How whales breathe, communicate ... and fart with their faces - Joy Reidenberg

翻译人员: JIN锦금 Qian钱전 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

Hi, everybody!

大家好！

I am a comparative anatomist.

我是一个比较解剖学家。

A comparative anatomist is someone who studies the structure of the body

比较解剖学家的工作是研究 各种不同动物的

of lots of different animals.

身体结构。

而我最喜欢的动物是鲸鱼。

And my favorite animals are whales.

I like to study whales because they're so interesting.

我喜欢研究鲸鱼是因为它们实在太有趣了。

They've adapted to a unique environment of living in the water.

它们适应了生活在水中这样独特的环境。

And what I'm going to tell you about is how whales make sounds

今天我要给大家讲的是鲸鱼的发声方式，

by basically farting with their face.

基本上就是“用它们的脸放屁”。

You know that they do this farting thing with their blowhole;

我们知道鲸鱼是通过气孔来排气；

they blow out air like that,

像这样喷气，

而它们也将空气用于 其他很多不同的用途。

but they also use air in lots of other ways.

它们用气来发声， 也就是后面我将重点谈到的，

They use it for sound production, which is what I'll focus on,

我同时也研究很多关于 鲸鱼运用空气的其他方面，

but I also study other things they do with air,

例如它们如何避免空气 在血流中产生气泡，

like keep it out of their bloodstream so they don't get bubbles,

而免于像人类潜水员潜水时

which is what happens to human scuba divers

有患上减压病的风险。

when they get decompression sickness.

我想先从关于鲸鱼如何发出

But I'd like to start with the story

of how these animals make these farting noises,

这种屁声说起，

而首先我们要理解观察鲸鱼 是一件多么困难的事情，

and that story begins with understanding how hard it is to look at whales,

because they live underwater and they're really big,

因为它们生活在水下，并且如此巨大,

so they're hard animals to study.

所以它们是很难研究的动物。

And in this picture -- you see that animal in the middle?

在这幅照片里， 看到中间那个动物了吗？

That's a baby whale and it's already the size of a bus!

那是一只鲸鱼小宝宝， 但已经有一辆公车那么大个子了。

When you look at whales, start with the top of their head

观察鲸鱼要从头顶看起，

because their nose is on the top of their head,

因为它们的鼻子就在头顶，

kind of like a built-in snorkel.

像一个内置浮潜装备。

They breathe through that because they're mammals

它们用那个东西呼吸， 因为它们是哺乳动物，

and mammals breathe air.

哺乳动物需要呼吸空气。

它们的鼻子可以打开或关闭，

Their nose can be opened and closed,

as if you were to pinch it like this.

有点儿像这样子捏你的鼻子。

You can see it's open in the bottom frame, where the red arrows are.

你可以看到右下那张图片红箭头处， 指示的是开启状态。

But not all whales have two nostrils.

但不是所有的鲸鱼都有两个鼻孔。

鲸目动物包含海豚科和鼠海豚科，

Whales include the groups of dolphins and porpoises,

and dolphins and porpoises, the small whales,

而海豚科和鼠海豚科动物， 这些小个子鲸目动物，

have only one nostril on the top of their head,

只有一个鼻孔，位于头顶，

and they open and close that nostril

它们开合这个鼻孔的方式

by taking what is essentially an upper lip, like this,

是用这个本质上属于上唇的器官， 像这样子，

and turning it back over their nose, like this.

翻到鼻孔上，像这样。

That's how they open and close their nose.

它们是这样子开合鼻孔的。

So when they make sounds,

所以当它们发声的时候，

what they're basically doing is a raspberry,

基本上它们是在“咂舌”，

(Makes raspberry sound) which is kind of like a fart, right?

（咂舌声）， 有点儿像是放屁对吧？

Or up in New York, we call it a Bronx cheer.

或者在纽约的话， 我们可以称之为“Bronx cheer”。

And the way they do that

它们发出这种声音的方法是

is by taking that big, fatty structure of a big fat lip,

用那个肥厚的唇状结构，

which, as you can see here in this picture,

你可以从这张海豚图片纵剖图片看到，

那个肥厚的唇状结构，

which is a cut through the middle of a dolphin's head,

that big fat lip is that big yellow portion there,

就是这个黄色的部分，

and they roll it back and forth over the top of their nose

在鼻子上方来回翻动，

so that they vibrate it,

这部分制造了这种震动音，

kind of like when you let the air out of a balloon

有点像你给气球放气时

发出的那种震动音。

and it makes that weird vibration sound.

