Lesson 69 The Finny Plaice
第69课 欧鲽鱼
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. "
欧鲽鱼就是“比目鱼”（俗称板鱼）的一种, 比目鱼的科类有箬鳎鱼、鲽鱼以及菱鲆等等。这种鱼的体长为12–18英寸, 重量大约为2–3磅。所有比目鱼都呈现相似的体态——就它的长度而言, 身体很宽很薄, 就像“板”一样。
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.
很多人都会错误地以为, 带有黄色或红色斑点的深棕色那一侧是比目鱼的背部, 而白色或下方一侧才是它的腹部。然而, 实际情况并非如此, 深色一侧是比目鱼的右侧, 白色一侧是左侧。
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.
你有没有看到每条“比目鱼”身体两侧, 几乎靠近中间的位置, 都有一条贯穿头尾的细线或标记? 这条细线将比目鱼真正的上方（或背部）, 与下方（或腹部）一分为二。
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.
通过前面关于比目鱼的课文, 你已经知道, 幼年比目鱼能够改变习性与外表。当欧鲽鱼处于幼年早期阶段时, 它笔直向前游泳, 两只眼睛跟其他鱼类一样分别长在身体两侧。不过很快, 它的大部分时间都在海底度过而且总是用左侧躺在海底。然后, 奇妙的事情发生了：它的左眼慢慢开始移动, 几周之后便来到了头部的上方, 与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.
欧鲽鱼的背部从头到尾与腹部分别长有一条鱼鳍。