Wild Europe - Genesis 肇始之初- 13
时间：2019-01-02 作者：英语课 分类：欧洲自然写真
As the sun beat down, something like 4,000 cubic kilometers of water evaporated from the Mediterranean 1 surface every year. And with no Atlantic water to replenish 2 it, the Mediterranean dried out. In just a thousand years, it became a desert basin of salt pans and caustic 3 lakes. The rivers that once fed the Mediterranean cut deeper and deeper into the rock, chasing the dropping shoreline and forming a labyrinth 4 of dramatic gorges 5.
Just a few million years ago, France's Rhone Valley must have looked more like the Grand Canyon 6. So intense was the heat in the basin that these waterfalls evaporated before they even reached the old seafloor. For tens of thousands of years, a natural dam between present-day Morocco and the Rock of Gibraltar held the waters of the Atlantic bay. The Mediterranean basin remained an almost lifeless expanse of salt, sand and parched 7 earth. But as Africa pushed and pulled Europe's southern boundary, the pressures on the crust became unbearable 8. Rising tides weakened the land bridge and then the Atlantic burst its way over the precipice 9. So began the most gigantic flood ever. At its peak, enormous waterfalls a thousand times grander than Niagara thundered into the basin. More than 100 cubic kilometers of water gushed 10 past Gibraltar every day.
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words and expressions
replenish: To fill or make complete again; add a new stock or supply to:
补充：把…再装满或再备足；给…新添备料或供给
caustic: Capable of burning, corroding 11, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action.腐蚀性的：通过化学反应可被灼烧、腐蚀、销溶或蚀尽的
expanse: A wide and open extent, as of surface, land, or sky.
广阔：广阔的水面、陆地或天空
parched:炎热的
precipice:An overhanging or extremely steep mass of rock, such as a crag or the face of a cliff.
悬崖：悬崖或极其陡峭的岩石，如岩崖或悬崖壁
- The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
- Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
- I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
- We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。
- He opened his mouth to make a caustic retort.他张嘴开始进行刻薄的反击。
- He enjoys making caustic remarks about other people.他喜欢挖苦别人。
- He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
- The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。
- The explorers were confronted with gorges(that were)almost impassable and rivers(that were)often unfordable. 探险人员面临着几乎是无路可通的峡谷和常常是无法渡过的河流。 来自辞典例句
- We visited the Yangtse Gorges last summer. 去年夏天我们游历了长江三峡。 来自辞典例句
- The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
- The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。
- Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
- The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。
- It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
- The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。
- The hut hung half over the edge of the precipice.那间小屋有一半悬在峭壁边上。
- A slight carelessness on this precipice could cost a man his life.在这悬崖上稍一疏忽就会使人丧生。
- Oil gushed from the well. 石油从井口喷了出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Clear water gushed into the irrigational channel. 清澈的水涌进了灌溉渠道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》