这就是它们发出的声音 ：

So this is what it sounds like when they make their noise:

(Vibration noise)

（震动音）

听到了吗？在它面对镜头的 时候还能再听到一次。

Hear it? He'll do it again when he faces the camera.

（震动音）

(Vibration noise)

Sounds like it's farting underwater.

听起来就像它在水下放屁。

What that dolphin is actually doing, though, is echolocation,

而实际上那只海豚是在用

which is making these series of pulses,

这一连串脉冲音进行回声定位，

and it uses it like a bat uses sonar.

就像蝙蝠用声纳定位一样。

Well, a bat uses radar, but when it's underwater it's sonar,

不过蝙蝠用的是雷达， 但在水下用的是声纳，

so this animal is using sonar to see its world in sound.

所以海豚是在用声纳， 用声音的方式来观察它的世界。

Trying to understand how this works, you have to look at it

想要理解其中的原理，

我们需要将它看做 一个音响系统中的功放音箱。

as if you were looking at the amplifier speakers of a sound system.

小型齿鲸基本上像是“高音喇叭”，

The small-toothed whales are basically the "tweeters,"

and the sound is coming from that little nose

它们的声音就发自那个

that's moving back and forth and coming out of their forehead.

前后移动的小鼻子，从额头发出来。

But the big whales are kind of like the "woofers,"

而那些大个子鲸鱼则像是“低音炮”，

the big speakers that you have in an amplifier system.

像是功放系统中的大音箱。

And what's happening is their sound is coming out of the throat.

它们的声音则是从喉咙中发出来的。

So if you tried to make sound like a whale --

所以当你试图模仿鲸鱼的声音时——

make a sound right now, and go, "ahhhhhh."

我们现在来发一下这个声音， “啊————”

OK, now put your hand on your throat, on your Adam's apple.

这样把你的手放在喉咙上， 放在喉结的位置。

You feel that vibration right there?

感觉到震动了吗？

That is lost energy for you,

你这样做其实是在白白消耗能量，

because that's not how you communicate to everybody.

因为这不是交流的正确方式。

You do it out of the mouth.

你通常是从嘴里发出声音。

But if you open your mouth underwater, no one will hear you.

但是如果你在水下张嘴， 没人能听到你的声音。

You have to be able to take this energy and amplify it through the water.

你需要能利用这个能量 并在水中进行放大。

这就是鲸鱼的做法。

That's what whales do.

And when you hear their sound --

当你听到它们的叫声——

（鲸鱼的声音）听到了吗？

(Squeaking sound)

it's kind of like when you squeak the air out of a balloon.

有点像你把空气从气球里面 挤出来的吱吱声。

它们发出很多这种吱吱声：

So they get a lot of squeaky noises,

但它们还会发出这种声音：

but they also have this sound:

(Vibrating sound)

（鲸鱼的声音）

It sounds like it's farting, doesn't it?

听起来像是在放屁，不是么？

It's like it's got this giant whoopee cushion in its throat.

就好像嗓子里有一个巨大的“whoopee cushion” （恶作剧用的放屁气球）。

So, how do you know that's what a whale is doing?

那么，我们是怎么知道鲸鱼在做什么呢？

Well, we study whales that come to us from strandings.

我们从搁浅的鲸鱼开始研究。

These are animals that die on the beach.

这些家伙被困在沙滩上缺水而死。

Small whales like dolphins and porpoises are easy;

研究那些小型鲸类，比如海豚或鼠海豚 比较容易；

我们可以把它们运回实验室。

we can take them to the lab.

But the big whales -- we've got to bring the lab to the whale.

而对于那些死掉的大型鲸鱼， 我们得把实验室运到鲸鱼这边。

And this is what that looks like.

这就是整个现场。

I'm the one in the middle with the red hat.

我就是中间那个戴红帽子的人。

I'm not a very tall person,

我个子不是很高，

so you can see how big this whale was compared to me.

跟我对比一下你们就能看出 这个鲸鱼有多大。

这头鲸鱼有差不多20米长。

The whale is 65 feet long.

And my scalpel is this little tool on the side here.

旁边这个小玩意儿就是我的手术刀。

It basically looks like a hockey stick with a blade on the end of it.

它长得像是个头上安了刀片的曲棍球棒。

And doing a dissection of a whale is a very difficult process.

解剖鲸鱼是一个非常困难的过程。

You literally have to get into your work.

你需要整个“进入”到这个工作对象里去。

It's kind of like a giant bloody construction zone.

