LIVELY1)CORAL2)REEFS

⊙ By Chiara Bellati翻译：T Boy

LIVELY1)CORAL2)REEFS

趣味盎然的珊瑚礁

⊙ By Chiara Bellati翻译：T Boy

海底世界五光十色，色彩缤纷。不过这里并不是一个和谐世界：珊瑚被看似无辜的海星化成液体，腭针鱼还没来得及消化白天吃到肚里的小鱼，晚上就被鲨鱼追杀……这里有与陆地上一样的食物链。一起来了解一下吧。

Of all the3)formationsin the Pacific, these reefs are by far the richest in life. There are hundreds of different kinds of coral. And all are made up of millions of tiny creatures called4)polyps, each covered in a hard5)skeleton. Reefs are home to thousands of specialists like these6)razorfishthat7)blend into the8)staghorncoralaround them. But not all animals here need to blend in. Grey reef sharks—the reef’s top9)predators. These sharks10)patrolthe waters on strong currents. But without all the life on the reef here, they could never exist in such numbers. They may be11)idleright now, but they won’t remain this way for long. As night falls, it’s feeding time.12)Needlefish13)stalkthe coral shallows in search of food. Predators by day, at night they become the14)prey. Speeding away at 20 mph, the needlefish give the chasing sharks a run for their money. But it’s hard to escape from so many.

Daylight reveals another reef predator.15)Crown-of-thorns starfish, coral killers. Climbing over their prey, they16)secrete17)digestivejuices that turn the inside of the coral to liquid. Then they suck out the18)nutrients, leaving nothing behind but a19)ghostlyskeleton. In only a few days, they

1) coral [΄kɒr(ə)l] n. 珊瑚

2) reef [riːf] n. 暗礁，珊瑚礁

3) formation [fɔː΄meɪʃ(ə)n] n. 构成，组成

4) polyp [΄pɒlɪp] n. 珊瑚虫，水生小动物

5) skeleton [΄skelɪt(ə)n] n. 骨骼，骨架

6) razorfish [΄reɪzə(r)fɪʃ] n. 淡绿连鳍唇鱼

7) blend in 与……融为一体，与……协调

8) staghorn coral 鹿角珊瑚

9) predator [΄predətə(r)] n. 捕食者，猎食者

10) patrol [pə΄trəʊl] v. 巡视

11) idle [΄aɪd(ə)l] adj. 不做事的，空闲的

12) needlefish [΄niːdlfɪʃ] n. 腭针鱼

13) stalk [stɔːk] v. 悄悄接近，潜步追踪

14) prey [preɪ] n. 被捕食的动物，猎物

15) crown-of-thorns starfish 长棘海星

16) secrete [sɪ΄kriːt] v. 分泌

17) digestive [daɪ΄dʒestɪv] adj. 消化的

18) nutrient [΄njuːtrɪənt] n. 营养物

19) ghostly [΄ɡəʊstlɪ] adj. 可怕的can kill huge20)swathesof the reef. Fortunately, coral has an unlikely21)ally, the22)Triton’s trumpet. Believe it or not, this is a predator23)on theprowl. An unlikely hero, perhaps, but the Triton’s trumpet is an invaluable control on these starfish. And the crown-of-thorns isn’t the only coral killer on the reef. The24)razorsharp25)beaksof26)bumphead parrotfishalso put a27)dentin this living landscape. A single fish can chew its way through a28)staggeringfive tonnes of coral a year. Smaller parrotfish, colorful cousins of the bumphead, are also at it. But they all give a little back as the29)ground-upcoral comes out as sand. This is island building of a different kind. So some of the Pacific’s most elegant beaches have sprung from a less than30)stylishbirth.

20) swathe [sweɪð] n. 长而宽的地带

21) ally [΄ælaɪ] n. 盟友，盟国

22) Triton’s trumpet 大法螺

23) on the prowl 潜行，摄行

24) razor-sharp [ˌreɪzə(r)΄ʃɑːp] adj. 锐利的，十分锋利的

25) beak [biːk] n. 钩形嘴

26) bumphead parrotfish 隆头鹦嘴鱼

27) dent [dent] n. 削弱，损害

28) staggering [΄stæɡərɪŋ] adj. 难以置信的，惊愕的

29) ground-up [ˌɡraʊnd΄ʌp] adj. 磨成粉的

30) stylish [΄staɪlɪʃ] adj. 漂亮的

Speeding away at 20 mph, the needlefsh give the chasing shark a run for their money.

与汉语一样，英语的许多成语总是非常形象，就如句中的give sb. a run for their money。从字面上看，指让某人为了钱使劲跑——如果有金钱作动力，人肯定会跑得很快。这个成语正是用这个生活中大家都能理解的道理，比喻对手之间为某事你争我夺，竞争非常激烈，如：The new Wal-Mart storegave the existing convenience stores a run for their money.（新开的沃尔玛店导致原有的各家小便利店展开了激烈竞争。）

在太平洋里的所有存在当中，就数这些珊瑚礁中的生命形式最为丰富。数百种的珊瑚全由一种叫珊瑚虫的微小动物组成，数量达数百万之多。所有的珊瑚都有一副坚硬的骨架。暗礁是数千种生存专家的生息地，比如这些淡绿连鳍唇鱼就与周围的鹿角珊瑚融成一体。但并不是这里所有的动物都有与环境融合的必要。灰礁鲨是珊瑚礁一带的顶尖捕食者。这些鲨鱼在汹涌的水流中巡视海域。不过，要是没有生活在这里的一切生命，也绝不可能有这么多鲨鱼。此刻它们也许无所事事，但这种状态不会维持太久。夜幕降临，它们的进食时间到了。腭针鱼潜近珊瑚浅海寻找食物。它们在白天是捕食者，到了晚上就成了鲨鱼的猎物。腭针鱼以20英里（约32公里）的时速逃离，让追赶的鲨鱼你争我抢，但要从这么多鲨鱼中逃脱并不容易。