Warm Up

海豚和鲸鱼搁浅时有发生，9月西非海滩约有200只海豚搁浅，有报道称今年头三个月就有1100只海豚在法国海滩搁浅。

不过搁浅的原因仍不能确定，有的认为是地球磁场的干扰，有的认为是自身“导航系统”失灵，有的认为是因为疾病，有的认为是“领头豚”发生失误，导致它的小伙伴跟着失误，导致群体搁浅···而大部分的海豚在英国搁浅，这又是什么原因呢？

Words and Expressions

在正式阅读之前先熟悉单词吧~

strand：/strænd/  n. 线；串；海滨 v. 使搁浅；使陷于困境；弄断；使落后

cetacean  /sɪˈteɪʃn/  n. 鲸鱼；鲸类动物 adj. 鲸类的；鲸鱼的  cetologist 鲸鱼学者

harbour porpoise n. 海港鼠海豚

bycatch n. 副渔获物，兼捕渔获物

entanglement  /ɪnˈtæŋɡlmənt  n. 纠缠；铁丝网；缠绕物；牵连

mortality   /mɔːrˈtæləti/ n. 死亡数，死亡率；必死性，必死的命运

immune  /ɪˈmjuːn/  n. 免疫者；免除者  adj. 免疫的；免于……的，免除的

carcinogenic  /ˌkɑːrsɪnəˈdʒenɪk/  adj. 致癌的；致癌物的

marine  /məˈriːn/ n. 海运业；舰队；水兵；（海军）士兵或军官 adj. 船舶的；海生的；海产的；航海的，海运的

echolocation  /ˌekoʊloʊˈkeɪʃn/  n. 回波定位；回声测距；回声定位能力（鲸和蝙蝠等所具备得一种机能）

acoustic   /əˈkuːstɪk/  n. 原声乐器；不用电传音的乐器  adj. 声学的；音响的；听觉的

susceptible  /səˈseptəbl/  n. 易得病的人  adj. 易受影响的；易感动的；容许…的

chronic  /ˈkrɑːnɪk/  adj. 慢性的；长期的；习惯性的

peninsula  /pəˈnɪnsələ/  n. 半岛

Scrip

Nearly 5,000 whales, dolphins and harbour porpoises were stranded on shores around the UK in the years 2011-2017, according to a report published in September by the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme(CSIP). As many cetaceans spend a lot of time at depth it’s hard to measure populations accurately, so we can’t say for sure whether this number of strandings is a threat, but for some pods, such as the West Coast Community of orcas near Scotland, the loss of even one or two individuals is bad news.

据英国鲸类搁浅调查项目（CSIP）9月份公布的一份报告显示，在2011-2017年间，有近5000头鲸鱼、海豚和港湾鼠海豚在英国附近海岸搁浅。由于许多鲸目动物大部分时间生活在深海中，很难准确测量种群数量，因此我们无法确定搁浅的鲸目动物数量是否会对整个鲸目动物构成威胁，但对于一些动物来说，例如苏格兰附近的西海岸虎鲸群落，有一两只虎鲸的死亡都是坏消息。

Though 132 of the animals were refloated, many died as a result of human activity, says lead researcher Rob Deaville. “Bycatch and entanglement are the main direct man-made drivers of mortality,” he explains. Whales and dolphins can get caught up in fishing lines and nets, which causes easily identifiable injuries. Ship-strike is another common cause of death that’s readily detectable.

首席研究员罗伯·迪维尔说：“虽然有132只鲸鱼重新被打捞起，但许多动物死于人类活动。副渔获物和缠结物是导致鲸目动物死亡主要的、直接的人为因素，”他解释说。鲸鱼和海豚会被鱼线和渔网缠住，这很容易造成可识别的伤害。船舶撞击是另一个很容易被发现的鲸目动物常见死亡原因。

Whales and dolphins can also ‘beach’ as a result of illness, often caused by parasites, starvation or human pollution. “Chemical pollution can cause issues, because some of these contaminants can affect the immune system,” Deaville explains. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), for example, were widely used as industrial coolants until they were banned in the 1970s for being carcinogenic. PCBs stick to fatty tissue, so they linger in the food chain, and levels in the ocean remain high. Several whales were also found with plastic or marine litter in their stomachs, though only one died as a direct result.

鲸鱼和海豚也可能因疾病而“登上海滩”，通常是由寄生虫、饥饿或人类污染引起的。“化学污染会引起很多问题，因为其中一些污染物会影响免疫系统，”迪维尔解释说。例如，多氯联苯（PCBs）被广泛用作工业冷却剂，直到20世纪70年代因致癌而被禁止使用。多氯联苯附着在脂肪组织上，所以它们在食物链中徘徊，海洋中的含量仍然很高。有几头鲸鱼的胃里被发现有塑料或海洋垃圾，不过只有一头直接死亡。

Cetaceans are split into two subgroups: baleen whales, which include the blue and humpback whales, and toothed whales, which include dolphins, orcas, porpoises and sperm whales. “All the toothed cetaceans use echolocation as their primary sense. They are primarily acoustic animals and they live in an acoustic environment,” Deaville says. As a result, they are highly susceptible to noise pollution. Chronic noise from shipping and off-shore wind farms can drive animals away from their usual habitats and into dangerous environments, while sudden, acute noise from explosions, seismic activity or sonar can temporarily deafen them or even cause haemorrhaging in the inner ear. Naval sonar is particularly damaging. “There are many accounts globally of mass strandings associated with some particular forms of sonar,” says Deaville.

