Fishermen and sailors sometimes claim to have seen monsters in the sea. Though people have often laughed at stories told by seamen, it is now known that many of these 'monsters' which have at times been sighted are simply strange fish. Occasionally, unusual creatures are washed to the shore, but they are rarely caught out at sea. Some time ago, however, a peculiar fish was caught near Madagascar. A small fishing boat was carried miles out to sea by the powerful fish as it pulled on the line. Realizing that this was no ordinary fish, the fisherman made every effort not to damage it in any way. When it was eventually brought to shore, it was found to be over thirteen feet long. It had a head like a horse, big blue eyes, shining silver skin, and a bright red tail. The fish, which has since been sent to a museum where it is being examined by a scientist, is called an oarfish. Such creatures have rarely been seen alive by man as they live at a depth of six hundred feet.
New words and expressions 生詞和短語(yǔ)
monster n. 怪物
sailor n. 海員
sight v. 見(jiàn)到
creature n. 動(dòng)物,生物
peculiar adj. 奇怪的,不尋常的
shining adj. 閃閃發(fā)光的
oarfish n. 槳魚(yú)
漁夫和水手們有時(shí)聲稱(chēng)自己看到過(guò)海里的妖怪。雖然人們常常對(duì)水手們講的故事付諸一笑,但現(xiàn)在看來(lái),人們有時(shí)看到的這些“妖怪”很多不過(guò)是些奇怪的魚(yú)。一些異常的生物偶爾會(huì)被沖到岸上來(lái),但它們?cè)诤I蠀s極少能被捕到。然而不久前,在馬達(dá)加斯加附近的海里卻捕到了一條奇怪的魚(yú)。一條小漁船被一條咬住鉤的強(qiáng)壯的大魚(yú)拖到了幾英里以外的海面上。那位漁民意識(shí)到這根本不是一條普通的魚(yú),于是千方百計(jì)不讓它受到絲毫傷害。當(dāng)終于把它弄上岸后,人們發(fā)現(xiàn)它身長(zhǎng)超過(guò)了13英尺。它長(zhǎng)著一個(gè)像馬一樣的頭,有著大的藍(lán)眼睛和閃閃發(fā)光的銀色皮膚,還有一條鮮紅色的尾巴。此魚(yú)叫槳魚(yú),被送進(jìn)了博物館,現(xiàn)正接受一位科學(xué)家的檢查。人們很少能看到活著的這類(lèi)動(dòng)物,因?yàn)樗鼈兩钤?00英尺深的水下。