英语听力：自然百科 神奇水世界 Water-5

 What that circulation means to us human is that water is a moving target. We constantly have to seek it out in this endless cycle and intercept¹ it wherever and whenever we can. This quest depend on water has played a defining role in human history. 

 

That led people to the one-stage of the water cycle that offers reliable fresh water - rivers. Across the planet, rivers cover a tiny proportion of the earth's surface, but for the first farmers they became magnets. But rivers did more than supply a steady source of water, they changed the very character of the civilizations that grew up along them, influencing everything from politics to social organization. The power of rivers to shape history is graphically² illustrated³ by perhaps the greatest of all early civilizations - Ancient Egypt. 

 

You might think you know the story, a mighty⁴ civilization that built the pyramids under the autocratic rule of ruthless pharaohs, but if you want to understand what really made Egypt great, you have to leave the pyramids and the temples behind and come here to a small place that hardly anyone visits. 

 

Here, at first glance, these look like the average, everyday 2,000-year-old steps, but this staircase is what made ancient Egypt kick. To get an idea of its true purpose, put out markings on the side wall, these grooves⁵ are carefully carved into the marble, because that’s a beautifully simple measuring device. If to see what it was measuring, you have to pop around the corner.

 

It’s all wet! Hahaha. And this is it! The Nile River. That set of steps and markings is a Nile flowmeter. It measured the changing level of the river. Each year when it flooded, the maximum height that the waters came to would directly predict the yield of the crops, and with that, the profits of the farmers made.

1 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

2 graphically   

adv.通过图表；生动地，轮廓分明地

参考例句：

• This data is shown graphically on the opposite page. 对页以图表显示这些数据。
• The data can be represented graphically in a line diagram. 这些数据可以用单线图表现出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 grooves   

n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• Wheels leave grooves in a dirt road. 车轮在泥路上留下了凹痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sliding doors move in grooves. 滑动门在槽沟中移动。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》