两米长海笔首现太平洋

刘同功

“鸚鹉螺”号海洋探险队在水深2，994米处的太平洋海底，拍摄到一种海鳃。海鳃还有一个我们熟悉的名字——海笔。

1 I admit Id never heard of sea pens until today， when I saw a video from the Exploration Vessel Nautilus showing a lovely tentacled （有触手的） creature with a long thin stalk reaching down to the ocean floor. I was immediately attracted. The Nautilus team called it “an exciting discovery”.

2 The sea pen made its appearance during a visit by a remotely operated vehicle， or ROV， to an unexplored seamount near Johnston Atoll， a remote spot to the west of Hawaii in the Pacific. It was unexpected. This is the first time that this animal has been spotted in the Pacific. Its normally found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Nautilus came across two examples during the dive.

3 A video shot at a depth of 9，823 feet （2，994 meters） shows the moment of the discovery， along with a spoken description from excited researchers. “That looks funny，” said one of them after the ROV got a close?up shot of the creatures food?capturing tentacles. For scale， the sea pens stalk is 6.6 feet （2 meters） long.

4 Sea pens are listed as cnidarians（刺胞动物）， a broad group of aquatic animals that includes corals and jellyfish. “Further review of the video and this sample will help experts determine if this is the first Pacific unidentified creature or potentially a new species in this ocean basin，” the Nautilus team said on a platform.

5 The research expedition at Johnston Atoll ran from June 20 to July 13 and was focused on studying the biodiversity of the area. The non?profit Ocean Exploration Trust operates the ship and streams many of its ROV dives.

6 The Nautilus has lifted the veils on many wonders of the deep， from a rare jellyfish to a delightful unidentified creature. The team said， “This huge range expansion of sea pens in the Pacific Ocean reminds us how important ocean exploration efforts are to understanding this diversity of our planet.”

1. What makes the discovery of the Nautilus unusual？

A. The creature can make us excited.

B. The creature has a strange shape.

C. The creature was discovered in the Pacific for the first time.

D. The creature was found on the deep sea floor.

2. Whats the Nautilus mission at Johnston Atoll？

A. To save cnidarians.

B. To study biodiversity.

C. To protect the environment.

D. To study climate change.

3. How did the Nautilus team feel about the identity of the creature？

A. Scared.    B. Uncertain.

C. Confident.    D. Uninterested.

4. Which of the following is stressed in the last paragraph？

A. The Nautilus achievements.

B. The diversity of the Pacific.

C. The wonders of the deep sea.

D. The diversity of our planet.

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences in the text

1. I admit Id never heard of sea pens until today， when I saw a video from the Exploration Vessel Nautilus showing a lovely tentacled creature with a long thin stalk reaching down to the ocean floor. 我承认，直到今天，我才听说过海笔，当时我看到一条来自“鹦鹉螺”号海洋探测船的视频，里面有一种可爱的触须生物，它细长的茎一直延伸到海底。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句，主句是I admit，后面是省略了that的宾语从句；when引导的是一个定语从句，修饰先行词today。

2. The sea pen made its appearance during a visit by a remotely operated vehicle， or ROV， to an unexplored seamount near Johnston Atoll， a remote spot to the west of Hawaii in the Pacific. 这只海笔是在遥控潜水器到达约翰斯顿环礁附近一个未经探索的海底山时出现的。约翰斯顿环礁是太平洋上夏威夷西部的一个偏远的地方。

【点石成金】本句是一个简单句，a remote spot to the west of Hawaii in the Pacific是一个同位语成分，对前面的Johnston Atoll做补充说明。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

hear of 听说

make ones appearance 出現

come across 遇见；偶遇

be listed as 被列为……

be focused on 专注于

lift the veil 揭开……的面纱