双语有声阅读：英属哥伦比亚

British Columbia

 

British Columbia is the third largest Canadian province, both in area and population. It is nearly 1.5 times as large as Texas, and extends 800 miles (1,280km) north from the United States border. It includes Canada's entire west coast and the islands just off the coast.

 

Most of British Columbia is mountainous, with long rugged¹ ranges running north and south. Even the coastal² islands are the remains³ of a mountain range that existed thousands of years ago. During the last Ice Age, this range was scoured⁴ by glaciers⁵ until most of it was beneath the sea. Its peaks now show as islands scattered⁶ along the coast.

 

The southwestern coastal region has a humid mild marine⁷ climate. Sea winds that blow inland from the west are warmed by a current of warm water that flows through the Pacific Ocean. As a result, winter temperatures average above freezing and summers are mild. These warm western winds also carry moisture from the ocean.

 

Inland from the coast, the winds from the Pacific meet the mountain barriers of the coastal ranges and the Rocky Mountains. As they rise to cross the mountains, the winds are cooled, and their moisture begins to fall as rain. On some of the western slopes almost 200 inches (500cm) of rain fall each year.

 

More than half of British Columbia is heavily forested. On mountain slopes that receive plentiful⁸ rainfall, huge Douglas firs rise in towering columns. These forest giants often grow to be as much as 300 feet (90m) tall, with diameters up to 10 feet (3m). More lumber⁹ is produced from these trees than from any other kind of tree in North America. Hemlock¹⁰, red cedar¹¹, and balsam fir are among the other trees found in British Columbia.

 

英属哥伦比亚

 

英属哥伦比亚是加拿大的第三大省，无论是面积还是人口都是如此。 它几乎是德克萨斯的 1.5 倍，从美国边境一直向北延伸了 800 英里(1，280 公里)。 它包括了加拿大整个西海岸及附近岛屿。 大部分英属哥伦比亚多山峦。 绵长而粗犷的山脉贯通南北。 甚至那些沿海的岛屿都是那些存在于千万年前的山脉的遗迹。 在上一个冰河时期，这些山脉被冰河冲刷侵蚀，直到大部分山脉被淹没在海中。 它们的峰顶显现为沿着海岸散布的岛屿。 西南海岸地区有着潮湿温和的海洋性气候。 从太平洋来的温暖的洋流使得从西吹过内陆的海风变得温暖。 因此这儿冬天平均气温在零上而且夏天也不会酷热。这些温暖的西风同样也从海洋带来了湿气。 来自太平洋的、从海岸向内陆的风遇到海岸山脉和落基山脉这些山脉屏障。 当气流升高跨越这些山脉时，风的温度就降低了，风中的水分形成降雨。 在一些朝西山坡区域每年大约有200 英寸(500 厘米)的降水。 大部分英属哥伦比亚密布着森林。 在有充足降水的斜坡，巨大的道格拉斯枞树高耸入云。 这些森林巨人常常长到高达300 英尺(90米)，直径粗达 10 英尺(3 米)。 这些树产出了比北美其他任何树都多的木材。 铁杉、红香椿、香脂冷杉枞都是发现于英属哥伦比亚的其它树种。

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 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。

5 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

6 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

9 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

10 hemlock   

n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉

参考例句：

• He was condemned to drink a cup of hemlock.判处他喝一杯毒汁。
• Here is a beech by the side of a hemlock,with three pines at hand.这儿有株山毛榉和一株铁杉长在一起，旁边还有三株松树。

11 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。