常春藤解析英語 78 From the Belly of a Beast 抹香鯨與龍涎香

From the Belly of a Beast 抹香鯨與龍涎香

There she blows!—there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick!

From Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

牠噴氣了!牠噴氣了!身體浮出水面的部分看起來像被白雪覆蓋的山丘，那是莫比?迪克沒錯!

──節(jié)錄自赫曼?梅爾維爾的《白鯨記》

by Lars Berry

The sperm whale, star of the classic novel Moby Dick, deserves its fame. This enormous creature is the largest toothed animal alive. Adult males can measure over 20 meters in length, and their long, white teeth, which weigh up to 1 kilogram each, are larger than _(1)_ of any creature now living on earth. To snack on octopus and giant squid, sperm whales sometimes dive over 2,000 meters in the sea. Their lungs are collapsible, helping them to dive to these tremendous depths, and they find their _(2)_ by sending concentrated streams of sound out into the deep, dark waters. Like other species of whale, sperm whales _(3)_ through a hole in the top of their heads—sometimes called a blowhole.

Ambergris (龍涎香) is a waxy substance produced by whales in order to safely _(4)_ the sharp beaks of their favorite snack—the giant squid. For centuries, this _(5)_ disgusting substance produced in sperm whales' intestines was used by perfumeries (香水制造商) to stabilize various scents. For _(6)_ reasons, the whales sometimes vomit large masses of this stinky substance into the sea, where it eventually floats to land.

Because of the _(7)_ of ambergris, it can be quite valuable, as one 82-year-old woman in New York State recently learned. She found a piece that weighed almost four pounds with a value of over $18,000. She _(8)_ trouble, though, when she tried to identify the ambergris. Most companies now use chemicals to fix perfume scents _(9)_ the rare whale vomit. Therefore, very few people in the world have the know-how to identify this rare substance. If this woman can determine that _(10)_ she found is indeed ambergris, she'll have a small fortune. If not, she'll have a curious lump that may or may not have come from the belly of a beast.

(A) what　　　(B) prey　　(C) those　　(D) ran into　　(E) unknown

(F) rather　　(G) rarity　　(H) digest　　(I) breathe　　(J) instead of

原來如此

1. ...and their long, white teeth, which weigh up to 1 kilogram each, are larger than those of any creature now living on earth.

理由:

a. 空格前有比較級形容詞 larger(較大的)和連接詞 than，后有介詞 of，得知應置入名詞或代名詞，作為比較的對象。

b. 符合上述條件的選項有 (A) what(什么、所……的東西)、(B) prey(獵物)、(C) those(那些)、(G) rarity(稀有)和 (H) digest(摘要)，但僅代名詞 those 置入后符合用法，可用來代替前面句中的復數(shù)名詞 teeth，表地球上其它生物的『牙齒』，故選之。

注意:

在比較句構中，比較對象要一致。為避免名詞重復，單數(shù)名詞或不可數(shù)名詞改用 that，復數(shù)名詞則改用 those。

例: Students of this school study harder than students of that school. (劣)

→ Students of this school study harder than those of that school. (佳)

(這所學校的學生比那所學校的學生用功。)

2. ..., and they find their prey by sending concentrated streams of sound out into the deep, dark waters.

理由:

a. 空格前有及物動詞 find(發(fā)現(xiàn))，因此空格內應置入名詞或代名詞作其受詞。

b. 符合上述條件的選項有 (A) what(什么、所……的東西)、(B) prey (獵物)、(G) rarity(稀有)和 (H) digest(摘要)，然僅 (B) 置入后符合語意，故選之。

c. prey n. 獵物(集合名詞，不可數(shù))

fall prey to...　　成為……的獵物∕受害者

例: Elephants often fall prey to poachers' traps.

(大象常常陷入盜獵者的陷阱。)

3. Like other species of whale, sperm whales breathe through a hole in the top of their heads─sometimes called a blowhole.

理由:

a. 本句尚缺動詞，而空格后有介詞詞組 through a hole in the top of their heads(靠頭頂上的孔洞)，可知空格內應置入不及物動詞。

b. 符合上述條件的選項有 (H) digest(消化)和 (I) breathe(呼吸)，然僅 (I) 置入后符合語意，故選之。

4. Ambergris is a waxy substance produced by whales in order to safely digest the sharp beaks of their favorite snack─the giant squid.

