Wild Europe - Genesis 肇始之初- 1
时间：2018-12-07 作者：英语课 分类：欧洲自然写真
Europe, an ancient continent. Within its borders lies unrivalled richness of both natural and human wonders.
At its northern limits, Europe reaches into the icy wastes of the high Arctic. To the south and west, its fringes have been shaped by the Mediterranean 1 Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Far to the east, it is bounded by the primeval forests of Russia, rubbing shoulders with Asia. These boundaries enclose an area just half the size of North America, yet 713,000,000 people make Europe their home. It's hard to find a space unmarked by human occupation.
The Europe that we see today is the product of a long and complex history. Thousands of years of settlements, invasions, revolutions and inventions have allowed us to reorder nature's ancient patterns to suit our needs.
On a human time scale, the story of the changing face of Europe seems immense, but there is an even more extraordinary story to be told, one that stretches back half a billion years, and tells of the events that have really shaped the continent. 8,000 years ago, the skyscrapers 2 of Frankfurt would have risen over endless primeval wildwood, stretching from Lisbon to Leningrad. Over the last 2 million years, Europe has seesawed between perishing cold and stifling 4 heat. During the Ice Ages, Amsterdam and London would have been smothered 5 by huge glaciers 6.
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words and expressions
wastes:large areas of land that are not cultivated and have few living animals or plants荒地
fringe:the outer or less important part of an area, group or activity边缘,四周
rub shoulders with sth:和...接触
also: rub shoulders with sb.=rub elbows with sb.
to meet and spend time with:与某人有来往
eg:She claims that she rubs shoulders with royalty 7 all the time.
tell of:讲述
seesaw:vi.to change repeatedly from one emotion, situation, etc. to another and then back again交替；起伏
- 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。
- A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
- On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。
- The boat seesawed in the heavy sea. 小舟在波涛汹涌的海中颠簸不已。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- He seesawed between two opinions. 他在两种意见之间举棋不定。 来自互联网
- The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
- We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。
- He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
- The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。