常春藤解析英语【78】From the Belly of a Beast抹香鲸
时间：2018-12-08 作者：英语课 分类：常春藤解析英语
From the Belly 1 of a Beast 抹香鲸与龙涎香
There she blows!—there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick!
From Moby Dick, by Herman Melville
牠喷气了！牠喷气了！身体浮出水面的部分看起来像被白雪覆盖的山丘，那是莫比‧迪克没错！
──节录自赫曼‧梅尔维尔的《白鲸记》
by Lars Berry
The sperm 2 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 3 and giant squid, sperm whales sometimes dive over 2,000 meters in the sea. Their lungs are collapsible, helping 4 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 (龙涎香) is a waxy 5 substance produced by whales in order to safely _(4)_ the sharp beaks 7 of their favorite snack—the giant squid. For centuries, this _(5)_ disgusting substance produced in sperm whales' intestines 9 was used by perfumeries (香水制造商) to stabilize 10 various scents 12. For _(6)_ reasons, the whales sometimes vomit 13 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 14 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 15 (C) those (D) ran into (E) unknown
(F) rather (G) rarity (H) digest (I) breathe (J) instead of
原来如此
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. 空格前有比较级形容词 larger（较大的）和连接词 than，后有介词 of，得知应置入名词或代名词，作为比较的对象。
b. 符合上述条件的选项有 (A) what（什么、所……的东西）、(B) prey（猎物）、(C) those（那些）、(G) rarity（稀有）和 (H) digest（摘要），但仅代名词 those 置入后符合用法，可用来代替前面句中的复数名词 teeth，表地球上其它生物的『牙齿』，故选之。
注意:
在比较句构中，比较对象要一致。为避免名词重复，单数名词或不可数名词改用 that，复数名词则改用 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)
（这所学校的学生比那所学校的学生用功。）
2. ..., and they find their prey by sending concentrated streams of sound out into the deep, dark waters.
理由:
a. 空格前有及物动词 find（发现），因此空格内应置入名词或代名词作其受词。
b. 符合上述条件的选项有 (A) what（什么、所……的东西）、(B) prey （猎物）、(G) rarity（稀有）和 (H) digest（摘要），然仅 (B) 置入后符合语意，故选之。
c. prey n. 猎物（集合名词，不可数）
fall prey to... 成为……的猎物∕受害者
例: Elephants often fall prey to poachers' traps.
（大象常常陷入盗猎者的陷阱。）
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. 本句尚缺动词，而空格后有介词词组 through a hole in the top of their heads（靠头顶上的孔洞），可知空格内应置入不及物动词。
b. 符合上述条件的选项有 (H) digest（消化）和 (I) breathe（呼吸），然仅 (I) 置入后符合语意，故选之。
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』的不定词 in order to（为了），空格后有名词 the sharp beaks（尖喙），得知应置入原形及物动词或原形及物动词词组。
b. 符合上述条件的选项仅有 (H) digest（消化），置入后亦符合语意，故选之。
c. digest vt. & vi. 消化 & n. 摘要
例: Some people cannot digest dairy products.
（有些人无法消化乳制品。）
5. For centuries, this rather disgusting substance produced in sperm whales' intestines was used by perfumeries to stabilize various scents.
理由:
a. 空格后有形容词 disgusting（恶心的），因此空格应置入副词加以修饰。
b. 符合上述条件的选项仅有 (F) rather（相当、颇），置入后亦符合语意，故选之。
c. rather adv. 相当，颇
例: His remarks about the girl were rather offensive.
（他对这女孩的评论相当无礼。）
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. 空格前有介词 For（为了……），之后有名词 reasons（原因），可知空格内应置入形容词。
b. 符合上述条件的选项仅有 (E) unknown（未知的），置入后亦符合语意，故选之。
c. for unknown reasons 因不明原因
例: For unknown reasons, my mother yelled at me this morning.
（我老妈今早不知道为何对我大吼大叫。）
7. Because of the rarity of ambergris, it can be quite valuable...
理由:
a. 空格前有定冠词 the，之后有介词词组 of ambergris（抹香鲸的），因此空格应置入名词。
b. 符合上述条件的选项仅有 (G) rarity（稀有），置入后亦符合语意，故选之。
c. rarity n. 稀有；罕见
8. She ran into trouble, though, when she tried to identify the ambergris.
理由:
a. 空格之前有主词 She（她），空格后则有名词 trouble（困难、麻烦），得知空格应置入及物动词或及物动词词组。
b. 符合上述条件的选项仅剩 (D) ran into（碰到），置入后符合语意，并形成下列固定用法：
run into trouble 遇到麻烦
例: Molly ran into trouble when her mom found out she had skipped class.
（茉莉因为被妈妈发现她逃学，所以她麻烦大了。）
c. 根据上述，可知应选 (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构，空格后是名词词组 the rare whale vomit（稀有的鲸鱼呕吐物），可知空格内应置入介词词组，以形成副词词组修饰整句。
b. 符合上述条件的选项仅有 (J) instead of（而非……），置入后符合语意及用法，故选之。
c. instead of + N/V-ing 而非……
= rather than + N/V-ing/V
例: He decided 16 to have spaghetti instead of pizza.
