3.公牛鲨
A bull shark is related to the tiger and lemon shark, and all are smaller members of the shark family. They can grow to be up to 11.5 feet long and weigh between 200 and 500 pounds. They prefer shallow water, which is bad news for humans in coastal areas because bull sharks are also very aggressive. Bull sharks have even been found half way up the Amazon River because they don’t mind freshwater like other species. It is this that makes the bull shark the most dangerous shark in the world. A bull shark will eat anything it can catch, including other sharks. They frequent waters that are also frequented by humans, and while they do not attack humans to eat them, they have been known to attack people, possibly inadvertently.
公牛鲨与虎鲨、柠檬鲨是近亲，它们都是鲨鱼家族中较小的成员。它们可以长到11.5英尺长，体重在200到500吨之间。它们生性凶猛，且更喜欢在浅水域活动，这对于居住在沿海地区的人们来说是个不幸的消息。公牛鲨甚至出没于亚马逊河流，因为它们可以像其它物种一样，在淡水中生活。正是这一点习性，使公牛鲨成为世界上最危险的鲨鱼。公牛鲨捕食一切其可抓获的生物，包括其它的鲨鱼。它们经常出现在人类光顾的水域中，并不会为了捕食而攻击人类，虽然此类攻击事件也偶有发生。
Even though they are smaller than other sharks, a bull shark can bite harder than other larger sharks, including its dangerous cousins the great white shark and the tiger shark. Bull sharks can bite with a force equivalent to 6,000 N. It is not understood why the bull shark has such a strong bite, as 6,000 N of force is much more than necessary to easily hunt and eat. A force of that strength is not needed for the type of prey a bull shark eats. It is thought, perhaps, to give the smaller shark a greater advantage earlier in life, as it allows it to eat more kinds of prey. It is also possible that it is an adaptation because visibility is often low in the water that bull sharks are found hunting in. No matter what the explanation is, one thing is certain and that is that you cannot tell a shark’s bite by its size.
虽然公牛鲨的体型不及其它鲨鱼，但它们比其它大鲨鱼更为凶猛，包括它们危险的表兄弟——大白鲨和虎鲨。公牛鲨的咬合力可达6000牛顿，足以应付捕猎和进食，难以想象它们是如何练就了这副“好牙口”。以公牛鲨捕食的猎物类型来看，它们并不需要如此强大的咬合力。据猜测，也许先前赐予这类小鲨鱼更大的优势，是为了让它们捕食更多种类的猎物。另一种可能性是，公牛鲨的视力很差，所以为了适应捕食环境，它们变得极具攻击性。无论是什么原因，有一点值得肯定的是，鲨鱼也不可貌相呀。
2.蓝鲸
The blue whale is the largest mammal to have ever lived on Earth, and it is still swims our oceans today despite being endangered. A blue whale’s tongue weighs as much as an elephant, and their hearts can weigh as much as a Volkswagen Beetle. It’s full body weight can be up to 200 tons, which is the approximate weight of 33 elephants. Blue whales often swim peacefully through the ocean at around five miles per hour. However, if a blue whale becomes agitated or threatened, it can swim up to 20 miles per hour. To put that into perspective, when Usain Bolt runs 100 m he runs it at an average of 23.35 miles per hour, and he definitely does not weigh 200 tons. Because of their swimming speed, blue whales are very strong. Blue whales also migrate from the polar waters in the summer down to the Equator in the winter. By pure brute strength alone, the blue whale is the strongest animal in the world. The blue whale is not only large, it is loud and it is able to make a sound of almost 190 decibels. 190 decibels is so loud that it is on the high side of noise level a gun might make and if humans were able to hear it it would cause immediate damage to our hearing. This level of sound also means that one whale can hear the sounds of another even as far as 1,600 kilometers away.
蓝鲸是地球上体积最大的哺乳动物，虽说濒临灭绝，我们仍可以在大海之中看到它们畅游的身影。蓝鲸的一条舌头就相当于一头大象的重量，其心脏的重量堪比一辆金龟车（Volkswagen Beetle）。整体重量高达200吨，近乎33头大象的重量！蓝鲸通常以每小时5英里的速度在大海里悠哉地游着。但如果它感觉受到了威胁， 前进时速则可达到20英里。形象地说，尤塞恩·博尔特(Usain Bolt，译注：奥运会冠军，男子100米、200米世界纪录保持者)百米冲刺的速度为每小时23.35英里，但他可没有200吨的体重。鉴于它们的游泳速度，蓝鲸也是不容小觑的海洋生物。蓝鲸有季节性洄游的习性，夏季游向两极，冬季又游回赤道。单论蛮力，蓝鲸是世界上最强壮的动物。它们不仅体型庞大，声音也十分洪亮， 可以发出190分贝的叫声。这一高分贝的声音相当于喷射器飞行时发出的噪音，这一等级的声音刺激会对人耳听力造成直接损伤。这种分贝等级的声音也意味着，两头鲸即便远隔1600千米也能听到对方的声音。
Despite their size and power, blue whales are occasionally attacked by sharks and killer whales.
