Wild Europe - Genesis 肇始之初- 4

This was no ordinary forest. What looked like trees were in fact giant ferns, horsetails and club mosses¹, the fossils of which have been exquisitely² preserved in this Scottish park. They offer a glimpse of the botanic wonders that once filled Europe's ancient forests. These club mosses grew a massive 13 meters tall.

Long before birds appeared on the planet, these Carboniferous forests would have echoed to a very different dawn chorus.

Predatory dragonflies were common, and some were absolutely huge. This one, Meganeura, was the size of a hawk³, with a wingspan of over 60 centimeters. The forest floor was a bug's world too. Fossil footprints of a millipede show that it was nearly 2 meters long. Over 800 species of cockroach⁴ scurried⁵ through the ancient undergrowth. And these were preyed⁶ on by other giants like scorpions. Some were over 70 centimeters long with a sting to match. These swampy⁸ forests were also roamed by the very first land vertebrates: amphibians.

The Carboniferous era was to play a pivotal role in European history. Its 300 million-year-old legacy¹⁰ would eventually revolutionize a modern world. This was the time of great tectonic activity. As the land repeatedly subsided, seas flooded over these great coastal¹² forests. Ravaged¹³ by monsoon¹⁴ storms, fallen trees became buried by layers of sand, then mud. Over millions of years, the buildup of sediments¹⁵ compressed this vegetation into this: coal.

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words and expressions

fern:a green plant with long stems, feathery leaves and no flowers蕨类植物

club moss:石松

dawn chorus:the singing of birds together, which happens just before dawn清晨时的鸟叫声

millipede:a small creature with a long cylindrical body consisting of many parts, each part having two pairs of legs马陆；千足虫；倍足纲节动物

undergrowth:a mass of bushes, small trees and plants growing under the trees of a wood or forest:下层丛林;矮树丛，灌木丛

scorpion:a small insect-like creature which lives in hot dry areas of the world and has a long body and a curved tail with a poisonous sting蝎子

to match (在数量和质量上)相当的, 相配的, 调和的

swampy:describes land that is soft and very wet沼泽的, 沼泽多的, 湿地的, 松软的

vertebrate:an animal that has a spine脊椎动物

amphibian:an animal, such as a frog, which lives both on land and in water but must lay its eggs in water两栖动物

Carboniferous:relating to the period of Earth's history during which coal was formed石炭纪

pivotal:central and important枢轴的, 关键的

tectonic:〈地〉结构上的

subside: If a building, land or water subsides, it goes down to a lower level:（土地）下 陷，凹陷

monsoon :the season of heavy rain during the summer in hot Asian countries:季候风

vegetation: plants in general or plants which are found in a particular area:[植]植被, (总称)植物、草木,

1 mosses   

n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。

2 exquisitely   

adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地

参考例句：

• He found her exquisitely beautiful. 他觉得她异常美丽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore an exquisitely tailored gray silk and accessories to match. 他穿的是做工非常考究的灰色绸缎衣服，还有各种配得很协调的装饰。 来自教父部分

3 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

4 cockroach   

n.蟑螂

参考例句：

• A cockroach can live several weeks with its head off.蟑螂在头被切掉后仍能活好几个星期。
• She screamed when she found a cockroach in her bed.她在床上找到一只蟑螂时大声尖叫。

5 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 preyed   

v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生

参考例句：

• Remorse preyed upon his mind. 悔恨使他内心痛苦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He had been unwise and it preyed on his conscience. 他做得不太明智，这一直让他良心不安。 来自辞典例句

7 scorpions   

n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You promise me that Black Scorpions will never come back to Lanzhou. 你保证黑蝎子永远不再踏上兰州的土地。 来自电影对白
• You Scorpions are rather secretive about your likes and dislikes. 天蝎：蝎子是如此的神秘，你的喜好很难被别人洞悉。 来自互联网

8 swampy   

adj.沼泽的，湿地的

参考例句：

• Malaria is still rampant in some swampy regions.疟疾在一些沼泽地区仍很猖獗。
• An ox as grazing in a swampy meadow.一头牛在一块泥泞的草地上吃草。

9 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

11 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 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。

13 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

14 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

15 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。