英语听力：探索发现 2013-01-20 冰河新新州 Ice Age Oasis—17
时间：2018-12-27 作者：英语课 分类：探索与发现2013年
英语课
Today, there is a group of larger visitors here, too. A herd 1 of mastodons led by the matriarch have just returned from their annual migration 2 hundreds of miles to the north.
Now the winter drought is over and the spring water has been topped up by recent rains.
Another group has also set up camp nearby, hunters, descendants of the first human settlers that entered the continent in the far north. Compared to the harsh conditions their ancestors faced, this place is paradise. Targets for the hunters' spears are plentiful 3.
Around the spring, lush vegetation attracts the giant ground sloth 4, too. Both mastodons and sloths 5 are browsers 6. But the mastodons roam far and wide to find the kind of plants they need. The giant ground sloth isn't built to travel far, but it makes up for that by having a reach of a giraffe.
Its huge claws may also be used for self-defence, although even the most powerful predator 7 would think twice before tackling so large a prey 8.
In any case, this female jaguar 9 is little threat right now. Once she's quenched 10 her thirst, she will find a shady place to doze 11 in the heat of the day.
1 herd
n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起
- She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
- He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。
2 migration
n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙
- Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
- He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。
3 plentiful
adj.富裕的，丰富的
- Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
- Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。
4 sloth
n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散
- Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。
- The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。
5 sloths
懒散( sloth的名词复数 )； 懒惰； 树獭； （经济）停滞。
- Mummies of pleistocene ground sloths, with original skin, hair, tendons and claws have been found. 还发现了保存原有皮肤，毛发，腱和爪的更新世时期地面树懒的木乃伊。
- He was inspired by fossils of armadillos and sloths. 犰狳和树懒化石让他获得了灵感。
6 browsers
浏览器
- Three-layer architecture is a model made up of browser, web server and background database server. 这种体系结构是由Browser、Web Server、Database Server组成的浏览器／Web服务器／后台数据库服务器三层模型。 来自互联网
- Another excellent approach is to abandon the browser entirely and, instead, create a non-browser-based, Internet-enabled application. 另一个非常好的方法是干脆放弃浏览器，取而代之，创建一个不基于浏览器，但却是基于互联网的应用。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
7 predator
n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者
- The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
- Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。
8 prey
n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨
- Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
- The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
9 jaguar
n.美洲虎
- He was green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car.看见我那辆美洲虎牌新车，他非常妒忌。
- Should you meet a jaguar in the jungle,just turn slowly,walk away.But slowly,never look back.你在丛林中若碰上美洲虎，就慢慢转身走开，可一定要慢，切莫回头看。