評論
打印
But he cannot in any degree breathe through his mouth, for, in his ordinary attitude, the Sperm Whale's mouth is buried at least eight feet beneath the surface; and what is still more, his windpipe has no connexion with his mouth. No, he breathes through his spiracle alone; and this is on the top of his head.
不過，不管怎樣，它是不能用嘴呼吸的，因為，按它通常的狀態(tài)說來，抹香鯨的嘴巴深藏在水面之下至少有八英尺的地方，而且，它的氣管跟嘴巴又毫無聯(lián)系。不，它只靠那只噴水孔呼吸，而那只噴水孔卻長在頭頂。
If I say, that in any creature breathing is only a function indispensable to vitality, inasmuch as it withdraws from the air a certain element, which being subsequently brought into contact with the blood imparts to the blood its vivifying principle, I do not think I shall err; though I may possibly use some superfluous scientific words. Assume it, and it follows that if all the blood in a man could be aerated with one breath, he might then seal up his nostrils and not fetch another for a considerable time. That is to say, he would then live without breathing. Anomalous as it may seem, this is precisely the case with the whale, who systematically lives, by intervals, his full hour and more (when at the bottom) without drawing a single breath, or so much as in any way inhaling a particle of air; for, remember, he has no gills. How is this? Between his ribs and on each side of his spine he is supplied with a remarkable involved Cretan labyrinth of vermicelli-like vessels, which vessels, when he quits the surface, are completely distended with oxygenated blood.
如果我說，任何一種動物的呼吸就是生命的不可或缺的職能，因此，它從空氣中吸收到了一種要素后，就使它跟血液接觸，把它的富有生氣的要素灌輸給血液，我想我大概是沒有說錯的；雖則我也許還可以用上若干羅里羅唆的科學(xué)詞匯。如果是這樣，那么接著而來就是，如果一口氣就能把人體的全部血液都充以空氣的話，那么人類也許可以封起鼻孔，好久不需要再吸進(jìn)另一口氣了。這就是說，他從此可以不要呼吸而活下去。盡管這事情看來也許頗為反常，可是，大鯨就正是這般情況。大鯨在海底的時候，能夠在一個多鐘頭的時間里不需吸一口氣，或者可以說一點點氣都用不著吸，而能夠照常生活下去；因為，請記住，它是沒有鰓的。這究竟是怎么回事呢？因為在它的肋骨間和脊骨的兩邊，它裝備有一件特別的東西，如同克里特島人做管狀面的那種曲曲折折的器皿一般，這些器皿，當(dāng)它離開水面的時候，就已經(jīng)完全脹滿充有氧氣的血液了。
