltəplaɪ] v. 繁殖

barren [ˋbærən] adj. 贫瘠的，荒芜的，不毛的

current [ˋkɝənt] n. 水流，气流

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marvel [ˋmɑrv!] v. 感到惊讶；感到好奇[（+at）]

sparkling [ˋspɑrklɪŋ] adj. 闪亮的﹐闪光的

murky [ˋmɝkɪ] adj. 阴暗的﹐黑暗的; 朦胧的

churn [tʃɝn] up〔水〕剧烈翻腾

plankton [ˋplæŋktən] n.（总称）浮游生物

and so on  等等 and other similar things

Galapagos Islands 加拉巴哥群岛

Antarctic [ænˋtɑrktɪk] n. 南极; 南极地区

precariously [prɪˋkɛrɪəslɪ] adv. 不稳定地; 不安全地，危险地

課文中英文講解

The Galapagos Islands are baked by the hot equatorial sun but surrounded by cold waters carried from Antarctica. It’s a unique and challenging environment for the animals that live there, and some special adaptive behavior is necessary.

加拉帕戈斯群岛被炙热的赤道阳光烘烤着，却又被南极洲来的冷流所环绕。对居住在岛上的动物来说，这是个特殊且极具挑战的环境；因此，某些特殊的适应行为是必要的。

Penguins, for example, which are normally cold-weather animals, survive on the islands by spending the daylight hours swimming and hunting fish in the cold waters. The iguana, on the other hand, which is a cold-blooded animal, is able to feed in the rich but cold waters only because the tropical sun is strong enough to heat up its body temperature quickly enough both before and after a swim.

以企鹅为例，牠们一般住在寒带，所以在这岛上，白天就得待在冰冷的海水中游泳捕鱼。相反地，像鬣蜥蜴这种冷血动物，之所以能在富含养分但冰冷的水里觅食，泉时因为热带的烈阳让牠们在游泳前后迅速升高体温。

Just how delicate the balance between life and death is for animals on the islands can be seen when El Nino arms up the surrounding waters. For the iguanas, the warm water allows for more time in the water looking for food. But, because warm water contains fewer nutrients, there is little food to find. For the poor penguin, both the higher water temperature and the lack of fish are fatal. In fact, during a particularly bad El Nino season some twenty years ago, over 70 percent of the penguins died. Only the strongest survived.

当圣婴现象导致附近海水水温升高时，便可看出岛上动物生存死亡间的平衡有多微妙了。对鬣蜥蜴来说，温暖的海水使牠们能在水里待更久以寻找食物。但因为温暖的海水含有的养分较少，牠们能找到的食物也久不多了。而对可怜的企鹅来说，升高的水温及短缺的鱼量都是致命的。事实上，在大约二十年前一个特别严重的圣婴季节里，有超过七成的企鹅死亡，只有最强壮的企鹅得以生存下来。

For the animals of the Galapagos, the ocean is a cruel provider. Adapting successfully to its changing conditions is literally a life or death challenge that quite often does not end in success.

对加拉帕戈斯岛上的动物们而言，海洋是个残酷的供给者。想要顺利适应多变的海洋，通常会是场只许成功不准失败的生死交战。

−By Robert Kelly

Vocabulary

adaptive [əˋdæptɪv] adj. 适应的

normally [ˋnɔrm!ɪ] adv. 通常，按惯例

delicate [ˋdɛləkət] adj. 脆弱的

fatal [ˋfet!] adj. 致命的

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equatorial [͵ɛkwəˋtorɪəl] adj. 赤道的；赤道附近的

penguin [ˋpɛngwɪn] n. 企鹅

iguana [ɪˋgwɑnə] n. 鬣蜥蜴

El Nino 埃尔尼诺（圣婴）现象（指严重影响全球气候的太平洋热带海域的大风及海水的大规模移动）

Reading Questions

1. How does water temperature affect the lives of animals?

A. Warm water is clear and has more nutrients in it.

B. Few animals can live in cold water because of the cold temperature.

C. Cold water is not clear but has more nutrients in it.

D. Warm water is more comfortable for sea animals to live in.

2. Which of the following about the Galapagos Islands is NOT true?

A. They support many species on the islands.

B. They are located on the equator.

C. They have an ecosystem different from the continents.

D. They are very close to Antarctica.

3. Which is an example of an adaptive behavior of animals?

A. Penguins spend the day keeping warm in the sun.

B. Iguanas stay cool by swimming in the cold waters.

C. Penguins stay cool by swimming in cold water during the day.

D. Iguanas stay in the shade to keep from getting too warm.

4. How does El Nino affect the Galapagos Islands?

A. It makes adaptation to the environment easier.

B. It brings warmer water with fewer nutrients.

C. It drives penguins to swim south to Antarctica.

D. It balances the food chain of the islands.

Answer