英语听力:自然百科 澳大利亚大堡礁 Great Barrier Reef—2
时间:2019-01-22 作者:英语课 分类:自然百科2011年
英语课
Where every plant and animal helps sustain the whole.The waste from parrot fish cements the reef. Stinging anemones 1 provide a haven 2 to the vulnerable. Even killers 3 play their part, preventing a population explosion that would destroy this fragile ecosystem 4.
Life doesn't just reside here. The reef itself is built by one of its smallest tenants 5.
For more than 15 years, marine 6 scientist Dave Wachenfeld has been coming down here to study coral polyps. These tiny creatures are closely related to jellyfish, but much smaller. They don't have a bone in their body.
Yet for half a billion years, they've been nature's greatest builders, architects of labyrinths 7 of limestone 8.
Wachenfeld: “When we look at the surface of these soft corals, we can see the hundreds of tiny polyps.”
Every bit of this reef has had an odyssey 9 to get here. The coral starts out life as larvae 10, floating free in the ocean. For each one, the chances of survival are slim.
They have to run the gauntlet of a million hungry mouths as they cross up to 1000 miles of open ocean. Fewer than one in 100,000 complete the journey.
And then they’re faced with a second hurdle--finding the perfect landing site. Falling on sand or a crowded outcrop is death. Those precious few that survive will start a colony. Once settled, the larvae begin to grow. Transforming into adults called polyps. They develop tentacles 11 that can grab food from the water.
n.银莲花( anemone的名词复数 );海葵
- With its powerful tentacles, it tries to prise the anemones off. 它想用强壮的触角截获海葵。 来自互联网
- Density, scale, thickness are still influencing the anemones shape. 密度、大小、厚度是受最原始的那股海葵的影响。 来自互联网
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所
- It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后,这真是一个安乐窝。
- The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。
凶手( killer的名词复数 ); 消灭…者; 致命物; 极难的事
- He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
- They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。
n.生态系统
- This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
- We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
n.房客( tenant的名词复数 );佃户;占用者;占有者
- A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
- Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
- Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
- When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 ); (文字,建筑)错综复杂的
- I was engulfed in labyrinths of trouble too great to get out at all. 我陷入困难的迷宫中去,简直无法脱身。
- I've explored ancient castles, palaces, temples, tombs, catacombs and labyrinths. 我曾在古堡、古皇宫、古神庙、古墓、地下墓穴和迷宫中探险。
n.石灰石
- Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
- Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。
n.长途冒险旅行;一连串的冒险
- The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
- His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程,到此结束了。
n.幼虫
- Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
- The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。