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This is Scientific America's 60-Second Science, I'm Cynthia Graber. This'll just take a minute.

It’s hot to research life in extreme environments. There are organisms that thrive in boiling hot thermal¹ vents² and in toxic³ stews⁴. These extremophiles, as they’re called, might show how life could arise on other planets. Or they may provide info that helps solve environmental crises. A newly discovered extremophile is described in the May 23rd issue of the journal Science. Based on genetic⁵ analysis, it appears to be a type of archaea—a single-celled organism similar to but distinct from bacteria. The microbe lives about a mile below the ocean floor, in temperatures ranging between 140 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit⁶. There they munch⁷ on methane⁸ and other hydrocarbons⁹. They thus beat all previous sub-seafloor-life records for extreme conditions—twice as deep, twice as hot, and in sediment¹⁰ three times as ancient, more than 110 million years old. Scientists think that more than two-thirds of all the earth’s prokaryotes might live beneath the ocean floor. So they need to dig even deeper for a fuller picture of life on earth—and under it.

Thanks for the minute, for scientific America's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber.

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1 thermal
adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的
参考例句：
They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。 Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

2 vents
（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )；（鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门；大衣等的)衩口；开衩
参考例句：
He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。 The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

3 toxic
adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的
参考例句：
The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。 There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 stews
n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧
参考例句：
Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。来自《简明英汉词典》 Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。来自辞典例句

5 genetic
adj.遗传的，遗传学的
参考例句：
It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。 Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 Fahrenheit
n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)
参考例句：
He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。 The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

7 munch
v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼
参考例句：
We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。 Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。

8 methane
n.甲烷，沼气
参考例句：
The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。 Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

9 hydrocarbons
n.碳氢化合物，烃( hydrocarbon的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Hydrocarbons (HC), like carbon monoxide, represent unburned and wasted fuel. 碳氢化合物(HC)像一氧化碳一样，为未燃尽的和被浪费掉的燃料。来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法 With this restricted frequency range it is not applicable to hydrocarbons. 这个较紧缩的频率范围不适用于烃类。来自辞典例句

10 sediment
n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)
参考例句：
The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。 Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。