帕劳群岛：我和水母有个约会

by Sharon Spence Lieb

What if you could dance with 1）giant manta rays？ 2）Pet friendly jellyfish？ Wave hello （and goodbye！） to blacktip reef sharks？ If any of those sound interesting， then head to Palau， Micronesia注， known as one of the best dive and 3）snorkel 4）destinations in the world.

Most people wonder where Palau is， and for good reason： from the U.S. east coast， it takes more than 20 hours to fly to Micronesia.

Palau is an 5）archipelago of more than 586 islands， with a population around 20，000. In the westernmost corner of Micronesia， Palau is located 400 miles north of the 6）Equator， east of the Philippines. Plan on staying at least a week， though two weeks is even better.

Palau has many excellent dive 7）operators， like Palau Diving Center， Sams Tours Dive Shop， and Fish ‘N 8）Fins. With their help， I plan to explore some of Palaus 1，450 9）species of fish and 500 species of coral.

Putting on my snorkel/mask/fins， I 10）encounter a four-foot silvery blacktip reef shark， who gives me the eye， then 11）flashes away into the depths. A pink parrotfish arrives， inviting me for sea tea in his coral castle， then introduces me to his pals， a 12）school of rainbowy butterflyfish.

Our boat 13）cruises to several popular dive sites， but my favorite is named “The Big Deep.” 14）Hopping off the boat， we snorkelers stand on the sand in four feet of clear sea.

Face down， I stare at clams the size of my dining room table， and brain corals the size of my car. The corals， sea fans， and reef fish are rainbows of raspberry， gold， emerald， and lavender.

I swim into thick schools of fish， trying to 15）wrap my arms around them—theyre just out of reach. A short swim floats me to the reefs edge， which drops down hundreds of feet. I hang happily over the 16）abyss， a happy underwater Space Girl.

Big fish cruise below， and Im jealous of what my diver pals are seeing. Probably giant manta rays， which grow to 15 feet and weigh 3，000 pounds. Or graceful Hawksbill sea turtles， 17）navigating thousands of miles. Is that a school of sharks I see， with watchful eyes below？

Surrounded by such beauty， Im in heaven. Why must I remain a 18）landlocked human， when the sea is so alive and dramatic？ Could I become a mermaid， here in Palau？ Bubbles from the divers 19）air tanks float upward， 20）popping all over my body. Palau 21）Champagne. Underwater， I laugh out loud.

Swimming with Jellyfish

Living near the Atlantic Ocean in Charleston， South Carolina， Im not the biggest jellyfish fan. When they appear in our beaches， that usually 22）discourages swimming.

So when I hear one of Palaus most fascinating nature encounters is swimming with “friendly jellyfish，” my first 23）response is： youll have fun， Im going for 24）cappuccino.

But Ive flown so far， why not take a look？ First， theres an up and down 25）hike along a rocky tree 26）limbed 27）trail. Nice workout. Then， a peaceful lake filled with snorkelers. Hmm， how dangerous could it be？

Though the lakes jellyfish still have “28）stinging cells，” theyre not powerful enough to cause any harm. Most people dont feel anything.

I nervously hold hands with my pals， Yuri and Emma， and off we swim into the warm 29）murky lake. A few hand-sized jellys 30）waft past us. Then dozens.

I 31）grab Emmas shoulder， dont panic， Sharon. Emma is petting the jellyfish like theyre puppies. She gently pushes one towards my hand. I give it a 32）tap. Feels like 33）jello， soft， 34）rubbery jello.

In the middle of this warm lake， were guests at a jellyfish party. I feel them 35）bobbing all around me and think， OK， everyone stay calm and just enjoy this moment.

I wonder if they have brains？ Are they happy were here visiting or are they waiting for us to leave？ Surely they have a busy day， sunning， swimming and 36）snacking. Unless you speak jellyfish， all your communication must be 37）telepathic.

Later we learn that when Jellyfish Lake was sealed off from the ocean， the moon and golden jellyfish living here lost their ability to sting. They now live on 38）algae， and spend their day bobbing to the surface， following the sun.

Sounds good to me.

如果你可以和巨型魔鬼鱼在水中共舞，那会是怎样一种情景呢？抚摸友善的水母呢？又或是向乌翅真鲨打招呼（还能挥手作别！）呢？如果你觉得以上任何一个活动听起来很有趣，那就出发前往密克罗尼西亚的帕劳群岛吧——那里是全世界最棒的潜水以及潜泳胜地之一。

许多人不知道帕劳群岛在哪里，这也是情有可原的：从美国东海岸出发，飞机要飞行超过20小时才能抵达密克罗尼西亚。

帕劳是一个由超过586个小岛组成的岛群，人口大约两万。帕劳在密克罗尼西亚的

最西端，位于菲律宾以东、赤道以北400英里（约644千米）的海面上。在这里起码要玩上一个星期，能住上两周就再好不过了。

当地有不少优质潜水店，例如帕劳潜水中心、“萨姆之旅”潜水店和“鱼与鳍”等。帕劳有1450种鱼类以及500种珊瑚，有了潜水店的助力，我打算去一探究竟。

我将通气管、潜水面具和脚蹼穿戴整齐，随即遇到了一条四英尺（约1.22米）长的银色乌翅真鲨。它瞥了我一眼，一闪而过，然后消失在深海当中。一条粉红色的鹦嘴鱼游了过来，邀请我到它的珊瑚堡喝茶，还将我介绍给它的同伴——一群色彩斑斓的蝴蝶鱼。

