Lesson 18 Porpoises

In 1928 some porpoises were photographer working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress.

1928年，有人拍攝到了海豚像海貍一樣把浸透水的床墊推上岸的情景。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

If, as has been reported, they have protected humans from sharks,

正如報道中所說，如果海豚保護人不受鯊魚侵害，

Lesson 18 Porpoises

it may have been because curiosity attracted them and because the scent of a possible meal attracted the sharks.

那么它們可能是出于好奇；而鯊魚可能是聞到了可以美食一頓的香味。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

Porpoises and sharks are natural enemies.

海豚和鯊魚是天然仇敵，

Lesson 18 Porpoises

It is possible that upon such an occasion a battle ensued, with the sharks being driven away or killed.

雙方可能隨之發(fā)生搏斗，搏斗結(jié)果是海豚趕走或咬死鯊魚。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

Whether it be bird, fish or beast, the porpoise is intrigued with anything that is alive.

海豚對凡是活的東西都感興趣，不管是鳥、是魚，還是野獸。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

They are constantly after the turtles, who peacefully submit to all sorts of indignities.

它們經(jīng)常追逐海龜，海龜則溫順地忍受著各種侮辱。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

One young calf especially enjoyed raising a turtle to the surface with his snout and then shoving him across the tank like an aquaplane.

一只小海豚特別喜歡用鼻子把海龜推到水面，然后像滑水板一樣把海龜從水池的這一邊推到那一邊。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

Almost any day a young porpoise may be seen trying to turn a 300-pound sea turtle over by sticking his snout under the edge of his shell and pushing up for dear life.

幾乎每天都可以看到一只小海豚把鼻子頂入一只300磅重的海龜?shù)挠矚は旅妫疵匕阉^來。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

This is not easy, and may require two porpoises working together.

這并非易事，可能需要兩只海豚合伙干才行。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

In another game, as the turtle swims across the oceanarium, the first porpoise swoops down from above and butts his shell with his belly.

在另一場游戲中，當(dāng)海龜游過水族館時，第一只海豚從上方猛撲下去，用腹部撞擊龜殼。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

This knocks the turtle down several feet.

這一下子把海龜撞下去好幾英尺。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

He no sooner recovers his equilibrium than the next porpoise comes along and hits him another crack.

海龜剛恢復(fù)平衡，第二只海豚又沖過來猛擊一下。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

Eventually the turtle has been butted all the way down to the floor of the tank.

這只海龜最終被撞到池底。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

He is now satisfied merely to try to stand up, but as soon as he does so a porpoise knocks him flat.

此時的海龜，只要能站起來就滿足了，但它剛站起來，就被一只海豚擊倒。

Lesson 18 Porpoises

The turtle at last gives up by pulling his feet under his shell and the game is over.

海龜終于屈服了，將4條腿縮進殼內(nèi)。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

It is fairly clear that sleeping period must have some function,

很清楚，睡眠必然具有某種作用。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

and because there is so much of it the function would seem to e important.

睡眠占去那么多時間，所以其作用似乎還是很重要。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

Speculations about is nature have been going on for literally thousands of years,

人們對睡眠作用的種種猜測，確實有數(shù)千年之久。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

and one odd finding that makes the problem puzzling is that it looks very much as if sleeping is not simply a matter of giving the body a rest.

一項使人對這個問題感到困惑的奇怪的發(fā)現(xiàn)是，睡眠在很大程度似乎并不僅僅是為了使身體得到休息。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

'Rest', in terms of muscle relaxation and so on, can be achieved by a brief period lying, or even sitting down.

“休息”，從使肌肉得到放松等方面來看，只要稍微躺一躺，甚至坐一坐就能達到。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

The body's tissues are self-repairing and self-restoring to a degree, and function best when more or less continuously active.

人體組織在一定程度上有自我修補和自我恢復(fù)的能力，有張有弛地連續(xù)活動時，其功能最佳。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

In fact a basic amount of movement occurs during sleep which is specifically concerned with preventing muscle inactivity.

事實上，睡眠狀態(tài)下仍有著基本的活動量，以防止肌肉活動停止。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

If it is not a question of resting the body, then perhaps it is the brain that needs resting? This might be a plausible hypothesis were it not for two factors.

如果睡眠的功能不是在于使身體得到休息，那么也許是讓大腦得以休息？若不是下面兩點，這種假使似乎是有道理的。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

First the electroencephalograph (which is simply a device for recording the electrical activity of the brain by attaching electrodes to the scalp) shows that while there is a change in the pattern of activity during sleep,

第一點，腦電圖記錄儀（不過是一種把電極接到頭皮上記錄腦電活動的儀器）顯示，人在睡眠時大腦活動的方式有變化，

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

there is no evidence that the total amount of activity is any less.

但沒有跡象表明，其活動總量有任何減少。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

The second factor is more interesting and more fundamental.

第二點更有意思，也更重要。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

Some years ago an American psychiatrist named William Dement published experiments dealing with the recording of eye-movements during sleep.

前些年，美國一位精神病學(xué)者發(fā)表了一篇報告，報告中記錄了眼球在睡眠時的活動情況。

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

He showed that the average individual's sleep cycle is punctuated with peculiar bursts of eye-movements,

他指出，平常人的睡眠周期中不時伴有一陣陣奇怪的眼球隊活動，

Lesson 19 The stuff of dreams

some drifting and slow, others jerky and rapid.

這些活動有的飄忽而緩慢，有的急劇而快速。