英语听力精选进阶版 7332

世界著名的美国亚利桑那州的大峡谷可能比先前想象的历史要短得多。新的科研显示这一世界奇的形成仅有五至六百万年的时间。这比先前的说法要短得多。以前的研究声称大峡谷已经有七千万年历史。

Millions of tourists are drawn¹ each year to the Grand Canyon² to see its impressive rocks, which record nearly two billion years of Earth history. Running for almost 450km and to a depth of 1,800m, it is almost too vast to take in.

Its huge scale has also been problematic for scientists who've spent years gathering³ data from different locations through the canyon to try to work out its true age.

Some of the most recent investigations⁴ had indicated an ancient origin, while others thought it was much younger.

Now a new study in the Nature Geoscience journal pulls it all together. It finds, yes, the Grand Canyon has very old segments, but the full system was only cut into the form we know today by the Colorado River just over five million years ago.

Quiz 听力测验

Where is the Grand Canyon?

In the American state of Arizona.

How big is the Grand Canyon?

It is almost 450km long and 1,800m deep.

Where was the study published?

It was published in the Nature Geoscience journal.

Which verb in the report is similar in meaning to 'collecting'?

Gathering.

Glossary 词汇表

drawn 吸引

to take in 全部收入眼底，一览无余

scale 规模

problematic 成问题的，棘手的

gathering 搜集

origin 起源

segments （地）段

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

3 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。

4 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。