有点儿像个巨大而血腥的建筑工地。

You're wearing a hard hat,

你带着安全帽，

you're working with heavy machinery.

操纵着重型机械。

In this case, by the way,

顺便说一下，在这个照片里

that's just the voice box of a blue whale.

图上这个东西仅仅是个蓝鲸的喉部。

Just the voice box.

仅仅是喉部。

I'm only five feet tall -- you can see it's like 12 feet long.

我身高只有1米5， 这个东西差不多有3.6米长。

How do we know what's going on?

我们怎么研究的呢？

我们会观察喉部结构，或者说声带，

Well, we look at the voice box, or larynx,

and we see -- this is from a baby whale so it's much smaller.

这是一个鲸鱼幼崽的喉部，所以小得多。

You see this little u-shaped thing I've outlined in blue.

可以看到这个蓝线描出了一个U形部分。

That's the part that's vibrating.

这就是振动的部分。

It's kind of like our vocal folds.

有点像我们的声带。

When I put my hand in there, where that blue sleeve is,

当我把手，就是那个蓝色的袖子， 伸进去的时候，

you can see there's a sack underneath it.

可以看到下面有一个袋子。

这就是那个“放屁袋”。

That's the whoopee cushion.

That's the air bubble or the balloon.

这就是气泡，或者说气囊。

So what these animals are doing --

鲸鱼是这么发声的，来看下这张图——

and you can see, there's this big black balloon in the throat,

它嗓子里有个标为黑色的大气囊，

标为蓝色的是消化道，

where the digestive tract, which is in blue,

与之衔接的标为浅蓝色的是呼吸道。

meets the breathing tract, which is in light blue,

也就是说消化道和呼吸道 在气囊处交汇。

and right in the middle is that black sack.

These animals are using that sack to make these sounds.

鲸鱼正是用这个气囊 来发出这些声音的。

And so they vibrate that and send it out.

它们通过震动气囊发出声音。

Small-toothed whales also have air sacks; they're all over their heads,

小齿鲸鱼也有气囊； 都位于它们的头顶，

so it's like they're airheads.

看起来就像排气孔。

They use this to capture as much air as they can

它们用这个气囊存储尽可能多的空气，

to take down with them when they're diving,

带着这些空气潜入水中，

because when you dive, pressures increase,

因为在潜水时压力会增大，

and that decreases the volume of air you have available.

这样就减小了可用空气的体积。

But more importantly,

更重要的是，

having that sack allows them to recycle the air that they're using,

这个气囊还能回收它们所使用的空气，

because air is a precious commodity.

因为空气是非常珍贵的。

你不会想总是游回到水面去吸气。

You don't want to have to go back up to the surface to get more.

所以如果你是鲸鱼，想在水下发声，

So when you make a sound underwater, if you're a whale --

let's hear you start making a sound, go "ahhhh."

我们现在来发这个声音“啊————”

But whales keep their mouths closed, so go "ahhhmm."

但是鲸鱼是闭着嘴的， 就变成了”呣————“

(Audience makes noise)

（观众学着发声）

You're all humming, right?

就变成哼哼了对吧？

但是鲸鱼同时还闭着鼻子， 就成了"呣……"

But whales keep their nose closed and go, "mmmm."

(Makes noise)

What happened?

（观众学发鼻音）

现在发生什么了呢？

You can't make the sound anymore once you close your nose

你发不出声音了，因为你堵上了鼻子之后

整个系统被加压了。

because you've pressurized the system.

Whales, by having air sacks, keep themselves from pressurizing the system,

而鲸鱼通过气囊来避免 在呼吸系统中加压，

which means the air continues to flow,

这意味着空气可以继续流动，

and so if you had a bag on the end of your nose,

如果你在鼻子后侧也有个袋子，

you'd be able to make air continue to flow.

你也能让空气继续流动。

我希望你们喜欢这个演讲。

So I hope you've enjoyed that.

That's what a comparative anatomist does for a living.

这就是一个比较解剖学家的工作内容。

We study the structure of these animals.

我们研究动物的结构。

我们试图模仿这些动物 并（将仿生学技术）应用于人类，

We try to mimic it; we apply it back to the human situation,

maybe making new technologies for protective devices

也许可以给保护装置开发新技术，

或者开发出新的药物治疗方案。

or maybe even making new treatments for medicines

for people's diseases who mimic these weird environments.

应用于有着类似的奇怪状况的人类疾病。

So I hope you enjoyed that. Thank you.

我希望你们喜欢这个演讲。谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）