Slumbering3 in the bottom of the boat, Jarl and I were suddenly awakened4 by Samoa. Starting, we beheld5 the ocean of a pallid6 white color, corruscating all over with tiny golden sparkles. But the pervading7 hue8 of the water cast a cadaverous gleam upon the boat, so that we looked to each other like ghosts. For many rods astern our wake was revealed in a line of rushing illuminated9 foam10; while here and there beneath the surface, the tracks of sharks were denoted by vivid, greenish trails, crossing and recrossing each other in every direction. Farther away, and distributed in clusters, floated on the sea, like constellations11 in the heavens, innumerable Medusae, a species of small, round, refulgent12 fish, only to be met with in the South Seas and the Indian Ocean.
Suddenly, as we gazed, there shot high into the air a bushy jet of flashes, accompanied by the unmistakable deep breathing sound of a sperm13 whale. Soon, the sea all round us spouted14 in fountains of fire; and vast forms, emitting a glare from their flanks, and ever and anon raising their heads above water, and shaking off the sparkles, showed where an immense shoal of Cachalots had risen from below to sport in these phosphorescent billows.
The vapor15 jetted forth16 was far more radiant than any portion of the sea; ascribable perhaps to the originally luminous17 fluid contracting still more brilliancy from its passage through the spouting19 canal of the whales.
We were in great fear, lest without any vicious intention the Leviathans might destroy us, by coming into close contact with our boat. We would have shunned20 them; but they were all round and round us. Nevertheless we were safe; for as we parted the pallid brine, the peculiar21 irradiation which shot from about our keel seemed to deter22 them. Apparently23 discovering us of a sudden, many of them plunged24 headlong down into the water, tossing their fiery25 tails high into the air, and leaving the sea still more sparkling from the violent surging of their descent.
Their general course seemed the same as our own; to the westward26. To remove from them, we at last out oars27, and pulled toward the north. So doing, we were steadily28 pursued by a solitary29 whale, that must have taken our Chamois for a kindred fish. Spite of all our efforts, he drew nearer and nearer; at length rubbing his fiery flank against the Chamois' gunwale, here and there leaving long strips of the glossy30 transparent31 substance which thin as gossamer32 invests the body of the Cachalot.
In terror at a sight so new, Samoa shrank. But Jarl and I, more used to the intimate companionship of the whales, pushed the boat away from it with our oars: a thing often done in the fishery.
The close vicinity of the whale revived in the so long astute33 Skyeman all the enthusiasm of his daring vocation34. However quiet by nature, a thorough-bred whaleman betrays no little excitement in sight of his game. And it required some persuasion35 to prevent Jarl from darting36 his harpoon37: insanity38 under present circumstances; and of course without object. But "Oh! for a dart," cried my Viking. And "Where's now our old ship?" he added reminiscently.
But to my great joy the monster at last departed; rejoining the shoal, whose lofty spoutings of flame were still visible upon the distant line of the horizon; showing there, like the fitful starts of the Aurora39 Borealis.
The sea retained its luminosity for about three hours; at the expiration40 of half that period beginning to fade; and excepting occasional faint illuminations consequent upon the rapid darting of fish under water, the phenomenon at last wholly disappeared.
Heretofore, I had beheld several exhibitions of marine41 phosphorescence, both in the Atlantic and Pacific. But nothing in comparison with what was seen that night. In the Atlantic, there is very seldom any portion of the ocean luminous, except the crests42 of the waves; and these mostly appear so during wet, murky43 weather. Whereas, in the Pacific, all instances of the sort, previously44 corning under my notice, had been marked by patches of greenish light, unattended with any pallidness45 of sea. Save twice on the coast of Peru, where I was summoned from my hammock to the alarming midnight cry of "All hands ahoy! tack46 ship!" And rushing on deck, beheld the sea white as a shroud47; for which reason it was feared we were on soundings.
Now, sailors love marvels48, and love to repeat them. And from many an old shipmate I have heard various sage18 opinings, concerning the phenomenon in question. Dismissing, as destitute49 of sound philosophic50 probability, the extravagant51 notion of one of my nautical52 friends—no less a philosopher than my Viking himself—namely: that the phosphoresence of the sea is caused by a commotion53 among the mermaids54, whose golden locks, all torn and disheveled, do irradiate the waters at such times; I proceed to record more reliable theories.
Faraday might, perhaps, impute55 the phenomenon to a peculiarly electrical condition of the atmosphere; and to that solely56. But herein, my scientific friend would be stoutly57 contradicted by many intelligent seamen58, who, in part, impute it to the presence of large quantities of putrescent animal matter; with which the sea is well known to abound59.
And it would seem not unreasonable60 to suppose, that it is by this means that the fluid itself becomes charged with the luminous principle. Draw a bucket of water from the phosphorescent ocean, and it still retains traces of fire; but, standing61 awhile, this soon subsides62. Now pour it along the deck, and it is a stream of flame; caused by its renewed agitation63. Empty the bucket, and for a space sparkles cling to it tenaciously64; and every stave seems ignited.
