第十三篇 Sleeping Giant

第十三篇 Sleeping Giant 沉睡的巨人 Right now, an eruption is brewing in Yellowstone National Park. Sometime during the next two hours, the park’s most famous geyser, Old Faithful, will begin gurgling boiling water and steam. giantUS: [ˈdʒaɪənt]  巨人;大汉；eruption喷发; brewing  (阴谋等的)策划;(暴风雨等的)酝酿； 酿造(啤酒); geyserUS: [ˈɡaɪzər]  间歇(喷)泉；faithfulUS: [ˈfeɪθfəl] 忠实的,忠诚的; gurgleUS: [ˈɡɜrɡ(ə)l] ;(流水)作汩汩声； 眼下，黄石国家公园正在酝酿一场喷发。在随后的 2个小时的某一时刻，公园里昀著名的间歇泉“老忠实”会涌出沸水和蒸汽。 1 Then, an enormous fountain will shoot high into the air. 接着，一个巨大的喷泉将会高高地射向空中。 enormousUS: [ɪˈnɔrməs] 巨大的; 大量的; fountainUS: [ˈfaʊnt(ə)n]   喷泉 Old Faithful is not only a spectacular sight; it’s also a constant reminder that Yellowstone sits on one of the largest volcanoes in the world. If you’ve never heard of Yellowstone’s volcano, you’re not alone. 这不稀奇，因为不知道的决不止你一个。 spectacularUS: [spekˈtækjələr] 场面富丽的,壮观的;观赏品的, constantUS: [ˈkɑnstənt] 常数,恒量; 恒定不变的, reminderUS: [rɪˈmaɪndər]提示,信号, 通知 关于发布提成方案的通知关于xx通知关于成立公司筹建组的通知关于红头文件的使用公开通知关于计发全勤奖的通知 ，提醒；volcanoUS: [vɑlˈkeɪnoʊ] 火山； “老忠实”不仅仅是一个奇特的景点，它还常常提醒人们黄石国家公园坐落在世界上昀大的火山之上。如果你没听说过黄石国家公园的火山， 2 The volcano is so inconspicuous (不显眼的 ) that few people know it exists. inconspicuousUS: [ˌɪnkənˈspɪkjuəs]  不显眼的,不引人注意的 这个火山太不起眼了，以致不太有人注意到它的存在。 Yet it has erupted three times during the last 2 million years. And one of those eruptions spewed enough volcanic ash and other debris to blanket half the United States. eruptUS: [ɪˈrʌpt] 迸发,喷出,爆发；spewUS: [spju]  喷,涌,渗；ashUS: [æʃ]  灰烬;废墟；debrisUS: [dəˈbri] 碎片,破片；blanketUS: [ˈblæŋkɪt] 毛毯,；遮掩(丑事等)‘ 尽管如此，它在过去的 200万年中已经爆发了三次。其中一次的爆发喷涌出的火山灰和残渣足够覆盖住半个美国。 Yellowstone’s volcano is sometimes called a “supervolcano,” or extremely large and explosive caldera volcano. extremelyUS: [ɪkˈstrimli] 极端地,非常地；caldera火山口； 黄石国家公园里的火山有时也被称作是“超级火山”，即巨型爆炸式喷火山口的火山。 3 Three calderas make up more than a third of Yellowstone National Park. 三个火山口组成了公园的三分之一多。 This supervolcano formed over a hot spot, an extremely hot area in Earth’s mantle. John Valley, a volcano professor, said that as the crust moves across a hot spot, the hot spot melts a section of the plate moving over it, forming “one volcano after another.” mantleUS: [ˈmænt(ə)l]  地幔；extremelyUS: [ɪkˈstrimli] 极端地；crustUS: [krʌst]  外皮,壳; sectionUS: [ˈsekʃ(ə)n] 段;断片;部分；plateUS: [pleɪt]  盘子;盆子; 这个“超级火山”在一处地幔中极热的地带形成。火山专家约翰·伏雷说，当地壳经过这块热的地方时，这地方就会熔化在它上边移动的一块地表，从而形成一个又一个的“火山”。 The Yellowstone hot spot melts thick continental crust, which may cause catastrophic eruptions. According to experts the eruptions that created each of the three calderas in and around Yellowstone National Park were larger than any other volcanic eruption in recorded history. The most recent eruption, which happened 640,000 years ago, produced at least 1,000 cubic kilometers of ash and debris, which blanketed most of the western half of the United States. catastrophicUS: [ˌkætəˈstrɑfɪk] 大突变(灾难)的 黄石国家公园里那块热的地带可以熔化很厚的陆地地壳，这样有可能会引起灾难性的火山喷发。据专家称，在公园里及周围造成三个喷火山口的火山喷发比历史上记载的任何一次火山爆发都要大。昀近的一次喷发发生在距今 64万年前，产生出了至少 1000立方千米的灰和残渣，它覆盖住了美国西半部的大部分地区。 4 The first Yellowstone eruption, 2 million years ago, released more than double that amount of ash and debris. 黄石火山的第一次爆发在 200万年前，它释放出的火山灰和残渣是那次的两倍多。 