英语听力：自然百科 徒步南非之德拉肯斯堡山脉 The Drakensberg—9

 Day two, and rather worryingly, the weather doesn’t seem to be improving. It also requires a painfully early start. It’s an 18-kilometer round trip from the hotel to the summit, which most hikers tackle in one go, averaging eight to nine hours of steady walking. 

 

It’s not that often, when you set out on a big walk like this that you can see the goal, but there it is. It’s hard not to be impressed by the sheer scale of Cathedral Peak, thrusting 3,004 meters upwards¹, it’s got almost architectural proportions. 

 

This cathedral has even got its own bell, the smaller but perfectly² formed peak to its side. I’m just hoping the weather holds out long enough so that I can get up there for closer inspection³.

 

The Drakensberg, one of South Africa’s top destinations, a kind of English Lake District and European Alps all rolled into one. Unlike their Alpine⁴ counterpart, there are no shortcuts⁵ via cable cars. The only…

1 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

4 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

5 shortcuts   

n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）

参考例句：

• In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