3 Unicorns of the Sea

Chapter 3 UNICORNS OF THE SEA The narwhals were bounding through the water. Foamy waves washed over the ice. "I wrote about narwhals in my report!" said Annie. "They're some of the most mysterious creatures on earth!" She ran down the pebbly shore to get a closer look. Clutching the book and his bag, Jack ran after her. "They're called the Unicorns of the Sea!" Annie shouted over her shoulder. "I get it!" called Jack. Their long horns looked just like the horns of unicorns! The narwhals arched out of the water to breathe the fresh air. As they exhaled, puffs of mist burst from their blowholes, like

第三章海里的独角兽独角鲸在水里跳来跳去。 泡沫般的波浪冲刷着冰面。 “我在报告里写了独角鲸！”安妮说。 “它们是地球上最神秘的生物之一！”她沿着铺满卵石的海岸跑下去，想近距离看一看。 杰克抓着书和书包跟在她后面。 “他们叫海中的独角兽！”安妮回过头来喊道。 “我明白了！”杰克叫道。它们的长角看起来就像独角兽的角！独角鲸拱出水面呼吸新鲜空气。 当它们呼气时，一股股薄雾从它们的气孔中喷出，就像

sneezes. Annie stopped running. "Their horns are really tusks. And almost all narwhals with tusks are male," she said, panting. "And the tusk is a super-long tooth. It can be as long as ten feet!" "No kidding, a ten-foot tooth?" said Jack. "What does the tooth do?" He'd heard of narwhals before, but he didn't know much about them. "No one knows for sure," said Annie. "Scientists hardly ever see narwhals. But we just got here, and there they are! I don't believe it!" "We're lucky," said Jack. He opened their book. He found a section on narwhals and read aloud: Narwhals are mysterious whales that live most of their lives in the dark sea. They can dive deeper than any other mammal and stay

打喷嚏。安妮停了下来。 “它们的角实际上是象牙。 而且几乎所有长着獠牙的独角鲸都是雄性，”她气喘吁吁地说。 “象牙是一颗超长的牙齿。 它可以长达十英尺！”“不是开玩笑吧，一颗十英尺长的牙齿？”杰克说。 “这颗牙有什么用？”他以前听说过独角鲸，但对它们了解不多。 “没有人知道确切的答案，”安妮说。 “科学家们几乎从未见过独角鲸。 但我们刚到，他们就在那儿！我不相信！”“我们很幸运，”杰克说。 他打开他们的书。他找到了关于独角鲸的章节，大声朗读：独角鲸是一种神秘的鲸鱼，大部分时间生活在黑暗的海洋中。 它们比任何哺乳动物都能潜得更深，并能待在水下

underwater for twenty-five minutes! No narwhal has ever survived in captivity. "That's odd," said Jack. "Most animals live longer in captivity. They get plenty of food, and they don't get killed by predators." "I know," said Annie. "But when narwhals are captured and put in aquariums, they don't live long. They need to be free." She and Jack watched the narwhals dive deeper into the water. Their large heart- shaped tails flashed above the surface. Then the creatures disappeared from sight. Jack read more: Like most whales, narwhals communicate underwater by using a variety of sounds, such as clicks, whistles, and squeaks. "Scientists put recorders in the sea," said Annie, "and they hear all these weird

在水下呆了二十五分钟！没有独角鲸在圈养环境中存活过。 “真奇怪，”杰克说。“大多数动物在圈养中活得更长。 它们得到了充足的食物，而且不会被捕食者杀死。” “我知道，”安妮说。“但是当独角鲸被捕获并放进水族馆时，它们活不了多久。 他们需要自由。”她和杰克看着独角鲸往水里潜得更深。 它们心形的大尾巴在水面上闪烁。 然后这些生物就从视线中消失了。 像大多数鲸鱼一样，独角鲸在水下通过各种声音进行交流，比如咔嚓声、口哨声和吱吱声。 “科学家们把录音机放在海里，”安妮说，“他们听到了所有这些奇怪的声音

sounds. But they can't figure out what narwhals are saying, or how they can hear at such long distances." "Look, they're back," said Jack. The narwhals had popped to the surface. Several were swimming upside down. Some were pushing each other around. Others waved their tusks and tapped them together. "Why are they tapping their tusks?" said Jack. "They're having a chat," said Annie. Jack laughed. "Actually, scientists say they might use their tusks to attract mates or gather information," said Annie.

的声音。但他们不知道独角鲸在说什么，也不知道它们是如何在这么远的距离听到声音的。” “看，他们回来了。”杰克说。 独角鲸突然浮出水面。 有几个人倒挂着游泳。 有些人在互相推搡。 其他的则挥舞着它们的长牙，敲打着它们。 “它们为什么轻敲它们的长牙？”杰克说。 “他们在聊天，”安妮说。 杰克笑了。安妮说：“实际上，科学家们说它们可能会用它们的象牙来吸引配偶或收集信息。”

As Jack watched the narwhals bob up and down in the water, he tried to count them. "One, two, three, four…" In the middle of his count, seabirds began to screech overhead. The narwhals made loud whooshing sounds. They thrashed around in the water. "What's wrong?" said Annie. "That!" said Jack. A tall fin was gliding across the bay. It looked like a black flag. "A shark?" cried Annie. "No, that's way bigger than a shark fin!" said Jack. Suddenly a giant whale burst out of the waves. It had a black back and a white belly. It was as big as a school bus! The whale crashed down into the water. "An orca—a killer whale!" cried Annie. "And there's more than one!" said Jack. At least four other giant black fins

杰克看着独角鲸在水里上下浮动，试图数一数。 “一、二、三、四……”他数到一半时，头顶上的海鸟开始鸣叫起来。 独角鲸发出响亮的呼呼声。 他们在水里扑腾。 “怎么了？”安妮说。 “那个！”杰克说。一只高高的鱼鳍正滑过海湾。 它看起来像一面黑旗。 “鲨鱼？”安妮叫道。“不，那比鱼翅大多了！”杰克说。 突然，一条巨大的鲸鱼从海浪中冲了出来。 它有黑色的背部和白色的腹部。 它和一辆校车一样大！鲸鱼一头栽进水里。 “一头虎鲸——一头杀人鲸！”安妮叫道。 “而且不止一只！”杰克说。 至少还有四个巨大的黑鳍

appeared in the bay. The killer whales were headed straight for the herd of narwhals.

出现在海湾里。虎鲸径直向独角鲸群冲去。