英语听力：自然百科 冰冻星球 前往地球尽头—8
时间：2018-12-26 作者：英语课 分类：自然百科2012年
英语课
A colossal 1 iceberg 2 is born. This single block of ice, many hundreds of meters across would dwarf 3 the biggest of mankind buildings.
Every year, tens of thousands of icebergs 4 are spawned 5 by Greenland's glaciers 6, and their number is steadily 7 increasing as the climate continues to warm.
The breakup of the bergs fills the base of the Arctic with exquisite 8 ice sculptures. It also releases great volumes 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.
The Arctic is closer to home than many of us realize. It includes the northern most parts of the three continents on which most of us live, Europe, Asia and North America.
The first bare land we reach on our journey south is a bleak 9 treeless wilderness 10 known as Tundra 11. Each spring, animals travel up from the south to be ready for the rich grazing that will be unveiled by the spring melt. For the caribou 12, the timing 13 is critical; arrive earlier and a winter storm could kill you; delay too long and you may fail to lay down the fat needed to survive a polar winter.
1 colossal
adj.异常的，庞大的
- 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
- 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 dwarf
n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小
- The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
- The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。
4 icebergs
n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 )
- 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
5 spawned
（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产
- The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
- The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。
6 glaciers
冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )
- 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）
7 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
- The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
- Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
8 exquisite
adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的
- 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。
9 bleak
adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的
- 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。
10 wilderness
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠
- 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。
11 tundra
n.苔原，冻土地带
- 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。