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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Although the big island reveals the most dramatic displays of volcanic1 power, every one of the Hawaiian Islands bears witness to a fiery2 past. The Hawaiian chain stretches for more than 1,500 miles through the heart of the Pacific, the most isolated3 archipelago on earth. In the southwest, lie six main islands and two smaller ones. Their rugged4 landscapes provide clues to the forces that shaped them.
Time and tide, wind, water and fire -- they have sculpted6 Hawaii over millions of years. Jagged cliffs, the remnants of extinct volcanoes, rise 1,000 feet above the sea, they testify to the combined power of erosion and seismic7 forces. Magnificent canyons8 were created when earthquakes twisted and split the landscape.
Giant craters10 are evidence of past eruptions12, and hint at new ones to come. The most ancient volcanoes, worn down by the elements, now lie hidden beneath a carpet of green.
One of Hawaii's most famous landmarks13, Diamond Head, looms14 above the beaches of Waikiki. The sight is postcard-perfect, but few realize that 10,000 years ago, this, too, was the scene of a violent eruption11 as lava15 fountained from these walls and spilled into the sea. Today, nearly half a million people live in the shadow.
Hawaii's volcanoes did more than sculpt5 the landscape. They actually built the islands from scratch. The Hawaiian chain sits atop of the Pacific plate, a shifting block of the earth crust. Beneath the plate lies a stationary16 hot spot. It produces a column of magma, creating volcanoes that gradually rise above the sea to form islands. As the plate slowly drifts northwest, each island in turn is pulled away from the hot spot, and the volcanoes are extinguished. The hot spot now sits 20 miles south of the big island, where it's creating a new volcano named Loihi. To see it, you have to head underwater.
Keeping an eye on the young volcano, scientists like Terry Kirby, journey down in a manned submersible.
"We've (n)ever known where we're gonna find it for nearly a year. And this year there was a little more anticipation17, because we heard that there was some seismic activity."
The slow descent to Loihi takes hours through waters that grow darker and colder. Though the mountain has grown two miles above the sea floor, its summit is 3,000 feet beneath the ocean surface. Inside a newly formed crater9, the tiny submersible is dwarfed18 by Loihi.
Like any active volcano, Loihi is inherently unstable19. Seismic tremors20 in the interior can trigger landslides21.
"I definitely am aware of what can happen down there. We see these gigantic boulders22 down there and we have the... We wouldn’t wanna be down there when one of those things came down. So, we are always really tuned23 in to any kind of sounds, any kind of vibrations24. "
A few species have adapted to this hostile environment, managing a precarious25 existence. Beneath the rugged terrain26, the same inferno27 that feeds Kilauea is constantly reshaping Loihi. Delicate pencil chimneys rise from surfaces strewed28 with rubble29. Frequent earthquakes cause old structures to crumble,while new ones form.
"It's pretty amazing. This is actually part of the wall that collapsed30 two years ago. We see the edge of it, coming up here, very sharp ridge31 that used to extend quite away, further out . And all that caved in and came down a couple of years ago."
As part of their routine survey, they will check the volcano's temperature. Vents32 in Loihi's flanks release blazing heat and dissolved gases. The number steadily33 climbed to well over 150 degrees Fahrenheit34.
"That's amazing. I think (that) the ambient water is almost freezing, and there is weird35 water flowing out of this almost ice-cold water. That's 200 degrees Fahrenheit."
Scientists will continue to monitor the young volcano. More earthquakes and collapses36 are inevitable37.
1 volcanic | |
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的 | |
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2 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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3 isolated | |
adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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4 rugged | |
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
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5 sculpt | |
n.雕刻,雕塑,雕刻品,雕塑品 | |
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6 sculpted | |
adj.经雕塑的 | |
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7 seismic | |
a.地震的,地震强度的 | |
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8 canyons | |
n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 ) | |
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9 crater | |
n.火山口,弹坑 | |
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10 craters | |
n.火山口( crater的名词复数 );弹坑等 | |
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11 eruption | |
n.火山爆发;(战争等)爆发;(疾病等)发作 | |
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12 eruptions | |
n.喷发,爆发( eruption的名词复数 ) | |
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13 landmarks | |
n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 );目标;(标志重要阶段的)里程碑 ~ (in sth);有历史意义的建筑物(或遗址) | |
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14 looms | |
n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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15 lava | |
n.熔岩,火山岩 | |
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16 stationary | |
adj.固定的,静止不动的 | |
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17 anticipation | |
n.预期,预料,期望 | |
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18 dwarfed | |
vt.(使)显得矮小(dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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19 unstable | |
adj.不稳定的,易变的 | |
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20 tremors | |
震颤( tremor的名词复数 ); 战栗; 震颤声; 大地的轻微震动 | |
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21 landslides | |
山崩( landslide的名词复数 ); (山坡、悬崖等的)崩塌; 滑坡; (竞选中)一方选票占压倒性多数 | |
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22 boulders | |
n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 );巨砾;(受水或天气侵蚀而成的)巨石;漂砾 | |
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23 tuned | |
adj.调谐的,已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调 | |
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24 vibrations | |
n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 );震动;感受;(偏离平衡位置的)一次性往复振动 | |
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25 precarious | |
adj.不安定的,靠不住的;根据不足的 | |
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26 terrain | |
n.地面,地形,地图 | |
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27 inferno | |
n.火海;地狱般的场所 | |
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28 strewed | |
v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 );散落于;点缀;撒满 | |
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29 rubble | |
n.(一堆)碎石,瓦砾 | |
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30 collapsed | |
adj.倒塌的 | |
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31 ridge | |
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
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32 vents | |
(气体、液体等进出的)孔、口( vent的名词复数 ); (鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的)肛门; 大衣等的)衩口; 开衩 | |
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33 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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34 Fahrenheit | |
n./adj.华氏温度;华氏温度计(的) | |
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35 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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36 collapses | |
折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 ); 倒塌; 崩溃; (尤指工作劳累后)坐下 | |
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37 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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