英语听力：自然百科 冰冻星球 前往地球尽头(8)

A colossal¹ iceberg² is born. This single block of ice, many hundreds of meters across, would toss the biggest mankind buildings. Every year, tens of thousands of icebergs³ are spooned by Greenland's glaciers⁴ and the number is steady increasing as the climate continues the warm. The breakup of the bergs fails the base of the Arctic with exquisite⁵ ice sculptures. It also releases great volume of cold fresh water into the sea. Greenland's melt water influences the course of the ocean currents which in turn has an effect on the weather around the world.

巨大的冰山形成。这单一的冰有数百米宽,甚至和最大的人类建筑相媲美。每年成千上万的冰山由格陵兰的冰川及持续稳步变暖的气候形成。冰川融化分裂,在北极四处可见精湛的天然冰雕。大量的冷水被融化流进大海。格陵兰岛融水影响洋流,反过来作用于世界的天气。

The Arctic is closer to home than many of us realize. It can conclude the northern most parts of the three continents on which most of us live, Europa, Asia and North America.

北极比许多人所意识到的离家更近。它可以终结北部的大部分地区,即三个大洲,我们大多数人生活的欧洲、亚洲和北美洲。

The first barren land we reach our journey south is a bleak⁶ treeless wilderness⁷ known as tundra⁸. Each spring, animals travel up from the south to be ready for the rich grazing that will be unveiled by the spring melt. To the calibo, the timing⁹ is critical. Arriving earlier and winter storm could kill you.Delay too long and you may fail to lay down the fat needed to survive the polar winter.

我们的旅程到达第一个不毛之地,南边是一个荒凉没有植被被称为苔原的旷野。每年春天,动物从南方旅行等待春天的到来。时间至关重要的。早些时候到达,冬季风暴可能会要了你的命。拖得太久,你就不能储存需要在极地冬季生存的脂肪。

1 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

2 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

3 icebergs   

n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The drift of the icebergs in the sea endangers the ships. 海上冰山的漂流危及船只的安全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The icebergs towered above them. 冰山高耸于他们上方。 来自辞典例句

4 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

5 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

6 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

7 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

9 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。