Geological evidence shows Yellowstone has blown its stack every 700,000 years or so1. “If nature were truly that regular and reliable, we would be due for another eruption soon,2” said Valley. “However, these processes are subject to variability, so we don’t really know when the next eruption will happen.” blownUS: [bloʊn] 爆炸; 吹；stackUS: [stæk] 堆,垛; reliableUS: [rɪˈlaɪəb(ə)l]   可靠的,确实的；dueUS: [du] 应给与的,应归与的; subjectUS: [ˈsʌbˌdʒekt] 受...支配的,附属的, 主题,问题; 地质方面的证据表明，黄石公园的火山每隔 70万年左右要爆发一次。伏雷说：“如果自然真的是那么有规律和值得信赖，那么我们将很快面临另一次火山喷发。然而，这些过程又充满变数，因此我们真的不知道什么时候它会再次喷发。” 5 While the active geological processes at Yellowstone do pose some risk to the public, they also make it a unique treasure. 虽然黄石公园里活跃的地质活动对公众来说是一个威胁，它们同时也成为了公园里一笔独特的财富。poseUS: [poʊz]  采取某种态度[姿态] uniqueUS: [juˈnik] 唯一的;无双的;无比的;独特的；treasure财富 It is the volcanic energy that powers the geysers and hot springs, creates the mountains and canyons, and generates the unique ecosystems that support Yellow tone’s diverse wildlife3. geyserUS: [ˈɡaɪzər] 间歇(喷)泉；canyonUS: [ˈkænjən] 峡谷；ecosystemUS: [ˈekoʊˌsɪstəm] 生态系(统)；supportUS: [səˈpɔrt]  支承,支撑; diverseUS: [daɪˈvɜrs]  形形色色的,多种多样的； 正是火山爆发时的能量形成了间歇泉和温泉，山脉及峡谷，也产生了独特的生态系统，以保证黄石公园里野生动物的多样性。 词汇： brew /bru:/ n.酝酿 crust /krQst/ n.地壳 Yellowstone National Park黄石国家公园 mantle /5mAntl/ n.地幔 geyser /5^aizE/ n.间歇泉 continental /　　　　　　　　　　　　 / adj.大陆的 gurgle /5^E:^l/ v.汩汩地流 catastrophic /9kAtE`strCfIk/ adj.灾难的 spew /spju:/ v.喷涌 variability /　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 / n.可变性 caldera /kAl5diErE/ n.火山口洼地 canyon /5kAnjEn/ n.峡谷注释： 1. every 700,000 years or so：每 70万年左右 2. If nature were truly that regular and reliable, we would be due for another eruption soon：如果自然界真的如此有规律，如此可靠，那么，我们将很快面临另一次火山喷发。这是一个虚拟句。注意从句中的动词用了 were，不是 is或 was，主句中用了 would be，不是 will be。 3. It is the volcanic energy that powers the geysers and hot springs, creates the mountains and canyons, and generates the unique ecosystems that support Yellowstone’s diverse wildlife：这是一句用了 it is … that结构的强调句。被 强调的内容放在 it is和 that之间。本句被强调的是 the volcanic energy。被强调前的句子是： The volcanic energy powers the geysers and hot springs, creates the mountains and canyons, and generates the unique ecosystems that support Yellowstone’s diverse wildlife. 练习： A Three calderas make up more than a third of Yellowstone National Park. B The first Yellowstone eruption, 2 million years ago, released more than double that amount of ash and debris. C The volcano is so inconspicuous (不显眼的 ) that few people know it exists. D Then, an enormous fountain will shoot high into the air. E While the active geological processes at Yellowstone do pose some risk to the public, they also make it a unique treasure. F Yellowstone National Park attracts the interest of geologists the world over. 答案与题解： 1. D 第一段第二句说，在随后的两个小时的某一时刻，间歇泉会涌出沸水和蒸汽。后续句应该是选项 D。boiling water变成 fountain, shoot high into the air。 2. C 第二段第二句说，如果你不知道黄石公园的下面是火山，没有关系，很多人都不知道。为什么会如此呢？ C道出了原因。所以， C是答案。 3. A 第三段第一句说黄石公园的火山 extremely large，所以有时候被称为 supervolcano。选项 A的句子具体说明这个 supervolcano大到什么程度，所以是答案。 4. B 在选项 B的 more than double that amount of ash and debris这个短语中，有关键词 double that amount，说明前面句子一定有一个数字。检查后 .发现这个数字是“ 1,000 cubic kilometers of ash and debris”，可以断定，选项 B的句子就是要放回原位的句子。 5. E “空 5”所在段的前面两段介绍了黄石公园火山以前喷发时的可怕情景。“空 5”所在段叙述火山能量带来的好处。这是两种情景截然相反的描写，中间很可能有一句过渡句，把它们连接起来。选项 E就是过渡句，应该是本题的答案。