RE5 Unit 6A · QUICKSILVER (水银之箭·蓝鳍金枪鱼)

Reading 6A · QUICKSILVER (水银之箭·蓝鳍金枪鱼)

点击任意句子开始点听与口语录音练习。恒温游动的大洋王者如何凭借流线身躯撕裂海流？全球寿司贸易又如何将其逼至绝境？

Title & Lead-in

Reading 6A, quick silver, prized for sushi, the fast and powerful Atlantic blue finchooner

阅读 6A：水银之箭（蓝鳍金枪鱼的生死狂澜）。大西洋蓝鳍金枪鱼是进化的极致奇迹——拥有鱼雷般的流线体型，在水中的爆发速度胜过纯种赛马。肯尼思·布劳尔深入调查这一正遭受围剿的海洋王者。

is being relentlessly overfished.

Kenneth Brower goes in search of the story behind the king of all fish.

Section 1: The King of Fish

spot in the waves overhead.

作为开阔大洋深处恒温的庞然巨物，蓝鳍金枪鱼专为撕裂水流的极速与跨洋壮举而生。与大多数冷血鱼类不同，蓝鳍金枪鱼能将其颅腔和核心红肌温度维持在远高于周围冰冷海水的水平。由于必须通过持续游动让海水冲过鳃部来摄取氧气，它从孵化出壳到生命终结的每一秒都绝不能停下游动的身躯。

Its beams shine down as if from stained glass.

The next moment the ocean is full of giant blue finchooner, the largest measuring over

four meters and weighing three-quarters of a ton.

In the seas refracted sunlight their pale sides flash and sparkle like polished shields

and their long, curved fins cut the water like swords.

Quick moving tail fins drive them forward at ten knots with bursts of speed to twenty-five

Section 2: Tagging a Giant

Here and there a small galaxy of scales marks where blue fins swallow to herring.

海洋生物学家芭芭拉·布洛克及其团队在北美海岸外为野生巨型蓝鳍金枪鱼植入定位追踪标。借助记录水深、水温和天文经度的精微电子芯片，科学家得以绘制出它们穿越整个大西洋盆地的震撼洄游航线。数据惊人地表明，大西洋东西两群金枪鱼在公海捕食场深度相融，如果公海远洋船队不受约束肆意捕杀，区域性渔业配额将彻底沦为空谈。

The victim scales swirl in the turbulence of the departed tuna, now heading off at high

speed.

The king of fish.

Tunas are streamlined to perfection and equipped with cutting-edge biological gear.

The characteristics that distinguish them include great size, great range, efficient swimming,

warm bodies, large gills, excellent regulation of heat, rapid oxygen uptake and a cleverly

adapted heart.

All of these reach their peak in the blue fin, the king of all fish, as Ernest Hemingway described

them, after seeing Atlantic blue fin off the coast of Spain.

Section 3: Uncertain Future

The three species of blue fin, the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern, are found in all the

在日益膨胀的全球高端刺身消费驱动下，配备先进声呐与侦察飞机的工业级围网船队已将蓝鳍金枪鱼逼至绝境。在过去的四十年里，成年繁殖种群数量呈悬崖式暴跌。倘若没有具备法律约束力的海洋庇护禁渔区与严厉的休渔限额，这位大洋王者极可能在本世纪结束前彻底绝迹。

oceans except around the north and south poles.

The blue fin is a modern fish, yet its relationship with humanity is ancient.

Japanese fishermen and the Haida people of the Pacific Northwest have caught Pacific blue

fin for more than five thousand years.

Stone Age artists painted Atlantic blue fin tuna on the walls of Sicilian caves.

Iron Age fishermen watched for the arrival of blue fin schools at their Mediterranean spawning

grounds, and ancient coins from that region have images of giant blue fin on them.

But this relationship with humans has lately been detrimental to the blue fin.

💡 6A Critical Thinking · 人类与蓝鳍金枪鱼的未来平衡 (P.127)

Evaluating Conservation Policies · 四种保护方案权衡

The Crisis: Bluefin tuna are among the most heavily overfished marine species on Earth. If more than a handful are to see the 22nd century, decisive policy shifts must happen before stocks plunge to zero.

Policy Alternatives:

Ban all commercial fishing: Allows populations to rebound rapidly, but may shift fishing pressure to other vulnerable species.
Protect key spawning sanctuaries: Lets juveniles mature in safety, though enforcement on the high seas is notoriously difficult.
Forbid restaurants and retail sales: Destroys consumer demand, but could inadvertently foster a lucrative black market.
Rely exclusively on sustainable ocean ranching: Lowers wild capture rates, yet artificial pens present genetic and environmental challenges.

Teacher's Guide · 教师用书权衡启迪

A multifaceted combination of strict satellite-monitored international catch quotas, expansive high-seas marine protected areas, and consumer boycotts of juvenile tuna offers the most resilient path to prevent irreversible collapse.

📝 6A 预习全真练习 (Preview Exercises)

Reading Comprehension Part A: Multiple Choice (P.126) Reading Comprehension Part B: Biological Anatomy (P.127) Reading Skill Part A: Context Clues (P.128) Reading Skill Part B: Word Meanings (P.128)

预习练习得分: 0 / 26 题

Reading Comprehension Part A: Multiple Choice (P.126)

READING COMPREHENSION · 事实细节

1. What unique biological trait distinguishes bluefin tuna from almost all other teleost fish?

READING COMPREHENSION · 事实细节

2. Why is the bluefin tuna biologically incapable of ever resting or stopping in the water?

READING COMPREHENSION · 科学推断

3. What surprising insight did electronic satellite tagging yield regarding Atlantic bluefin stocks?

READING COMPREHENSION · 捕捞危机

4. What modern industrial fishing technology has contributed most heavily to the bluefin collapse?

READING COMPREHENSION · 事实细节

5. According to Paragraph K, what physiological feature enables the bluefin to sustain explosive cruising speed?

READING COMPREHENSION · 篇章指代

6. In Paragraph N, why does the author compare the bluefin's movement to a 'silver missile'?

READING COMPREHENSION · 主题主旨

7. What decisive conservation policy is proposed to prevent the extinction of bluefins?

Reading Comprehension Part B: Biological Anatomy (P.127)