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Lesson 69 The Finny Plaice
第69課 歐鰈魚
The plaice is one of the fishes that we call "flat fishes, "such as the sole, the flounder, and the turbot. It is from twelve to eighteen inches long, and weighs about two or three pounds. As in all the flat fishes, the body is very broad in proportion to its length, and very thin or "flat. "
歐鰈魚就是“比目魚”（俗稱板魚）的一種, 比目魚的科類有箬鰨魚、鰈魚以及菱鲆等等。這種魚的體長為12–18英寸, 重量大約為2–3磅。所有比目魚都呈現相似的體態——就它的長度而言, 身體很寬很薄, 就像“板”一樣。
Most people make the mistake of thinking that the dark-brown side of the plaice, with its yellow or red spots, is the back of the fish, and that the white or under side is its belly. But this is not so: the dark part is really the right side of the fish, and the white part is its left side.
很多人都會錯誤地以為, 帶有黃色或紅色斑點的深棕色那一側是比目魚的背部, 而白色或下方一側才是它的腹部。然而, 實際情況并非如此, 深色一側是比目魚的右側, 白色一側是左側。
Can you see a line or mark near the middle of each side of this "flat fish, " reaching from its head to its tail ? This line divides the real upper side or back from the real lower side or belly of the fish.
你有沒有看到每條“比目魚”身體兩側, 幾乎靠近中間的位置, 都有一條貫穿頭尾的細線或標記? 這條細線將比目魚真正的上方（或背部）, 與下方（或腹部）一分為二。
In the Lesson on the sole in your last book, you were told how the young flat fish changes its habits and appearance. When the plaice is very young, it swims upright, or on its edge. It has then an eye on each side of its head, just like other fishes. But soon it begins to spend most of its time on the bottom of the sea, and there it lies always on its left side. Then, wonderful to say, the left eye very slowly works its way round, until after some weeks it is on the upper side of the head along with the right eye.
通過前面關于比目魚的課文, 你已經知道, 幼年比目魚能夠改變習性與外表。當歐鰈魚處于幼年早期階段時, 它筆直向前游泳, 兩只眼睛跟其他魚類一樣分別長在身體兩側。不過很快, 它的大部分時間都在海底度過而且總是用左側躺在海底。然后, 奇妙的事情發生了：它的左眼慢慢開始移動, 幾周之后便來到了頭部的上方, 與右眼并排固定在一起。
The plaice has a single fin, stretching along its back like a fringe nearly all the way from its head to its tail, and a similar fin along its belly.
歐鰈魚的背部從頭到尾與腹部分別長有一條魚鰭。
