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英语听力—环球英语 1074 Mountains Under the Sea

时间:2012-10-29 06:22来源:互联网 提供网友:jpstudy   字体: [ ]
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   Voice 1

 
  Welcome to Spotlight1. I’m Anne Muir.
 
  Voice 2
 
  And I’m Bruce Gulland. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
 
  Voice 1
 
  Aurélie Spadone knows all about mountains. She lives in Switzerland, close to some of the highest mountains in Europe. But Aurélie has just been on a trip to study mountains of a very different sort. Normally2 you look up to see mountains - but for these mountains, Aurélie had to look down; deep down. Aurélie has been studying mountains that are thousands of metres under the sea. Scientists have a special name for these underwater mountains. They call them ‘seamounts’. Today’s Spotlight is on ‘seamounts’.
 
  Voice 2
 
  To be a true seamount, a mountain has to be completely under the sea. It also has to be more than one thousand metres high. All the world’s oceans contain seamounts. There are over 100,000 of them in the world - and yet scientists have studied only about a hundred of them in detail. There is still a lot about seamounts that we do not know.
 
  Voice 1
 
  Seamounts are most commonly volcanic3. Like volcanoes4 on land, they are formed by melted rock coming from under the earth’s surface. In some cases the seamounts can grow very quickly as fresh rock rises from the sea bed. One example is near the coast of Grenada. This seamount increased its height by 75 metres in just twenty years. And because seamounts are volcanic, they are most common in particular areas. These are the areas where the earth’s continents meet. One of these areas is in the Indian Ocean. This is where Aurélie’s ship has been.
 
  Aurélie is one of twenty scientists who have been on a six week trip to the south-west Indian Ocean. They wanted to study the creatures that live on the seamounts.
 
  Voice 2
 
  Ocean currents move water across the bottom of the sea all the time. When these currents meet a seamount they push water up the side of the seamount, towards the surface. The water carries material from the bottom of the ocean - including small plants and animals. Fish and other sea animals feed on this material - and so seamounts become special places where sea life grows very well. This makes seamounts very interesting to the scientists. On this trip, the scientists studied five seamounts.
 
  Voice 1
 
  The scientists explored the seamounts using an underwater vehicle. They controlled the vehicle from their ship. No-one rides in this vehicle; instead it is full of cameras and measuring equipment. It can also collect material from the bottom of the sea, including plants and animals. It brings them back to the surface for the scientists to study. Aurélie was clearly excited to see the first dive of the vehicle, with all the different sea animals. She wrote about it on the trip's Internet website:
 
  Voice 3
 
  “I must admit it was amazing, watching the live pictures from the vehicle, looking at these small red shrimps5, crabs6, colourful corals, sponges7 and fish swimming in front of the vehicle.”
 
  Voice 1
 
  It is very probable8 that some of the sea animals that the scientists have found on these seamounts will prove to be new species9 - animals unknown before this trip.
 
  Voice 2
 
  But Aurélie and the other scientists have not just been looking for interesting new sea animals. The main reason for their trip was to protect the seamount environment from harm. The problem is that scientists are not the only people who like seamounts. The fishing industry has discovered that seamounts have plenty of fish. This is because the rising water brings sea life from the deep sea. Fish feed on this sea life. Fishing boats come to take advantage of these large numbers of fish. But this leads to a problem. The fishing boats use large, heavy nets that they pull along the bottom of the sea. The nets are designed to rub10 along the bottom of the sea - the sea bed. In this way they catch the fish that are hiding on or near the sea bed - but they also damage the sea bed.
 
  Doctor Alex Rogers was the chief scientist on the trip. He told the BBC:
 
  Voice 4
 
  “The fishing boats use equipment that destroys natural systems that live on the seamounts. When the fishing equipment comes near, creatures dive down to the sea bed. This is how they behave to avoid their natural enemies. But the fishers often use bottom nets to catch these animals. These nets have huge metal doors to keep the nets open. The nets also have huge rollers to permit them to bounce11 along the sea bed. These nets completely crush12 very delicate13, weak animals like corals.”
 
  Voice 1
 
  The scientists on the ship have no power to prevent the fishing industry from using these harmful methods. But their studies have increased the knowledge of how serious the problem is. They found evidence of human damage on all five of the seamounts that they visited. On one seamount they saw a fishing boat working. The scientists could clearly see serious damage caused by fishing. They could also see that sea life was healthy in the areas without fishing.
 
  Voice 2
 
  Aurélie looked back and thought about the wonderful sea creatures she and the other scientists had seen. She wrote of tall tree-like structures made of coral, bright coloured shrimps, urchins14 shaped like sticks, angry-looking crabs, glass-like sponges and funny looking big-eyed fish. And, she said, the list goes on.
 
