13 A Fishy Story

Stepping into a puddle of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a puddle of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian rancher, witnessed a rain of fish; it covered his property. His roof, his pastures, and even the fish that fell on his roof. How surprised he must have been when he heard the patter of fins against his roof!

What caused this strange occurrence? This is a question that had long puzzled ichthyologists—people who study fish. The answer turned out to be a combination of tornado and thunderstorm.

When it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it is fall in Australia. Throughout the autumn season, raging storms arise and rains flood the land. Dirtwhirls and sweep over Australia like giant vacuum cleaners, collecting seawed, many miles before even dropping them on farms, livestock, and astonished people.

Although they seem unusual, fish falls occur quite frequently in Australia's Northern Territory. When Ranger Bill Tapp was asked to describe the deluge of fish, he casually remarked, “They look like Top perch.” His statement is not the slurge of the wonders of the natural world are as common as rain. Nature, is not its intriguing mysteries, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky.

13 离奇的鱼雨

踩进水坑是很平常的事，但谁能想到会踩进“鱼坑”呢？1974年2月，澳大利亚牧场主比尔·塔普目睹了一场鱼雨，鱼覆盖了他的财产：屋顶、牧场，甚至有鱼落在他的屋顶上。当他听到鱼鳍拍打屋顶的噼啪声时，肯定非常惊讶！

是什么导致了这种奇怪的现象？这个问题长期困扰着鱼类学家——研究鱼类的人。答案最终是龙卷风与雷暴的结合。

当北半球是春天时，澳大利亚是秋天。整个秋季，狂风暴雨来袭，雨水淹没了土地。尘旋像巨型吸尘器一样席卷澳大利亚，收集海里的生物，在把它们抛到农场、牲畜群和惊讶的人们身上之前，已经移动了数英里。

虽然鱼雨看起来不寻常，但在澳大利亚的北领地却相当常见。当护林员比尔·塔普被要求描述这场鱼雨时，他随口说：“它们看起来像尖吻鲈。”他的话表明，自然界的奇观其实和下雨一样常见。大自然有着迷人的奥秘，能创造向上流的瀑布，也能让鱼从天上掉下来。