我们的船经过好几个潜水热点，不过我最喜欢的还是叫“大深谷”的那一个。我们这群潜游者从船上跳下来，踩在沙床上，周围是四英尺深的清澈海水。

我往下望，看着和我的餐桌差不多大的蛤蜊，脑珊瑚则和我的小车差不多大。各色珊瑚、海扇以及珊瑚鱼仿如紫红、金黄、翠绿与淡紫交织的道道彩虹。

我游到巨大的鱼群当中，试图将它们圈在自己的双臂之间，却碰不到一片鱼鳞。我稍微游动了一小段路，漂到珊瑚礁的边缘——这里垂直落差达几百英尺。我在深谷之上自在飘荡，就像一个水底下的太空女孩那么快活。

大鱼在下面游来游去，我真羡慕我的那些潜水同伴，他们会看到怎样一番盛景呢：也许是15英尺（约4.57米）长、重达3000磅（约1361千克）的巨型魔鬼鱼，又或是千里跋涉、却依然优雅的玳瑁。我看见的那一群是鲨鱼吗？它们正在深谷之下紧张戒备吗？

我沉浸在美景当中，仿如置身天堂。海洋是如此生机勃发、变幻莫测，那我为什么还要继续当一个被困在陆地上的人类呢？我可以变成帕劳海里的一条美人鱼吗？氧气罐里的气泡扑扑地往上冒，将我的全身包裹起来——帕劳特制香槟。我在水下不由得放声大笑。

与水母同游

我家住在（美国）南卡罗来纳州的查尔斯顿，旁边就是大西洋。我对水母向来不大感冒，因为每当它们在海滩上出现，那通常意味着我们别想游泳了。

所以当我听说帕劳最棒的亲近大自然活动之一是与“友善的水母”一同畅泳时，我的第一反应是：你们玩去吧，我去喝杯卡布奇诺好了。

不过，既然我从大老远飞过来，干嘛不去见识一下呢？首先是一段有很多上下坡，并且树枝横生的岩石山路，不错的锻炼。随后是一个平静的大湖，水里都是潜游者。嗯，这还能危险到哪里去？

尽管湖里的水母依然带有“刺细胞”，它们的毒性并不强，不会对人体造成危害，大多数人（即使被扎也）没有感觉。

我紧张兮兮地拉着同伴们——尤里和爱玛的手，我们仨一起游进温暖浑浊的大湖里。几只巴掌大的水母在我们面前漂过，然后是几十只。

我紧紧抓着爱玛的肩膀，别害怕，莎伦。爱玛爱抚着这些水母，就像对待小狗似的。她将一只水母轻轻地推到我的手边。我碰了它一下，感觉像果冻——软绵绵、有弹性的果冻。

在暖洋洋的湖中央，我们成了一场水母派对的贵宾。我能感觉到它们在我身边漂来漂去，不禁在想：好吧，大家都保持镇定，只管享受这一刻好了。

我不禁寻思着它们有没有脑袋，是热烈欢迎我们的来访，还是等着我们快点离开呢？它们每天一定很忙，要晒太阳，要游泳，还要吃东西。除非你会说水母语，否则你和它们的交流只能靠心灵感应了。

后来我们才知道，在水母湖与大海隔绝开来以后，生活在这里的海月水母和黄金水母逐渐失去了蜇刺能力。它们如今以捕食藻类为生，每天就是跟着阳光浮上水面。听起来真不赖。

文中出现的海洋生物（按出现顺序排列）

manta ray 蝠鲼，魔鬼鱼

jellyfish 水母

blacktip reef shark 乌翅真鲨

parrotfish 鹦嘴鱼

butterflyfish 蝴蝶鱼

clam 蛤，蚶，蛤蜊

brain coral 脑珊瑚

sea fan 海扇（一种扇形珊瑚）

reef fish 珊瑚鱼（生活在珊瑚中的鱼）

Hawksbill sea turtle 玳瑁（一种海龟）

moon jellyfish 海月水母

golden jellyfish 黄金水母

颜色

silvery [？？？？？？？？] a. 银色的

pink [？？？？] n. 粉红色

rainbowy [？？？？？？？？？] a. 彩虹（状）的

raspberry[？？？？？？？？] n. 紫红色

gold [？？？？？] n. 金色

emerald [？？？？？？？？] n. 翠绿色，祖母绿

lavender [？？？？？？？？] n. 淡紫色

学习小提示：本文词汇量大，动词、海洋生物和颜色的词汇比较多。学习时应多注意动词的运用；海洋生物和颜色类的词汇则无需强记（这两类词在文中用颜色字显示，中文词意可以参考文后的列表）。