英语听力：Wild China 美丽中国：彩云之南-3

 But it does share the giant panda's taste for bamboo. Southwest China's red pandas are known for their very strong facial markings, which distinguish them from red pandas found anywhere else in the Himalayas. Like the monkeys, they were isolated² in these high forests when the mountains quite literally³ rose beneath them in the greatest mountain-building event in recent geological history.

 

Over the last 30 million years, the Indian subcontinent has been pushing northwards into Eurasia. On the border between India and Tibet, the rocks have been raised 8 kilometers above sea level, creating the world's highest mountain range, the Himalayas. But to the east, the rocks have buckled⁴ into a series of steep north-south ridges⁵ cutting down through the heart of Yunnan, the parallel mountains of the Hengduan Shan.

 

These natural barriers serve to isolate¹ Yunnan's plants and animals in each adjacent valley. While the huge temperature range between the snowy peaks and the warmer slopes below provides a vast array of conditions for life to thrive. Through spring, the Hengduan slopes stage one of China's greatest natural spectacles. The forests here are among the most diverse botanical areas in the world.

 

Over 18,000 plant species grow here, of which 3,000 are found nowhere else. Until little more than a century ago, this place was unknown outside China. But then news reached the West of a mysterious hidden world of the Orient: hidden among the mountains, a lost Shangri-la paradise. Western high society in the grip of a gardening craze was eager for exotic species from faraway places. This gave rise to a new breed of celebrity⁶ adventurers: intrepid⁷ botanist⁸ explorers, known as “the plant hunters”. Yunnan became their Holy Grail. The most famous was Joseph Rock, a real life Indiana Jones. Remarkable⁹ film footage captured his entourage on a series of expeditions as they pushed into the deepest corners of Yunnan.

1 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

2 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

5 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

6 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

7 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

8 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

9 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。