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Today, we're going to talk about Amazon River. You probably learned in middle school that the Nile River is the longest river in the world and it's the cradle of civilization. (16) But, more impressive, is the Amazon River, the second longest river in the world. As you know, I have spent a lot of time working along both of these rivers, doing research, filming, and sometimes just relaxing. If you ever get a chance to visit one of these rivers, go for it. However, if you have to choose between visiting the Amazon and visiting the Nile, then you should definitely visit the Amazon. In my opinion, it's way more interesting than the Nile! In fact, it's the most interesting place I've been to, and I've been everywhere, including all seven continents.
(17) The main reason why I think it's so interesting is that the Amazon delta is the largest tropical rain forest in the world. And where there's a rain forest, there's life. Plenty of it! The Nile flows mostly through dry desert, where there's little wildlife or plant life. Meanwhile, there's more life in the Amazon than in any other places in the world. For example, there are 500 species of mammals, one third of the world's bird population, hundreds of reptiles, 175 different kinds of lizards, up to 300 million types of insects, and immense vegetation. The trees are so dense that they form a canopy. The basin contains the Earth's richest and most varied ecosystem. It will startle your senses, your sight, your hearing, and your sense of smell.
Let me briefly describe for you some of the impressive creatures you'll see on the video next week. The first is the jaguar. It is the largest and most powerful cat in the western hemisphere. (18) It measures up to six feet in length and weighs up to 350 pounds. Their powerful jaws can crush a turtle shell. In the river, there are 300-pound dolphins. And not far away is the world's largest snake, the anaconda.
The Amazon basin is thick with vegetation, including a very dense forest of tall trees. (19) By far the most amazing thing in the basin is the treetop world. Many of the trees are 150 feet tall, with canopies exceeding 80 feet. Some scientists believe this canopy alone may contain half of the world’s species!
Among these species is the harpy eagle, which has a six or seven-foot wingspan and is perhaps the most powerful bird in the world. It's big enough to carry a full-grown monkey and then eat it. There is the Macaw parrot, considered by many to be the largest and most beautiful of its species. The video will illustrate what I'm talking about.
16. Which river is the second longest in the world?
17. Why does the speaker think the Amazon River is interesting?
18. What is the weight of the jaguar in the Amazon according to the talk?
19. What is the most amazing thing in the Amazon basin?
今天我們要講的是亞馬遜河。大家可能在中學就學過尼羅河是世界第一長河，是人類文明的搖籃。但是，作為世界第二長河，亞馬遜河給我留下的印象更深。正如大家所知，我對這兩條河做了很多功課，研究、攝像、有時只是在那里放松心情。如果你有機會去欣賞他們，我建議你一定要去。但是，如果你不得不在亞馬遜河和尼羅河之間做出選擇，那你當然要選亞馬遜河。我的個人意見，亞馬遜河遠比尼羅河有趣！事實上，它是我去過的最有趣的地方；我可是什么地方都去過，包括七大洲。我覺得亞馬遜三角洲有趣的主要原因是其三角洲地帶的世界最大的熱帶雨林。而有雨林的地方就會有很多生物。而尼羅河流經的地方主要是干燥的沙漠，沙漠里面則很少有野生動植物。而且，生活在亞馬遜熱帶雨林的生物比世界上任何其他地方的都要多。比如，那里有500中哺乳動物、世界三分之一鳥類、好幾百種爬行動物、175種蜥蜴、昆蟲種類多達3億，植物種類之多驚人。而且樹木茂密形成了諾大的天蓬。盆地中的生態系統含有地球上最豐富的物種。它會對你的感官，包括視覺、聽覺、嗅覺，造成很大的沖擊。讓我來簡單介紹一下大家將會在下周視頻當中看到的神奇的生物。首先是美洲虎。它們是西半球體型最大、最強壯的貓科動物。身長達6英尺，重達350英磅。他們強有力的腳掌可以捏碎龜殼。在河里有著300英磅重的海豚。你還可以在附近看到世界上最長的蛇，水蟒。亞馬遜盆地植被茂盛，參天大樹茂密成林。而最令人驚嘆的是盆地中樹頂世界。很多樹高達150英尺，樹冠層有80英尺厚。一些科學家認為單單是樹冠層就容納著世界上一半的物種！角雕是其中的一種，它們的翼幅達6-7英尺，可能是世界上力量最強大的鳥類。它們有足夠的力量抓起一只成年猴子將其吃掉。這里還有金剛鸚鵡，很多人認為它是其物種當中體積最大、最漂亮的一個。我剛才所說到的都會在視頻中展示出來。
問題16 世界第二長河是哪條河？
問題17 演講者為什么認為亞馬遜河有趣？
問題18 根據演講內容，亞馬遜地區的美洲虎體重是多少？
問題19 亞馬遜盆地最令人驚嘆的是什么？
譯文屬可可原創，僅供學習和交流使用，未經允許不得轉載
