離開
進入中英對照讀新聞》Scientists are learning the basic building blocks of sperm whale language 科學家正在學習抹香鯨語言的基本結構
抹香鯨是海洋的「交際王」，有著與人類相似的社交模式，甚至有家族。（美聯社）
◎陳成良
Scientists who study the sperm whales living around the Caribbean island of Dominica have, for the first time, outlined the basic elements of how these whales might communicate with each other.
研究加勒比海多米尼克島附近抹香鯨的科學家，首次勾勒出牠們可能如何相互交流的基本要素。
They communicate by forcing air through their respiratory systems, producing rapid clicks that sound like a very loud zipper underwater. These clicks also serve as a form of echolocation, aiding them in tracking their prey.
牠們透過呼吸系統擠壓空氣，發出快速的點擊聲，這些聲音在水下聽起來像是極度響亮的拉鍊聲。這些點擊聲也被用作回聲定位，幫助牠們追蹤獵物。
Scientists have spent decades attempting to decipher the meaning behind these clicks, with only minimal success. While their understanding remains limited, they now believe that certain sequences of clicks may form a “phonetic alphabet” that sperm whales use to construct the equivalent of words and phrases in human language.
科學家們已經花了數十年試圖解讀這些點擊聲的含義，但進展甚微。儘管了解有限，他們現在相信，某些點擊聲的序列可能構成1個「語音字母表」，抹香鯨可用它來構建類似於人類語言中的單字和片語。
新聞辭典
echolocation：名詞，（蝙蝠等動物的）回聲定位。例句：Dolphins locate underwater creatures using echolocation.（海豚利用回聲定位來確定水下生物的位置。）
equivalent：名詞，相等物；等價物。例句：A dime is the equivalent of two nickels.（1角硬幣等於2個5分鎳幣。）
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