英语听力精选进阶版 6455

Here's a hotel worth writing home about: a company in Poland plans to build tourist accommodation under the sea. The structure can be towed¹ to a suitable location and placed on supports on the sea bed.

The 'Water Discus' will be made up of an underwater disc containing 22 bedrooms with sea views, connected by lift and stairs to a disc above the surface containing other hotel facilities.

Robert Bursiewicz, a project manager at Deep Ocean Technology, says: "Nowadays it's possible to build submarines which go deeper than 500m below the sea surface, so building an underwater hotel is not a problem."

In fact, they don't plan to have the hotel very deep. Water acts like a filter for sunlight, and below 15m most colours, apart from blue, are washed out. And we all want to see colourful marine² life, don't we?

But this isn't the first hotel to offer underwater views from the bedrooms. The two-bedroom Jules' Undersea Lodge³, off the coast of Florida, has been taking in guests 10m beneath the surface since 1986.

The company that operates the hotel also runs a course on scuba⁴ diving for beginners to help get guests down and into the hotel. It is accessible only through an opening at the bottom.

And you'll find all the usual amenities⁵ in the room, according to Teresa McKinna, Jules's chief financial officer. It has a television, air conditioning and wi-fi. But for the staff, simple things like cleaning and changing bed linen⁶ can be challenging, since the lodge is submerged in sea water.

"It actually takes quite a lot of work to get anything down there," she says. "We have to put everything in waterproof⁷ boxes and attach weights to them to counter their buoyancy."

The hotel has suitably sized waterproof boxes so that pizzas can be delivered by divers⁸ to guests who order them for their evening meal.

And after a meal, if you can't sleep because of the excitement of the experience, you don't have to count sheep. You'll fall asleep quicker if you count fish.

Quiz 测验

1. How many bedrooms will the new hotel have?

Twenty two.

2. Why won't the hotel be very deep in the water?

Because most colours look washed out below 15m underwater and guests would miss out on colourful marine life.

3. How are the meals taken to guests in Jules' Undersea Lodge?

Divers take the meals in waterproof boxes.

4. What four expressions refer to a place in the water?

Underwater, below the sea surface, beneath the surface, submerged.

5. Which expression refers to the tendency of objects to sit on the surface of water?

Buoyancy.

Glossary 词汇表

to tow （用车或船）拖拉

the sea bed 海床，海底

underwater 水下的

a submarine 一艘潜水艇

a filter 一个过滤器

washed out 被水冲走

marine life 海洋生物

scuba diving 潜水

accessible 可进入的

wi-fi 无线局域网

submerged 在水中的，水下的

waterproof 防水的

buoyancy 浮力

a diver 潜水员

to count sheep 数羊（以帮助入睡）

1 towed   

v.拖，拉，拽( tow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Our car was towed away by the police. 我们的汽车被警察拖走了。
• The tugboat towed the damaged ship into port. 拖船把坏了的船拖进港口。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 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。

3 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

4 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

5 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

7 waterproof   

n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水

参考例句：

• My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
• All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。

8 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。