英语听力精选进阶版 7193

背景：科学家们打算首次尝试深钻地壳直至其下部的地幔。这些科学家们将从太平洋底部开始钻探，以测试这次行动的可行性。他们称深钻至地幔的尝试或将在2018年开始。

They've selected prospective¹ sites under the Pacific Ocean where the crust is at is thinnest - just six kilometres.

Dr Damon Teagle of the UK's National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, is leading the quest. He likens the bid to the retrieval of Moon rocks by the Apollo programme and says samples from the mantle² will tell us how our planet was formed and how it's changing.

Dr Teagle says: "Just as the Moon rocks told us about the composition of the Moon and how that relates to the early formation of the Earth itself, so will these samples as well."

Next month, the team will begin abid to drill nearly two kilometres down through the ocean floor off the coast of Costa Rica. They say an attempt to reach the mantle could begin as early as 2018, funds and technology permitting.

Neil Bowdler, BBC News

Glossary³ 词汇表

prospective 可能的、预期的 

quest 探索、寻求 

to liken 把…比作 

retrieval 取回、提取 

sample 取样、样品 

composition 构造、构成 

to relate 与…有联系 

bid 尝试 

to drill 钻、钻探 

to permit 允许、准许

Questions and Answers

1. Where do the scientists plan to drill? 

They chose sites under the Pacific Ocean where the crust is just six kilometres.

2. What does the leader of the project compare the initiative to? 

Dr Damon Teagle likened it to the gathering⁴ of Moon rocks by the Apollo programme.

3. Why do scientists want to collect samples from under the Earth’s crust? 

Because they want to know how the Earth was formed and how it is changing.

4. How far deep do the scientists want to drill? 

They want to drill nearly two kilometres down.

1 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

2 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

3 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。