你見過鯨魚嗎？ ⏲️ 6分鐘英語：英語精讀講義

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

來自 bbclearningenglish.com 的《6分鐘英語》。

Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

大家好，這是來自 BBC Learning English 的《6分鐘英語》。

I'm Phil.

我是 Phil。

And I'm Georgie.

我是 Georgie。

Encountering an animal in its natural habitat is a magical experience. 講解

在動物的自然棲息地與牠們相遇是一次神奇的體驗。

Have you ever seen an animal in the wild, Georgie? 講解

Georgie，你在野外見過動物嗎？

Yes, I have actually.

見過，我確實見過。

I was on a walk and we saw a baby badger. 片語搭配

有次我在散步，我們看到了一隻小獾。

It was on its own and it was really cute. 片語搭配

牠孤零零的，非常可愛。

What about you, Phil?

你呢，Phil？

Ooh, the most impressive one I've ever seen is actually a whale. 文法

喔，我見過最令人印象深刻的其實是一頭鯨魚。

I was driving by the coast in Patagonia and you could see them in the sea. 用詞

當時我正沿著巴塔哥尼亞海岸開車，你可以看到牠們在海裡。

Well, that sounds amazing and funny you say that 語氣意圖

哇，聽起來太棒了，你這麼說也挺巧的，

because whale watching has become popular in many coastal parts of the world. 講解

因為出海賞鯨在世界上許多沿海地區已經變得非常流行。

But watching whales is very different from what humans used to do, 文法

但是賞鯨與人類過去對牠們所做的事情截然不同，

hunt and kill them for their oil and meat,

過去人們為了獲取鯨油和鯨肉而獵殺牠們，

an activity known as whaling. 片語搭配

這項活動被稱為捕鯨。

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission's global moratorium. 講解

去年是國際捕鯨委員會發布全球禁令的40週年。

That's a temporary ban on the commercial killing of whales. 片語搭配

那是對商業捕殺鯨魚的臨時禁令。

Although Japan, Iceland, and Norway continue to hunt whales, 表達脈絡

儘管日本、冰島和挪威繼續捕鯨，

there's no doubt the ban has saved many whale species from extinction. 片語搭配

但毫無疑問，這項禁令拯救了許多免於滅絕的鯨魚物種。

In this program,

在本期節目中，

we'll discuss our past and present relationship with these giants of the ocean. 表達脈絡

我們將討論我們與這些海洋巨獸過去和現在的關係。

And as usual,

和往常一樣，

we'll learn some useful new words and phrases too.

我們也會學習一些有用的新單字和片語。

Plus, you'll find all the vocabulary for this episode,

此外，你可以在我們的網站 bbclearningenglish.com 上找到本期的所有詞彙，

along with a quiz and worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. 片語搭配

還有小測驗和練習表。

But first, 表達脈絡

但首先，

I have a question for you, Georgie.

我有一個問題想問你，Georgie。

You probably know that the world's largest whale is the blue whale,

你可能知道世界上最大的鯨魚是藍鯨，

growing up to 30 m long. 片語搭配

牠能長到30公尺長。

But which whale species is the smallest?

但是哪種鯨魚是最小的呢？

Is it A, the beluga whale,

是A，白鯨，

B, the vaquita whale,

B，小頭鼠海豚，

or C, the pygmy right whale?

還是C，小露脊鯨？

Well, pygmy makes me think small, 文法

嗯，「小（pygmy）」讓我聯想到體型小，

so I'm going to go with C, the pygmy right whale. 片語搭配

所以我選C，小露脊鯨。

Okay, we'll find out later in the program. 片語動詞

好的，我們稍後在節目中揭曉答案。

Humans have hunted whales for at least a thousand years, 片語搭配

人類獵殺鯨魚至少有一千年了，

starting with small groups of hunters in slow moving wooden boats. 表達脈絡

最開始是一小群獵人乘坐緩慢的木船出海。

Catching whales like this was often unsuccessful,

像這樣捕鯨經常是不成功的，

especially big whales like blue and humpback whales,

尤其是遇到像藍鯨和大翅鯨這樣的大型鯨魚，

which can swim up to 30 km/h.

牠們的游速可以達到30公里每小時。

But all that changed in the late 1800s 表達脈絡

但在19世紀末，這一切都改變了，

as Jayne Pierce of the South Georgia Heritage Trust

正如南喬治亞遺產信託基金會的 Jayne Pierce

explained to BBC Radio 4 program Rare Earth.

在 BBC Radio 4 的《Rare Earth》節目中所解釋的那樣。

Something happened in Norway in the late 1800s,

19世紀末，挪威發生了一件事，

a chap called Svend Foyn, who was a whaler, 用詞

一個叫 Svend Foyn 的傢伙，他是個捕鯨人，

he invented what we now know as the exploding harpoon. 講解

他發明了我們現在所說的爆炸魚叉。

And that was a turning point for the for the whale. 慣用語

這對鯨魚來說是一個轉折點（turning point）。

The whale couldn't stand a chance. 慣用語

鯨魚根本毫無勝算（couldn't stand a chance）。

In 1870, a chap, that's an informal word for a man,

在1870年，一個 chap（chap是man的非正式用語）

called Svend Foyn, invented the exploding harpoon,

名叫 Svend Foyn，發明了爆炸魚叉，

a weapon for killing whales.

這是一種用來獵殺鯨魚的武器。

This was a turning point.