But after all, this seeming ignition of the sea can not be wholly produced by dead matter therein. There are many living fish, phosphorescent; and, under certain conditions, by a rapid throwing off of luminous particles must largely contribute to the result. Not to particularize this circumstance as true of divers65 species of sharks, cuttle-fish, and many others of the larger varieties of the finny tribes; the myriads66 of microscopic67 mollusca, well known to swarm68 off soundings, might alone be deemed almost sufficient to kindle69 a fire in the brine.
After science comes sentiment.
A French naturalist71 maintains, that the nocturnal radiance of the fire-fly is purposely intended as an attraction to the opposite sex; that the artful insect illuminates72 its body for a beacon73 to love. Thus: perched upon the edge of a leaf, and waiting the approach of her Leander, who comes buffeting74 with his wings the aroma75 of the flowers, some insect Hero may show a torch to her gossamer gallant76.
But alas77, thrice alas, for the poor little fire-fish of the sea, whose radiance but reveals them to their foes78, and lights the way to their destruction.
点击收听单词发音
1 memorable | |
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的 | |
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2 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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3 slumbering | |
微睡,睡眠(slumber的现在分词形式) | |
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4 awakened | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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5 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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6 pallid | |
adj.苍白的,呆板的 | |
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7 pervading | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的现在分词 ) | |
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8 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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9 illuminated | |
adj.被照明的;受启迪的 | |
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10 foam | |
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫 | |
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11 constellations | |
n.星座( constellation的名词复数 );一群杰出人物;一系列(相关的想法、事物);一群(相关的人) | |
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12 refulgent | |
adj.辉煌的,灿烂的 | |
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13 sperm | |
n.精子,精液 | |
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14 spouted | |
adj.装有嘴的v.(指液体)喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 );滔滔不绝地讲;喋喋不休地说;喷水 | |
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15 vapor | |
n.蒸汽,雾气 | |
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16 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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17 luminous | |
adj.发光的,发亮的;光明的;明白易懂的;有启发的 | |
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18 sage | |
n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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19 spouting | |
n.水落管系统v.(指液体)喷出( spout的现在分词 );滔滔不绝地讲;喋喋不休地说;喷水 | |
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20 shunned | |
v.避开,回避,避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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22 deter | |
vt.阻止,使不敢,吓住 | |
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23 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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24 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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25 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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26 westward | |
n.西方,西部;adj.西方的,向西的;adv.向西 | |
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27 oars | |
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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28 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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29 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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30 glossy | |
adj.平滑的;有光泽的 | |
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31 transparent | |
adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的 | |
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32 gossamer | |
n.薄纱,游丝 | |
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33 astute | |
adj.机敏的,精明的 | |
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34 vocation | |
n.职业,行业 | |
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35 persuasion | |
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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36 darting | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的现在分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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37 harpoon | |
n.鱼叉;vt.用鱼叉叉,用鱼叉捕获 | |
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38 insanity | |
n.疯狂,精神错乱;极端的愚蠢,荒唐 | |
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39 aurora | |
n.极光 | |
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40 expiration | |
n.终结,期满,呼气,呼出物 | |
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41 marine | |
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵 | |
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42 crests | |
v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的第三人称单数 );到达洪峰,达到顶点 | |
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43 murky | |
adj.黑暗的,朦胧的;adv.阴暗地,混浊地;n.阴暗;昏暗 | |
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44 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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45 pallidness | |
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46 tack | |
n.大头钉;假缝,粗缝 | |
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47 shroud | |
n.裹尸布,寿衣;罩,幕;vt.覆盖,隐藏 | |
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48 marvels | |
n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 );令人惊奇的事物(或事例);不平凡的成果;成就v.惊奇,对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49 destitute | |
adj.缺乏的;穷困的 | |
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50 philosophic | |
adj.哲学的,贤明的 | |
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51 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
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52 nautical | |
adj.海上的,航海的,船员的 | |
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53 commotion | |
n.骚动,动乱 | |
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54 mermaids | |
n.(传说中的)美人鱼( mermaid的名词复数 ) | |
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55 impute | |
v.归咎于 | |
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56 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
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57 stoutly | |
adv.牢固地,粗壮的 | |
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58 seamen | |
n.海员 | |
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59 abound | |
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于 | |
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60 unreasonable | |
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的 | |
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61 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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62 subsides | |
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的第三人称单数 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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63 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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64 tenaciously | |
坚持地 | |
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65 divers | |
adj.不同的;种种的 | |
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66 myriads | |
n.无数,极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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67 microscopic | |
adj.微小的,细微的,极小的,显微的 | |
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68 swarm | |
n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入 | |
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69 kindle | |
v.点燃,着火 | |
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70 surmises | |
v.臆测,推断( surmise的第三人称单数 );揣测;猜想 | |
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71 naturalist | |
n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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72 illuminates | |
v.使明亮( illuminate的第三人称单数 );照亮;装饰;说明 | |
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73 beacon | |
n.烽火,(警告用的)闪火灯,灯塔 | |
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74 buffeting | |
振动 | |
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75 aroma | |
n.香气,芬芳,芳香 | |
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76 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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77 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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78 foes | |
敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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