英语听力:自然百科 伯利兹蓝洞
时间:2019-01-22 作者:英语课 分类:自然百科2010年
英语课
Why is this diver burrowing 1 into the bottom of this mini lake? She is literally 2 disappearing into the sand and gravel 3 of the water’s floor, only debris 4 and the occasional bubbles from her breathing tank are visible. She is part of the project, largely funded by National Geographic 5, to dive into the sacred pools of the ancient Maya.
"Our exploration team discovered this upwelling, it’s an underwater spring upwelling, and it provides this magical experience because it’s located at the bottom of a very large crater 6, and you come down, down, down, down into this large crater, and in the bottom is this boiling mass of sediment 7 that’s actually being boiled, rolled and boiled, it’s almost like a natural lava 8 vent 9. Whet 10 in over the lip of the crater, descended 11 down into the bottom, and I didn’t want to have any interference with the water that was already in the pool, and so it required a little bit of digging, and frankly 12 it was extremely low visibility down there but below the actual base of sediment, there’s about one and a half meters more space. The water coming out of the bottom of this spring, coming into the pool, is chemically actually quite distinct from the water in the pool."
But this is just the beginning. The dives also revealed clues to past life here, and a first for the country of Belize. Scientists discovered several fossil beds around 60-90 feet below the surface, including femur bones the size of a bowling 13 ball. They also found tusks 14 and pelvic bones. These are the first recorded fossils ever found in Belize.
"And we left those in place. We only have removed a few small fossils so we can actually determine, are they fossilized? Or bone? They are definitely fossilized, so we know they have to be of a certain age. But were they here? Were these mega-fauna present during occupation by humans about 20,000 years ago, 15,000 years ago? Or are they much older?"
The dives were made in several pools in central Belize earlier this year in an area known as Cara Blanca. The researchers found evidence that the eight pools of the 25 they studied are likely connected through underground passages. Principal Investigator 15 Lisa Lucero says the major goal is to look for archaeological remains 16 underwater.
"Because the Maya considered openings in the earth caves, water bodies as portals to the underworld of Xibalba, and because the thousands of caves that have been found have offerings, ancient Maya offerings, we just knew that there'll be offerings at the bottom of the pool, so we came with the goal of trying to dive to look for these offerings."
Though they didn’t find offerings on the first dives, they did find ceramic 17 sherds in a pool near remains of Maya buildings, constructed around 1100 to 1300 years ago. Lucero says there is no indication this area had many residences, but rather was likely a pilgrimage site, with Maya traveling here from hundreds of miles away. Because at least one of the pools was found to be around 200 feet deep, and littered with trees and silt 18, more sophisticated diving equipment is needed for future dives, and Lucero believes there are more significant Maya offerings at these depths.
v.挖掘(洞穴),挖洞( burrow的现在分词 );翻寻
- What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么? 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
- We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
- More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
n.瓦砾堆,废墟,碎片
- After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
- Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上,导致蛀牙。
adj.地理学的,地理的
- The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
n.火山口,弹坑
- With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
- They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。
n.沉淀,沉渣,沉积(物)
- The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后,水变清了。
- Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。
n.熔岩,火山岩
- The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
- His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。
n.通风口,排放口;开衩;vt.表达,发泄
- He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
- When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时,发动机就会停转。
v.磨快,刺激
- I've read only the fIrst few pages of her book,but It was enough to whet my appetIte.她的书我只看了开头几页,但已经引起我极大的兴趣。
- A really good catalogue can also whet customers' appetites for merchandise.一份真正好的商品目录也可以激起顾客购买的欲望。
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
- A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
- The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
- To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
- Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
n.保龄球运动
- Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
- Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动,高尔夫还是保龄球?
n.(象等动物的)长牙( tusk的名词复数 );獠牙;尖形物;尖头
- The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
- Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分(高一)
n.研究者,调查者,审查者
- He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
- The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
n.制陶业,陶器,陶瓷工艺
- The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
- Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。