【趣谈英语】曼谷正在下沉-Bangkok Is Sinking
英语课
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
temple: a religious building where people gather to worship
metropolis 1: a large, heavily populated city
urban sprawl 2: the uncontrolled growth of a city
erosion: the gradual loss of ground surface
depletion 3: the using up or emptying of something
foundation: the structure below ground that supports a building
Bangkok Is Sinking
If you’ve always wanted to visit Bangkok and tour its historic temples, now might be the time. The capital of Thailand is sinking twice as fast as it was a decade ago. Scientists fear the metropolis could be completely underwater within 20 years. Urban sprawl is largely to blame for the surface erosion and depletion of groundwater. Thailand is also very sensitive to climate change. As the water rises and the ground erodes 4, one of the biggest problems will be drainage. Many of the historic buildings are in danger already because they weren’t built with deep foundations. Other large cities that are at risk of sinking in the near future are New York, New Orleans, Venice, Shanghai, and Mexico City.
1 metropolis
n.首府；大城市
- Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
- He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。
2 sprawl
vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延
- In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里，灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
- He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。