【轻松英文阅读】被发现的洞穴

 It is the world’s largest cave and no one even knew it existed until recently. Son Doong Cave was discovered in 1991 in the rugged¹ mountains of central Vietnam (map). A local man by the name of Ho Khanh discovered an entrance to the cave but did not have the proper gear to go in.

 

It wasn’t until 2009 that the full extent of the cave became known, when a group of British cavers made the first survey of the cave. What they discovered was truly phenomenal. The cave is over 5.5 miles long with a river and some rooms big enough to fit a 40-story skyscraper². In one section of the cave, the roof has collapsed³ (probably more than a thousand years ago) to let in sunlight. There, the explorers found a pristine⁴ forest with all sorts of animals including monkeys and flying foxes.

 

If you are willing to pay around 3,000 dollars and trek⁵ through the jungle for days, a company has started trial tours. (tour link)

1 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

2 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

5 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。