這是一個轉折點（turning point）。

The phrase turning point means a time when a situation starts to change,

turning point 這個片語的意思是情況開始發生改變的時間點，

especially in a positive way,

特別是朝著積極的方向發展，

although sadly not in this case. 表達脈絡

儘管很遺憾，在這個例子中並非如此。

After this, the whales didn't stand a chance,

在此之後，鯨魚完全沒有勝算（didn't stand a chance），

meaning they had no chance of successfully avoiding the hunters.

意思就是牠們沒有成功躲避獵人的機會。

Foyn's exploding harpoon,

Foyn發明的爆炸魚叉，

added to the invention of faster steam-powered boats, 表達脈絡

加上速度更快的蒸汽動力船的發明，

increased whaling massively throughout the 20th century,

在整個20世紀讓捕鯨活動大規模增加，

to the point where over 3 million whales had been killed 表達脈絡

甚至導致超過300萬頭鯨魚被殺，

and many species faced extinction. 片語搭配

許多物種面臨滅絕。

By the 1970s, 表達脈絡

到了20世紀70年代，

there were only a few great whales left, 用詞

僅剩下少數幾頭大型鯨魚，

and environmental groups like Greenpeace started the Save the Whales campaign 文化背景

於是像綠色和平這樣環保組織發起了「拯救鯨魚」運動，

to make people aware of devastation in whale populations 片語搭配

讓人們意識到鯨魚族群遭受的毀滅性打擊

and the cruelty of whaling.

以及捕鯨的殘忍。

It became popular to listen to the song of the whale, 慣用語

聽「鯨歌」變得流行起來，

recordings of whales communicating at sea,

也就是鯨魚在海裡交流的錄音，

which sounds something like this.

聽起來有點像這樣。

Here's marine biologist Joe Roman discussing the Save the Whales campaign with BBC Radio 4's Rare Earth.

下面是海洋生物學家 Joe Roman 在 BBC Radio 4 的《Rare Earth》節目中討論「拯救鯨魚」運動。

People started thinking about whales in different ways. 片語搭配

人們開始用不同的方式思考鯨魚。

And then we have to give a shout out to activist groups like Greenpeace, 慣用語

我們必須向綠色和平等激進組織致敬（give a shout out），

who put their RIB boats, 文化背景

他們把充氣艇，

they put their Zodiacs in between Soviet hunting vessels and sperm whales,

把他們的十二生肖橡皮艇開到蘇聯捕獵船和抹香鯨之間，

and they were very good at media. 用詞

而且他們非常擅長利用媒體（good at media）。

Joe gives a shout-out to Greenpeace activists for protecting whales.

Joe 向保護鯨魚的綠色和平組織成員致敬（gives a shout-out）。

To give a shout-out to someone means to praise them in public.

To give a shout-out to someone 的意思是公開讚揚他們。

Videos and photos taken by Greenpeace changed public opinion about whaling. 片語搭配

綠色和平組織拍攝的影片和照片改變了大眾對捕鯨的看法。

Joe says Greenpeace were good at media,

Joe 說綠色和平組織 good at media，

meaning they skillfully used media outlets like TV and newspapers 用詞

意思是他們巧妙地利用了電視和報紙等媒體管道

to convey their message to the public. 片語搭配

向大眾傳達他們的訊息。

Many whale species are still endangered, 用詞

許多鯨魚物種仍然瀕臨滅絕，

and all whales still face danger from ocean acidification and plastic pollution. 片語搭配

所有的鯨魚仍然面臨著海洋酸化和塑膠污染的危險。

But the moratorium, that means the temporary suspension on hunting them,

但是暫停捕鯨（moratorium，意思就是暫時停止捕獵牠們）

has lasted 40 years 文法

已經持續了40年，

and hopefully will help protect whales for decades more. 片語搭配

而且希望在未來的幾十年裡能繼續幫助保護鯨魚。

Okay, Phil, isn't it time you revealed the answer to your question? 語氣意圖

好了，Phil，是不是該揭曉你問題的答案了？

Okay, I asked you which was the smallest species of whale. 文法

好的，我問過你最小的鯨魚是哪種。

And I said the pygmy right whale, didn't I? 語氣意圖

我說是小露脊鯨，對吧？

You did.

是的。

Unfortunately, the answer is actually the vaquita whale, 語氣意圖

不幸的是，答案其實是小頭鼠海豚（vaquita whale），

which is about 1.5 m long. 片語搭配

牠大概有1.5公尺長。

Oh, so cute.

喔，太可愛了。

Okay, let's recap the rest of the vocabulary we've learned. 片語搭配

好了，讓我們複習一下我們學過的其他詞彙。

A chap is an informal word for a man.

chap 是 man（男人）的非正式用語。

A turning point is when a situation starts to change,

turning point（轉折點）是指情況開始發生改變的時候，

especially for the better.

尤其是往好的方向發展。

If someone doesn't stand a chance,

如果有人 doesn't stand a chance（毫無勝算），

they have no chance of success.

意思就是他們沒有成功的機會。

To give a shout-out to someone means to publicly praise them.

To give a shout-out to someone（向某人致敬）的意思是公開讚揚他們。

And finally, if you're good at media,

最後，如果你 good at media（擅長媒體），

you are skillful at using media outlets to convey a message to the public.

意思就是你很擅長利用媒體管道向大眾傳達訊息。

Once again, our 6 minutes are up, 片語搭配

我們的6分鐘又到了，

but remember, you can find worksheets, quizzes, and loads more resources to improve your English 用詞

但請記住，你可以找到練習表、小測驗以及更多提高英語水平的資源，

on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

就在我們的網站 bbclearningenglish.com。

See you there soon, but for now, it's goodbye. 表達脈絡

稍後見，現在該說再見了。

Bye.

再見。

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

來自 bbclearningenglish.com 的《6分鐘英語》。