10-15 来自另一个世界的歌声

Melody1 from the Other World

In October on the east coast of Australia migrating humpback whales2 pass very close to the shore. With the help of Max Egan, we went to film them near Byron Bay. It was incredibly exciting to spot the little puffs3 of spray on the horizon -- the tell-tale4 blow of a whale. When migrating, the whales can be traveling at speeds of about 12 km/hour and can dive under for anywhere between five and forty minutes, but with many years of experience Max usually guided our boat to exactly the right place to provide us with spectacular5 sighting. As the whales break the surface like submarines, the water spill off their broad dark backs and huge tails. Then, with a powerful downstroke6, they dive back into the depths of the sea, leaving just a smooth glassy patch of water or “footprint” on the surface to indicate where they had been.

On one day we had traveled up and down the shore and far out to sea in search of whales, but the horizon was deserted 2. There was no report of whales in the area so we decided 3 to test out Max’ new, highly sensitive hydrophone7 and the result was astonishing. As soon as the hydrophone was in the water, we found ourselves listening to the most beautiful voices. What may have seemed like a vast empty ocean was filled with the singing of whales.

It is the males which sing, as they migrate between feeding and breeding grounds. No one knows for sure what the purpose of these songs is, whether they are love songs to the females or warnings to other males to stay away, but they have a mesmerizing8, other-worldly9 quality. Like musical notes in a human song, whales use about twenty syllables10, uttered in patterns called “motifs 611”. Two or three motifs make up a phrase, and in turn, several of these make up a theme. The songs are composed of several different themes and while the basic song is continually repeated, the individual phrases can vary considerably 7 in length, which means each song can last nearly an hour.

It was thought that each population of humpbacks had its own song which remained constant but recent findings suggest that the whales appreciate a catchy 812 tune 9 and quickly adopt any new songs they hear.

注释：

1. melody [5melEdi] n. 美妙的音乐，悦耳的声音

2. humpback [5hQmpbAk] whale [动] 座头鲸

3. puff 1 [pQf] n.（空气、烟雾、气味等的）一股

4. tell- tale [5telteil] a. 泄露秘密的，暴露内情的

5. spectacular [spek5tAkjulE] a. 壮观的，壮丽的

6. downstroke [5daun7strEuk] n. 向下的一击

7. hydrophone [5haidrEfEun] n. 水听器，水下测音器

8. mesmerize 10 [5mezmEraiz] vt. 迷惑，迷住

9. other-worldly [5QTE 5wE:ldli] a. 非现实世界的

10. syllable 4 [5silEbl] n. [语] 音节

11. motif 5 [mEu5ti:f] n. [音] 动机，乐旨

12. catchy [5kAtFi] a. 容易记住的，引起注意（或兴趣）的

来自另一个世界的歌声

每年的10月份，迁徙的座头鲸都会游到离澳大利亚东海岸很近的地方。在马克斯·伊根的帮助下，我们来到拜伦湾附近拍摄鲸的风采。发现一个个小水柱在海平面喷射真是一件令人兴奋不已的事情——那是鲸出现了。鲸在迁徙时的速度可以达到约12公里/小时，而且能下潜到水中任何地方达5到40分钟不等，但有着多年丰富经验的马克斯却常常能将我们的船准确地开到鲸出没的水域，使我们有幸目睹那壮观的景象。当鲸像潜水艇一般浮出海面时，海水从它们宽阔的黑色脊背和硕大的尾部落下。随后，它们又一猛子扎入深邃的大海，将一片光滑晶莹的细浪或者说“足迹”留在海面，表示它们曾到此一游。

有一天，我们的船沿着海岸线来回行驶，然后又出海去寻找鲸，但是海面上却无声无息，没有鲸在这个水域出没的任何信息。于是我们决定测试一下马克斯新的高灵敏度水中听音器。结果令我们惊奇万分。我们刚刚将听音器放入水中，耳边便传来了世上最美妙的歌声。曾经似乎是空旷无际的海洋充满了鲸的歌声。

这是雄鲸从觅食地到繁殖地迁徙过程中的歌唱。没有人知晓这些歌的真实目的，是向雌鲸奉献的情歌？抑或是让其他雄鲸远离的警告？不管怎样，这迷人的歌声仿佛是来自另一个世界。如同人类谱写的音符，鲸的歌曲用大约20个音节，不同的组合构成一个个“乐旨”。每两个或三个乐旨构成一个乐句。若干个乐句组成一个主题。鲸的歌由几个不同的主题组成，基本曲调被不断地重复，但各乐句长度可能大不相同，这意味着每一首歌可以持续将近一个小时。

人们曾经认为每个座头鲸群有着自己群体不变的基本曲调。但是最新的研究却发现鲸喜欢容易记住的旋律，而且会很快学唱它们听到的新歌。