有声英文阅读-海中“刺”客(水母)
时间：2018-12-31 作者：英语课 分类：有声英文阅读
Cloze: Stingers of the Sea
Given impressive-sounding names like "Portuguese 1 man-of-war," jellyfish are certainly respected and feared by humans. Not exactly a fish, and lacking a spine 2, this creature has a single body cavity or mouth. Any food consumed passes through this opening, and so do undigested remains 3 being expelled.
A jellyfish's tentacles 4, which can exceed 30 meters in length, drag through the sea and capture any prey 5 that may be in their path. Special cells that line the tentacles then fire small "arrows" into the victim, paralyzing it with a poison toxic 6 enough to freeze even a human. The unfortunate prey is then drawn 7 into the jellyfish's mouth.
Possessing neither blood nor brain, jellyfish are primarily filled with a jelly-like substance loaded with nerve cells that help them navigate 8 the seas. These cells detect light and touch, and then pass this information on to muscle cells.
In all its simplicity 9, the jellyfish has existed for more than 600 million years with little change. Perhaps the jellyfish is indeed nature's perfect beast.
海中“刺”客──水母
拥有“葡萄牙军舰”这个听起来就让人印象深刻的名字，水母的确让人类又敬又怕。这种生物既非鱼类，又缺少脊椎，它只有一个体腔，或者也可称之为嘴巴。任何被摄取的食物都要经过这个开口，没有被消化的残骸也是由此排出。
水母在海中拖曳着长度可以超过30米的触须，捕捉任何可能在它前进路线上的猎物。水母的触须上遍布着一种特殊的细胞，它可以向受害者射出“小箭”，足以让一个人动弹不得的毒液去麻痹它。接着这不幸的猎物就被吸入水母的嘴里。
水母既没有血液也没有大脑，主要由满是胶状物质的神经细胞来协助它在海中的航行。这些细胞能侦测光线和触觉，然后把信息传达到肌肉细胞。
虽然水母的结构很简单，它已经在地球上存在超过六亿年了，而且没有什么改变。也许水母真的是自然界中真正的霸主。
- They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
- Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。
- He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
- His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
- Tentacles of fear closed around her body. 恐惧的阴影笼罩着她。
- Many molluscs have tentacles. 很多软体动物有触角。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
- The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
- The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
- There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。
- All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
- Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
- He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
- Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。
- She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
- The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。