A
The nameambergris is derived from the Spanish “ambar gris”, ambar meaning amber (琥珀) and grismeaning grey, thus the name signifies grey amber. Theuse of ambergris in Europeis now entirely confined to perfumery-as a material of perfumery. Its highprice varies from$15 to$25 an ounce, though it formerlyoccupied oninconsiderable place in medicine. Ambergris was also decoratedandworn asjewelry, particularly during the Renaissance．It occupies a veryimportant place in the perfumery of the East, and there it is also used inpharmacy(药物)and as a flavouring material in cookery.
B
Amber, however, is quite adifferent substance from ambergris and thisdiscrepancy (矛盾) haspuzzled some people. Amber is the fossilized resin from trees that was quitefamiliar to Europeans long before the discovery of the New World, and prizedfor jewelry. Although considered a gem, amber is a hard, transparent andwholly-organic material derived from the resin of extinct species of trees. Inthe dense forests of the Middle Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, between 10 and100 million years ago, these resin-bearing trees fell and were carried byrivers to coastal regions. There, the trees and their resins became coveredwith sediment (沉淀物), and over millions of years the resinhardened into amber.
C
Ambergris and amber are related bythe fact that both wash up on beaches. Ambergris is a solid, waxy and flammablesubstance of a dull 2rey or blackish color, with the shades being variegated1ike marble. It possesses a peculiar sweet，earthy odour notunlike isopropyl alcohol (异丙醇). It is now known to be a morbidsecretion formed in the intestines of the sperm whale, found in the Atlanticand Pacific oceans. Being a very lightweight material, ambergris is foundfloating upon the sea, on the sea coast, or in the sand near the sea coast．It is metwith in the Atlantic Ocean, on the coasts Of Brazil and Madagascar; also on thecoast Of Africa, of the East Indies, China, Japan, and the Molucca Islands; butmost of the ambergris which is brought to England comes from the BahamaIslands. It is also sometimes found in the abdomen of whales; it is always inlumps in various shapes and sizes, weighing from 1/ 2 oz. to 100 or more lb. Apiece which the Dutch East India Company bought from the King of Tydore weighed182 lb. An American fisherman from Antigua found, Inside a whale, about 521eagues south-east from the Windward Islands, a piece of ambergris which weighedabout l 30 lb, and sold for 500 sterling.
D
Like many other substancesregarding the origin of which there existed some obscurity or mystery,ambergris in former times possessed a value, and had properties attributed toit, more on account of the source from which it was drawn than from itsinherent qualities. Many ridiculous hypotheses were started to account for itsorigin, and among others it was conjectured(推测)to be the solidifiedfoam of the sea, a fungous growth in the ocean similar to the fungi which formon trees.
E
The true source and character ofambergris was first satisfactorily established by Dr. Swediaur in acommunication to the Royal Society. It was found by Dr. Swediaur that ambergrisvery frequently contained the horny mandibles (下颌 骨)or beaksof the squid, on which the sperm whales are known to feed. That observation, inconnection with the fact of ambergris being frequently taken from theintestines (肠)of the sperm whale, sufficiently proved thatthe substance is produced by the whale’s intestine as a means of facilitatingthe passage of undigested hard, sharp beaks of squid that the whale has eaten.
F
It was further observed that thewhales in which ambergris was found were either dead or much wasted andevidently in a sickly condition. From this it was inferred that ambergris is insome way connected with a morbid (病 态的)conditionof the sperm whale. Often expelled by vomiting, ambergris floats in chunks onthe water and is of a deep grey colour, soft consistence, and an offensive, disagreeablesmell. Following months to years of photo-degradation andoxidation in theocean, this precursor gradually hardens, developing a dark grey or blackcolour, a crusty and waxy texture, and a peculiar odour that is at once sweet,earthy, marine, and animalist. Its smell has been described by many as a vastlyricher and smoother version of isopropanol without its
stinging harshness.
G
In that condition its specificgravity ranges from 0.780 to 0.926. It melts at a temperature of about 145 Finto a fatty yellow resin-like liquid．It is soluble inether, volatile and fixed oils, but only feebly acted on by acids. By digestingin hot alcohol, a peculiar substance termed ambrein is obtained. In chemicalconstitution ambrein very closely resembles cholesterin (胆固醇), aprinciple found abundantly in biliary calculi (胆 道结石) . It istherefore more than probable that ambergris, from the position in which it isfound and its chemical constitution, is a biliary concretion analogous to whatis formed in other mammals.
H
The industries founded onambergris resulted in the slaughter of sperm whales ( 抹 香鲸) almost to extinction. Sperm whales were killed in two massive hunts, the MobyDick whalers who worked mainly between 1740-1 880, and themodem whalers whoseoperations peaked in 1 964, when 29,255 were killed. Most recent estimatessuggest a global population of about 360,000 animals down from about 1,100,000before whaling. In the 20th century, 90% of ambergris was derived in theprocessing of killing sperm whales. To this day, ambergris is still the mostexpensive product in the whole body of sperm whale. Depending on its quality,raw ambergris fetches approximately 20 USD per gram. In the United States,possession of any part of an endangered species-including ambergris that haswashed ashore-is a violation of the Endangered Species Act of 1978.
I
Historically, the primarycommercial use of ambergris has been in fragrancechemistry. However, it isdifficult to get a consistent and reliable supply of high quality ambergris.Due to demand for ambergris and its high price, replacement compounds have beensought out by the fragrance industry and chemically synthesized. The mostimportant of these is Ambrox (降龙涎醚), which has taken its place as themost widely used amber odorant in perfume manufacture. Procedures for themicrobial production of Ambrox have also been devised.
Questions 1-5
.................................................................................
Classify the following statement as applying to
A Ambergris only
B Amber only
C Both amber and ambergris
D Neither amber nor ambergris
1 very expensive
2 food flavor
3 used as currency
4 referred to in a communication
5 could be seen through
Questions 6-9
.................................................................................
Summary
Complete the Summary paragraph described below in boxes 6—9 on your answer
sheet. Write the correct answer with one word.
The formation of ambergris experiences several stages. First, when sperm whaleeats thehard and sharp 6 of squid, its intestine will produce ambergris tofacilitate the 7 Then, ambergris can be 8 up by sperm whale and float on thewater. After months of exposure on air, it 9 and the color turns dark grey orblack.
Question 10-13
...............................................................................
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
In boxes 10-13 on your sheet, write
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
10 In the 20th century, most ambergris was made in the process of killing sperm
whale.
11 Ambergris’s cost increased recently.
12 Ambergris still remains in the perfume making.
13 Ambergris is still the most important amber odorant in perfume manufacture.
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