尽管蓝鲸体型庞大，力大无穷，但它们仍会偶尔遭到鲨鱼或捕鲸手的袭击。
1.湾鳄
The saltwater crocodile is the largest living crocodile in the world reaching 17 feet and up to 1,000 pounds, but it is not unheard of to find a 23-foot crocodile weighing 2,000 pounds. Saltwater crocodiles are found mostly in the South Pacific in India, Asia and northern Australia. While they are happy to live in the sea, they are also spotted in fresh water. They are excellently camouflaged and will wait low in the water for prey to appear. They can reach speeds of 18 kilometers per hour over short distances in the water, but they are slow moving on land. Saltwater crocodiles will also swim across vast expanses of ocean to reach new territory. Saltwater crocodiles live very long lives, some live to be 100 years old.
湾鳄是世界上现存的最大型的鳄鱼，身长可达17英尺，体重可达1000磅，但人们曾发现过长23英尺、重2000磅的巨型鳄。湾鳄常出没于南太平洋沿岸的印度、东南亚地区及澳大利亚北部。尽管它们大都生活在浅海地区，但你也能在淡水域发现它们。湾鳄精于伪装，它们会潜伏在水底，等待猎物出现。它们在水中短途行进的时速可达18公里，但在陆地上却行动迟缓。湾鳄还会游过浩瀚无垠的大海去开辟新领地。同时，湾鳄也相当长寿，有些可以活到100岁。
A saltwater crocodile will eat anything that comes too close, including humans. While humans aren’t usually on the menu, a human who gets too close to a crocodile risks becoming a main dish for a hungry croc. It may be easy to mistake a crocodile for a partially submerged log thanks to its natural camouflage and patient nature, but many attacks can be avoided if humans respect their natural habitats.A saltwater crocodile has the largest bite force that has ever been measured, and some scientists suggest that this may rival the extinct dinosaur the Tyrannosaurus rex. A crocodile has an extremely powerful bite, and it exerts pressure of 3,700 pounds per square inch. Scientists think that crocodiles have always had a powerful bite, and this is why they have survived so long. They are currently one of the most ancient reptiles still in existence. The extinct crocodile Deinosuchus has an estimated bite force of 23,100 pounds per square inch. When you think about that, maybe the ‘salties’ of northern Australia aren’t so bad after all.
湾鳄会捕食一切靠近它的东西，包括人类。虽然一般来说人类不在湾鳄的菜单之列，但一旦触及“雷区”，也很容易成为饥肠辘辘的湾鳄的腹中餐。由于它们天生的伪装术和耐心，我们很容易把它误以为是浮在水面的一截木头。但只要人们尊重它们的习性，很多袭击事件都是可以避免的。现有的测量数据显示，湾鳄具有最强的咬合力，一些科学家推测它们的咬合力都能同已灭绝了的雷克斯霸王龙（Tyrannosaurus rex）相媲美。其强悍的咬合力可达 3700磅/平方英尺。科学家们认为，它们能存活如此之久得益于这副“好牙口”。毋庸置疑，湾鳄是现存最古老的爬行动物之一。而早已灭绝的恐鳄，据估计有每平方英尺23100磅的咬合力。对比之下，你就会发现，澳大利亚北部的“小咸咸”（指湾鳄，澳大利亚称为“salties”）并没有那么凶残。
The animals of our oceans are varied and some poorly understood. They reach weights of thousands of tons, and some are the size of school busses. Even though some of the most powerful animals on Earth live in the dark depths of the sea, they may still be endangered. The greatest threat to the most powerful animals and fish on Earth isn’t their predators, but humans. Humans have been hunting whales and other sea animals for thousands of years. But recent poaching and overfishing has led to a serious decline in the populations of whales, sharks and other important sea animals. Despite being illegal, fisherman still kill 2,000 whales per year. Hollywood films portray some of these animals as blood thirsty creatures, but in reality, many of these animals would rather that humans respected their environment so that they would never meet us at all.
海洋中的动物种类繁多，有一些都鲜为人知。它们可重达上千吨，有的体型堪比一辆校车。这些地球上最强大的动物尽管栖息在海洋深处，却仍逃脱不了濒临灭绝的命运。对于地球上最厉害的动物和鱼类来说，最大的威胁不是捕食者，而是人类。千百年来，人类一直在捕杀鲸和其它海洋生物。但是最近人类偷猎和过度捕捞越发猖狂，导致鲨鱼和其它重要的海洋生物数量锐减。即使有法律明令禁止，渔民每年仍会猎杀2000头鲸鱼。好莱坞电影把一些动物描绘成了嗜血“杀手”，但是现实中，这些动物只希望人类可以尊重它们的栖息环境，互不侵犯，各自安好。
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