理由:

a. 空格前有表『目的』的不定詞 in order to(為了)，空格后有名詞 the sharp beaks(尖喙)，得知應置入原形及物動詞或原形及物動詞詞組。

b. 符合上述條件的選項僅有 (H) digest(消化)，置入后亦符合語意，故選之。

c. digest vt. & vi. 消化 & n. 摘要

例: Some people cannot digest dairy products.

(有些人無法消化乳制品。)

5. For centuries, this rather disgusting substance produced in sperm whales' intestines was used by perfumeries to stabilize various scents.

理由:

a. 空格后有形容詞 disgusting(惡心的)，因此空格應置入副詞加以修飾。

b. 符合上述條件的選項僅有 (F) rather(相當、頗)，置入后亦符合語意，故選之。

c. rather adv. 相當，頗

例: His remarks about the girl were rather offensive.

(他對這女孩的評論相當無禮。)

6. For unknown reasons, the whales sometimes vomit large masses of this stinky substance into the sea, where it eventually floats to land.

理由:

a. 空格前有介詞 For(為了……)，之后有名詞 reasons(原因)，可知空格內應置入形容詞。

b. 符合上述條件的選項僅有 (E) unknown(未知的)，置入后亦符合語意，故選之。

c. for unknown reasons　　因不明原因

例: For unknown reasons, my mother yelled at me this morning.

(我老媽今早不知道為何對我大吼大叫。)

7. Because of the rarity of ambergris, it can be quite valuable...

理由:

a. 空格前有定冠詞 the，之后有介詞詞組 of ambergris(抹香鯨的)，因此空格應置入名詞。

b. 符合上述條件的選項僅有 (G) rarity(稀有)，置入后亦符合語意，故選之。

c. rarity n. 稀有;罕見

8. She ran into trouble, though, when she tried to identify the ambergris.

理由:

a. 空格之前有主詞 She(她)，空格后則有名詞 trouble(困難、麻煩)，得知空格應置入及物動詞或及物動詞詞組。

b. 符合上述條件的選項僅剩 (D) ran into(碰到)，置入后符合語意，并形成下列固定用法：

run into trouble　　遇到麻煩

例: Molly ran into trouble when her mom found out she had skipped class.

(茉莉因為被媽媽發(fā)現(xiàn)她逃學，所以她麻煩大了。)

c. 根據上述，可知應選 (D)。

9. Most companies now use chemicals to fix perfume scents instead of the rare whale vomit.

理由:

a. 空格前是一完整的句構，空格后是名詞詞組 the rare whale vomit(稀有的鯨魚嘔吐物)，可知空格內應置入介詞詞組，以形成副詞詞組修飾整句。

b. 符合上述條件的選項僅有 (J) instead of(而非……)，置入后符合語意及用法，故選之。

c. instead of + N/V-ing　　而非……

= rather than + N/V-ing/V

例: He decided to have spaghetti instead of pizza.

(他決定吃意大利面而非披薩。)

10. If this woman can determine that what she found is indeed ambergris, she'll have a small fortune.

理由:

a. 空格位于 that 子句中，且空格后已有述部 is indeed ambergris(當真是龍涎香)，可知空格應置入復合關系代名詞，引導 she found 作該 that 子句中的主詞。

b. (A) what(所……的東西)為復合關系代名詞，即等于 the thing which，what she found 表『她所發(fā)現(xiàn)的東西』，符合語意及用法，故為正選。

精解字詞詞組

1. deserve vt. 應得;應受

deserve + N　　應得∕值得……

deserve to V　　應得∕值得……

例: Such a hardworking employee really deserves a raise.

(這么努力工作的員工值得加薪。)

例: Al deserved to win the singing contest because of his excellent performance.

(艾爾的表現(xiàn)優(yōu)異，贏得歌唱比賽是應該的。)

2. alive a. 活著的;現(xiàn)存的

be alive with...　　充滿……

注意:

alive 修飾名詞時，應置于名詞之后。

例: The police found three people alive in the rubble of the building

(警方在殘垣斷壁中發(fā)現(xiàn) 3 名生還者。)

例: The oceans are alive with all kinds of saltwater creatures.