  Voice 3
 
  “We count ourselves among the few honoured people who have seen live images of these amazing things - a thousand metres and more below the surface of the oceans in that cold, dark and quiet world.”
 
  Voice 2
 
  So, the scientists finished their trip to the seamounts with mixed feelings. They saw the wonder of unknown and beautiful sea creatures, but they also saw the damage humans are doing to these wonderful creatures’ home.
 
  Voice 1
 
  Pierre-Yves Cousteau is a famous expert on underwater life. He wrote about the group's findings15 on their Internet website. Let us give him the last word:
 
  Voice 5
 
  “Life is a chance. As far as we know it only exists right here, on this planet16. We mistakenly call this planet ‘Earth’ when really it is mostly covered in water. We must care for it, or we will watch it drop slowly through our open hands.”
 
  Voice 1
 
  The writer of this programme was Mike Procter. The producer was Luke Haley. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish dot net. This program is called, ‘Mountains Under the Sea’.
 
  We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 spotlight 6hBzmk     
n.公众注意的中心,聚光灯,探照灯,视听,注意,醒目
参考例句:
  • This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
  • The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。
2 normally ln8zVb     
adv.正常地,通常地
参考例句:
  • I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
  • My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。
3 volcanic BLgzQ     
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的
参考例句:
  • There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
4 volcanoes 313774236ecdbc09d1c3ef565e4fe933     
n.火山( volcano的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Volcanoes and geysers erupt. 火山和间歇喷泉均能喷发。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive. 他现在比任何人都能更多地向我们讲述有关活火山的情况。 来自《用法词典》
5 shrimps 08429aec6f0990db8c831a2a57fc760c     
n.虾,小虾( shrimp的名词复数 );矮小的人
参考例句:
  • Shrimps are a popular type of seafood. 小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I'm going to have shrimps for my tea. 傍晚的便餐我要吃点虾。 来自辞典例句
6 crabs a26cc3db05581d7cfc36d59943c77523     
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 sponges 11f846f09e05abbc5016382c69bbf510     
n.海绵( sponge的名词复数 );海绵动物
参考例句:
  • Sponges absorb water. 海绵吸水。 来自辞典例句
  • Ice bags and alcohol sponges help to reduce fever, especially in children. 用冰袋和洒精擦浴有助于降体温,尤其是对儿童。 来自辞典例句
8 probable cQVxF     
adj.可能的,有望发性或实现的
参考例句:
  • It is probable to finish the job before dark.天黑之前有可能完成这项工作。
  • It is hardly probable that he will succeed.他不会成功。
9 species FTizN     
n.物种,种群
参考例句:
  • Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗?
  • This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。
10 rub LXWxN     
n.摩擦,困难,障碍,难点,磨损处;vt.擦,搓,摩擦,惹怒;vi.摩擦,擦破
参考例句:
  • Don't let the wire rub up against the pipe.别让电线碰到管子上。
  • He used to rub up against many famous movie stars.他过去经常偶然碰到许多有名的影星。
11 bounce BRqyP     
n.弹,反弹;冲劲,冲力;v.(使)弹起(跳起)
参考例句:
  • She's got a lot of bounce.她浑身都是劲。
  • The ball gave a high bounce.那球弹得很高。
12 crush jy4xx     
v.压垮,压倒,压服,镇压;压碎,碾碎
参考例句:
  • This machine is made to crush the rock into powder.这台机器是用来把石头压成碎末的。
  • You can't crush so many people into the classroom.不能让这么多人挤进教室。
13 delicate Hx1xS     
adj.巧妙的,敏感的;易损的,娇嫩的
参考例句:
  • Be careful with those wine cups — they are very delicate.当心那些酒杯—它们很容易碎。
  • The delicate handicraft works will not bear rough handling.精致的手工艺品经不起粗鲁的摆弄。
14 urchins d5a7ff1b13569cf85a979bfc58c50045     
n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 );淘气鬼;猬;海胆
参考例句:
  • Some dozen barefooted urchins ganged in from the riverside. 几十个赤足的顽童从河边成群结队而来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • People said that he had jaundice and urchins nicknamed him "Yellow Fellow." 别人说他是黄胆病,孩子们也就叫他“黄胖”了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
15 findings 4tYzV9     
n.发现物( finding的名词复数 );调查(或研究)的结果;(陪审团的)裁决
参考例句:
  • It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
  • Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
16 planet A26z1     
n.行星
参考例句:
  • Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
  • Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。
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