（他决定吃意大利面而非披萨。）
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（当真是龙涎香），可知空格应置入复合关系代名词，引导 she found 作该 that 子句中的主词。
b. (A) what（所……的东西）为复合关系代名词，即等于 the thing which，what she found 表『她所发现的东西』，符合语意及用法，故为正选。
精解字词词组
1. deserve vt. 应得；应受
deserve + N 应得∕值得……
deserve to V 应得∕值得……
例: Such a hardworking employee really deserves a raise.
（这么努力工作的员工值得加薪。）
例: Al deserved to win the singing contest because of his excellent performance.
（艾尔的表现优异，赢得歌唱比赛是应该的。）
2. alive a. 活着的；现存的
be alive with... 充满……
注意:
alive 修饰名词时，应置于名词之后。
例: The police found three people alive in the rubble 17 of the building
（警方在残垣断壁中发现 3 名生还者。）
例: The oceans are alive with all kinds of saltwater creatures.
（海洋中充满了各式各样的海洋生物。）
3. stabilize vt. 使稳定
例: The government took measures to stabilize housing prices.
（政府采取措施来稳定房价。）
4. vomit vt. & vi. 呕吐 & n. 吐出物
例: I vomited 18 when I smelled the stinky tofu.
= I threw up when I smelled the stinky tofu.
（我闻到臭豆腐的味道时吐了出来。）
5. identify vt. 认出，辨认
例: A witness identified the gunman as a terrorist.
（某目击证人认出那位枪手是恐怖分子。）
6. determine vt. 确定，确认
例: The scientists analyzed 19 the moon rock to determine its composition.
（科学家们分析那块月球岩石以确定它的成份。）
单字小铺
1. belly n. 腹部
2. sperm whale n. 抹香鲸
3. classic a. 经典的
classical a. 古典的
4. enormous a. 巨大的
5. toothed a. 有牙齿的
6. snack vi. 吃点心 & n. 点心
7. octopus n. 章鱼
8. squid n. 乌贼
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. 种类（单复数同形）
14. blowhole n. 喷水孔
15. ambergris n. 龙涎香
17. waxy a. 似蜡的
18. substance n. 物质
19. beak 6 n.（鳖等的）喙状嘴；鸟喙
20. disgusting a. 令人作呕的
21. intestine 8 n. 肠子
22. perfumery n. 香水制造商
23. scent 11 n. 香味
24. mass n. 团，块
25. stinky a. 发臭的
26. float vi. 漂流
27. chemical n. 化学物质
28. know-how n. 实际知识；技能；窍门
29. indeed adv.（加强语气）真正地，确实
30. lump n. 团，块
中文翻译＆标准答案
抹香鲸是经典小说《白鲸记》中的巨星，的确受之无愧。这种巨大生物是现存体积最大的有齿动物。成年雄鲸身长超过 20 公尺，长而白的牙齿每颗重达 1 公斤，比现今地球上任何一种动物的都来得大。为了猎食章鱼及大型乌贼，抹香鲸有时会潜到 2,000 多公尺深的海中。牠们的肺脏能够收缩，有助牠们下潜到如此惊人的深度，牠们靠朝深邃幽暗的水中发出密集的音波来搜寻猎物。抹香鲸和其它种类的鲸鱼一样，是靠头顶上的孔洞（有时又称作喷水孔）呼吸。
龙涎香是鲸鱼为了顺利消化大乌贼（牠们最爱的点心）身上的尖喙而分泌的蜡状物质。数个世纪以来，这种在抹香鲸肠道中分泌出来颇为令人作呕的物质，被香水制造商用来稳定各种香气。不知什么原因，鲸鱼有时会吐出大量这种发臭的物质，而这些物质便随波逐流漂到了陆地上。
纽约州一名 82 岁的妇人最近才晓得龙涎香的身价非凡，因为它极为罕见。她发现了一块重达近 4 英磅、价值超过 18,000 美元的龙涎香。不过她在作鉴定的时候遇到了棘手的问题。现在大部分公司都利用化学物质使香水不至走味，而非稀有的鲸鱼呕吐物。因此，世界上几乎没有人有辨识这种稀有物质的专业知识。如果这位妇人能确定她发现的就是龙涎香，就能发一笔小财。如果她无法确定的话，就只能得到一团不知是否真从动物肚子里吐出来的玩意儿了。
标准答案: 1. (C) 2. (B) 3. (I) 4. (H) 5. (F) 6. (E) 7. (G) 8. (D) 9. (J) 10. (A )
- The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
- His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。
- Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
- In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。
- He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
- One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
- Choose small waxy potatoes for the salad.选些个头小、表皮光滑的土豆做色拉。
- The waxy oil keeps ears from getting too dry.这些蜡状耳油可以保持耳朵不会太干燥。
- The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
- This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
- Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
- Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网
- This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
- The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。
- Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
- The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句
- They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
- His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。
- The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
- The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
- The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
- The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
- She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。
- He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
- I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。
- Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
- The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
- After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
- After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。
- Corbett leaned against the wall and promptly vomited. 科比特倚在墙边，马上呕吐了起来。
- She leant forward and vomited copiously on the floor. 她向前一俯，哇的一声吐了一地。 来自英汉文学
- The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》