(海洋中充滿了各式各樣的海洋生物。)

3. stabilize vt. 使穩(wěn)定

例: The government took measures to stabilize housing prices.

(政府采取措施來穩(wěn)定房價。)

4. vomit vt. & vi. 嘔吐 & n. 吐出物

例: I vomited when I smelled the stinky tofu.

= I threw up when I smelled the stinky tofu.

(我聞到臭豆腐的味道時吐了出來。)

5. identify vt. 認出，辨認

例: A witness identified the gunman as a terrorist.

(某目擊證人認出那位槍手是恐怖分子。)

6. determine vt. 確定，確認

例: The scientists analyzed the moon rock to determine its composition.

(科學家們分析那塊月球巖石以確定它的成份。)

單字小鋪

1. belly n. 腹部

2. sperm whale n. 抹香鯨

3. classic a. 經典的

classical a. 古典的

4. enormous a. 巨大的

5. toothed a. 有牙齒的

6. snack vi. 吃點心 & n. 點心

7. octopus n. 章魚

8. squid n. 烏賊

9. collapsible a. 可折迭的

10. tremendous a. 巨大的

11. concentrated a. 集中的

12. stream n. 一道∕一束(音波、光等)

13. species n. 種類(單復數(shù)同形)

14. blowhole n. 噴水孔

15. ambergris n. 龍涎香

17. waxy a. 似蠟的

18. substance n. 物質

19. beak n.(鱉等的)喙狀嘴;鳥喙

20. disgusting a. 令人作嘔的

21. intestine n. 腸子

22. perfumery n. 香水制造商

23. scent n. 香味

24. mass n. 團，塊

25. stinky a. 發(fā)臭的

26. float vi. 漂流

27. chemical n. 化學物質

28. know-how n. 實際知識;技能;竅門

29. indeed adv.(加強語氣)真正地，確實

30. lump n. 團，塊

中文翻譯&標準答案

抹香鯨是經典小說《白鯨記》中的巨星，的確受之無愧。這種巨大生物是現(xiàn)存體積最大的有齒動物。成年雄鯨身長超過 20 公尺，長而白的牙齒每顆重達 1 公斤，比現(xiàn)今地球上任何一種動物的都來得大。為了獵食章魚及大型烏賊，抹香鯨有時會潛到 2,000 多公尺深的海中。牠們的肺臟能夠收縮，有助牠們下潛到如此驚人的深度，牠們靠朝深邃幽暗的水中發(fā)出密集的音波來搜尋獵物。抹香鯨和其它種類的鯨魚一樣，是靠頭頂上的孔洞(有時又稱作噴水孔)呼吸。

龍涎香是鯨魚為了順利消化大烏賊(牠們最愛的點心)身上的尖喙而分泌的蠟狀物質。數(shù)個世紀以來，這種在抹香鯨腸道中分泌出來頗為令人作嘔的物質，被香水制造商用來穩(wěn)定各種香氣。不知什么原因，鯨魚有時會吐出大量這種發(fā)臭的物質，而這些物質便隨波逐流漂到了陸地上。

紐約州一名 82 歲的婦人最近才曉得龍涎香的身價非凡，因為它極為罕見。她發(fā)現(xiàn)了一塊重達近 4 英磅、價值超過 18,000 美元的龍涎香。不過她在作鑒定的時候遇到了棘手的問題。現(xiàn)在大部分公司都利用化學物質使香水不至走味，而非稀有的鯨魚嘔吐物。因此，世界上幾乎沒有人有辨識這種稀有物質的專業(yè)知識。如果這位婦人能確定她發(fā)現(xiàn)的就是龍涎香，就能發(fā)一筆小財。如果她無法確定的話，就只能得到一團不知是否真從動物肚子里吐出來的玩意兒了。

標準答案: 1. (C) 2. (B) 3. (I) 4. (H) 5. (F) 6. (E) 7. (G) 8. (D) 9. (J) 10. (A )