英语听力：自然百科 黄石公园的夏天 Yellowstone—2

 The end of winter comes late to the mountainous northwest of the United States, and in particular, it lingers in Yellowstone. 

 

The heart of Yellowstone is a high cold plateau, 8,000 / feet up, surround by the spires¹ of the Rocky Mountains.   

 

After five months sleeping in those mountains, a powerful presence returns. 

 

This female grizzly² bear has awoken early to find food for her two-year-old cubs³. But she may have brought her family here too early.   

 

    The Tetons, on the extreme southern edge of the Yellowstone plateau, is where the spring thaw⁴ normally begins. But this year, it's come late.

 

Deep snow is still a novelty for her cubs, but she is much more focused. Let by her nose, she risks a 300-pound bulk on the thin ice of the bend in the Snake River.

 

    It doesn't look promising⁵, but her cubs follow with only a little hesitation⁶. With paws that can knock down an elk⁷, she feels delicately in the water, a fish frozen beneath the ice by this cold winter. 

 

One fish won't feed the family, but she knows there are almost certainly more. The cubs must learn to find them

1 spires   

n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her masts leveled with the spires of churches. 船的桅杆和教堂的塔尖一样高。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• White church spires lift above green valleys. 教堂的白色尖顶耸立在绿色山谷中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

3 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

7 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。