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CHAPTER VI
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THE WHALE—FIGHTING BULLS, ETC.
As the reader may, perhaps, have been asking a few questions about the whale in his own mind, I shall try to answer them, by telling a few things concerning that creature which, I think, are worth knowing.
In the first place, the whale is not a fish! I have applied1 that name to it, no doubt, because it is the custom to do so; but there are great differences between the whales and the fishes. The mere2 fact that the whale lives in water is not sufficient to prove it to be a fish. The frog lives very much in water—he is born in the water, and, when very young, he lives in it altogether—would die, in fact, if he were taken out of it; yet a frog is not a fish.
The following are some of the differences existing between a whale and a fish:—The whale is a warm-blooded animal; the fish is cold-blooded. The whale brings forth3 its young alive; while most fishes lay eggs or spawn4. Moreover, the fish lives entirely5 under water, but the whale cannot do so. He breathes air through enormous lungs, not gills. If you were to hold a whale's head under water for much longer than an hour, it would certainly be drowned; and this is the reason why it comes so frequently to the surface of the sea to take breath. Whales seldom stay more than an hour under water, and when they come up to breathe, they discharge the last breath they took through their nostrils6 or blowholes, mixed with large quantities of water which they have taken in while feeding. But the most remarkable7 point of difference between the whale and fishes of all kinds is, that it suckles its young.
The calf8 of one kind of whale is about fourteen feet long when it is born, and it weighs about a ton. The cow-whale usually brings forth only one calf at a time, and the manner in which she behaves to her gigantic baby shows that she is
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applied
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adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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mere
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adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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forth
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adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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spawn
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n.卵,产物,后代,结果;vt.产卵,种菌丝于,产生,造成;vi.产卵,大量生产 | |
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entirely
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ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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nostrils
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鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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remarkable
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adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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calf
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n.小牛,犊,幼仔,小牛皮 | |
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affected
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adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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forsake
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vt.遗弃,抛弃;舍弃,放弃 | |
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throbbing
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a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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stranded
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a.搁浅的,进退两难的 | |
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fins
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[医]散热片;鱼鳍;飞边;鸭掌 | |
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obstinate
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adj.顽固的,倔强的,不易屈服的,较难治愈的 | |
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harpoon
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n.鱼叉;vt.用鱼叉叉,用鱼叉捕获 | |
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harpooned
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v.鱼镖,鱼叉( harpoon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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darted
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v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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fathoms
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英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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overhauled
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v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 );大修;赶上;超越 | |
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plunged
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v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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sperm
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n.精子,精液 | |
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jaw
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n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训 | |
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spouting
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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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prey
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n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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vomit
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v.呕吐,作呕;n.呕吐物,吐出物 | |
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foes
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敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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uncommon
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adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
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harpoons
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n.鱼镖,鱼叉( harpoon的名词复数 )v.鱼镖,鱼叉( harpoon的第三人称单数 ) | |
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latitude
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n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区 | |
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lashing
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n.鞭打;痛斥;大量;许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 );煽动;紧系;怒斥 | |
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behold
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v.看,注视,看到 | |
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foam
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v./n.泡沫,起泡沫 | |
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horrified
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a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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seamen
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n.海员 | |
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dread
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vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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dreary
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adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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narrative
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n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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converse
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vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反 | |
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killer
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n.杀人者,杀人犯,杀手,屠杀者 | |
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breaches
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破坏( breach的名词复数 ); 破裂; 缺口; 违背 | |
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breaching
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攻破( breach的过去式 ); 破坏,违反 | |
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killers
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凶手( killer的名词复数 ); 消灭…者; 致命物; 极难的事 | |
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exhausted
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adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
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上一章:
CHAPTER V
下一章:
CHAPTER VII
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