24.High School English Listening

The movie Jaws was so frightening that many peoplewho saw the film swore off swimming in the ocean.
Consequently, when most people think of fearsome seacreatures, sharks come immediately to mind.
Less well remembered is the movie Piranha, a Jawsknock-off that featured deadly tropical fish terrorizing a small-town river.
But while Piranha themovie may have been toothless, in real life its featured predators put sharks and all other aquatic creatures to shame when it comes to underwater ferocity.
Piranha are native to South American freshwater rivers.
Although legends abound about theireating prowess, most of the twenty species of piranha are actually vegetarian.
They are flat, oval-shaped fish that grow from ten to approximately twenty-four inches in length.
The four species of piranha that are carnivorous, however, certainly earn their reputation as fiercefish.
These meat-eaters have powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth that fit together like cuttingshears when they bite.
Piranha travel and hunt in schools of about twenty fish, and can engage in impressive feedingfrenzies when aroused by blood or commotion in the water.
Carnivorous piranha will eat anything from other fish to large mammals such as cows and even jaguars that wander too far into thewater.
Although flesh-eating piranhas sometimes attack people, humans tend to have the last laugh.
In South America and elsewhere piranha are considered fine eating fish.
It’s safe to say that many more piranha are eaten by people than the other way around.
译文：
电影《大白鲨》是如此可怕，以至于许多看过这部电影的人都发誓不再在海里游泳。
因此，当大多数人想到可怕的海洋生物时，就会立即想到鲨鱼。
鲜为人知的是电影《食人鱼》，这是一部以致命的热带鱼恐吓小镇河流为特色的Jawsknock-off。
但是，虽然食人鱼电影可能没有牙齿，但在现实生活中，它的特色捕食者在水下的凶猛程度让鲨鱼和所有其他水生生物都感到羞愧。
食人鱼原产于南美的淡水河道。
尽管关于食人鱼捕食能力的传说比比皆是，但20种食人鱼中的大多数实际上都是素食者。
它们是扁平的、椭圆形的鱼，长度从10英寸到大约24英寸。
然而，四种食人鱼是肉食性的，当然也赢得了它们作为猛兽的声誉。
这些食肉鱼有强大的下颚和剃刀般锋利的牙齿，它们咬人时就像剪子一样合在一起。
食人鱼以大约20条鱼组成的鱼群进行旅行和捕食，当被血腥或水中的骚动所激起时，会进行令人印象深刻的捕食狂潮。
肉食性食人鱼会吃任何东西，从其他鱼类到大型哺乳动物，如牛，甚至是误入水中太远的美洲虎。
尽管食肉食人鱼有时会攻击人，但人类往往能笑到最后。
在南美洲和其他地方，食人鱼被认为是好吃的鱼类。
可以说，被人吃掉的食人鱼比反过来的要多得多。
重点词汇：
in the ocean 在海洋中
think of 想想 ; 想起
have been 来过
when it comes to 说到 ; 当谈到 ; 一谈到 ; 当提到
grow from 从…长出，从…发展而来
in length 长度