鲸类主要分为两大类：须鲸，包括蓝鲸和座头鲸；齿鲸，包括海豚、虎鲸、江豚和抹香鲸。所有齿鲸感知主要靠回声定位。它们主要是声学动物，生活在声学环境中，”迪维尔说。因此，它们极易受到噪音污染。船舶和海上风电场发出的长期噪音会把动物赶出它们通常的栖息地，进入危险的环境。而爆炸、地震活动或声纳突然发出的剧烈噪音会使它们暂时耳聋，甚至导致内耳出血。海军声纳尤其具有破坏性。迪维尔说：“全球很多大规模的鲸鱼海豚搁浅都与某些特殊形式的声呐有关。

Whales and dolphins are social animals. Many cetologists believe that whales will accompany their ill or injured friends and accidentally end up stranded with them. As a result, mass strandings often contain several otherwise healthy animals.

鲸鱼和海豚是社交动物。许多鲸类学家相信，鲸鱼会陪伴生病或受伤的朋友，并意外地与他们一起搁浅。因此，大量的搁浅也通常包含一些健康的动物。

WHERE DO STRANDINGS HAPPEN MOST?

搁浅在哪里发生最多？

A New Zealand-based study found that herds of whales are most often stranded in areas with the same geography: a long sandy beach with a gentle slope, with a peninsula or cape at one end. “Whales do not strand at random locations,” write the authors. It’s not clear why this is, although marine biologist Dudok proposed that gentle slopes disrupt the cetaceans’ echolocation systems. However, more recent studies have shown that the sand kicked up on shallow beaches doesn’t affect how well sound is transmitted.

新西兰的一项研究发现，成群的鲸鱼通常在同一地区搁浅：一个有缓坡的长沙滩，一端是半岛或海角。研究作者写道：“鲸鱼不会在随机的地点搁浅。”目前尚不清楚这是为什么，尽管海洋生物学家Dudok提出，缓坡会破坏鲸目动物的回声定位系统。然而，最近的研究表明，在浅滩上激起的沙子并不影响声音的传播效果。

The North Sea acts as a trap for northern bottlenose whales and Sowerby’s beaked whales. These species migrate southwest from the North Atlantic every year, normally keeping the British Isles to their east. If any of them travel via the North Sea instead, perhaps because they were chasing prey or got lost, they often end up stranded on east coast estuaries such as the Firth of Forth or the Thames estuary.

北海是北方宽吻鲸和索韦比喙鲸的陷阱。这些物种每年从北大西洋向西南迁徙，通常把不列颠群岛保持在东部。如果他们中的任何一个途经北海，那也许是因为他们在追逐猎物或迷路了，他们往往最终在东海岸河口搁浅，如福斯湾或泰晤士河河口。

WHY HAVE STRANDINGS INCREASED IN THE UK?

为什么在英国搁浅的鲸目动物越来越多？

It’s hard to tell. It’s possible that bycatch and pollution have increased pressure on many species, but this is not necessarily the case.

这很难说。可能是副渔获物和污染增加了许多物种的生存压力，但事实并不一定如此。

“Yes, there was an increase in strandings, but sometimes an increase in strandings can just mean that there are more of a species out there,” Deaville explains. “In fact, from the point of view of conservation scientists, we’re much more concerned about species that don’t strand where we might expect them to.”

“是的，搁浅的数量增加了，但有时搁浅的数量增加可能只是意味着有更多的物种在那里，”迪维尔解释说。“事实上，从自然保护科学家的角度来看，我们更关心的是那些没有在我们期望它们搁浅的地方搁浅。”

In fact, the true number of strandings may not be increasing at all. In Scotland, there has been a drive to encourage members of the public to report stranded cetaceans they find. It could be that numbers in Scotland are steady, but reporting is more thorough.

事实上，搁浅的真正数量可能根本没有增加。在苏格兰，有一项活动鼓励公众举报他们发现的搁浅鲸目动物。苏格兰的搁浅数据可能是稳定的，但报道太为详尽。

WHAT DO I DO IF I FIND A STRANDED CETACEAN?

如果我发现一只搁浅的鲸目动物该怎么办？

If the animal is still alive, phone the RSPCA/SSPCA. Keep it wet and cool by gently pouring water over it – avoiding the blowhole – if you think it’s too hot, but otherwise keep your distance to avoid making the animal even more stressed. Especially stay away from the tail.

如果动物还活着，打电话给RSPCA/SSPCA。如果你觉得太热了，可以轻轻地把水倒在它身上，避开出气孔，让它保持湿润和凉爽。或者保持距离，尤其是远离尾巴，以免让动物承受更大的压力。

When trained handlers arrive, they may try to refloat a smaller animal. However, cetaceans are used to having water to support their bodies, so beaching can cause severe internal injuries. The animal may re-strand or die a few days after refloating.

当训练有素的人员到达后，他们可能会尽力让一只较小的动物浮出水面。然而，鲸目动物习惯于用水来支撑身体，因此搁浅会造成严重的内伤。漂浮几天后，动物可能会重新搁浅或死亡。

考试中关于鱼类和鲸类的文章常常考到，通过这篇文章学习下鲸鱼搁浅，并积累相关单词，这篇阅读不算难，大家精读呦！