評論
打印
Passage One
短文一
At some 2,300 miles in length, the Mississippi is the longest river in the United States.
密西西比河長約2300英里，是美國最長的河流。
At some 1,000 miles, the Mackenzie is the longest river in Canada.
麥肯齊河全長約1000英里，是加拿大最長的河流。
But these waterways seem minute in comparison to the world's two lengthiest rivers-the Nile and the Amazon.
但與世界上兩條最長的河流——尼羅河和亞馬遜河相比，這些河似乎微不足道。
The Nile, which begins in central Africa and flows over 4,100 miles north into the Mediterranean,
尼羅河發源于非洲中部，向北流入地中海，流程達4100英里，
hosted one of the world's great ancient civilizations along its shores.
是世界上最偉大的古代文明之一。
Calm and peaceful for most of the year, the Nile used to flood annually,
在一年中的大部分時間里尼羅河都還算平靜，過去尼羅河每年都會泛濫，
thereby creating, irrigating and carrying new topsoil to the nearby farmland on which ancient Egypt depended for livelihood.
從而生成、灌溉和搬運新的表層土壤到附近的農田——這片古埃及賴以生存的土地。
As a means of transportation, the river carried various vessels up and down its length.
作為水路交通，各種各樣的船只航行在這條河上。
A journey through the unobstructed part of this waterway today would pass by the splendid Valley of the Kings,
今天，沿著這段暢通無阻的水路前行經過輝煌的帝王谷。
where the tombs of many of these ancient monarchs have stood for over 3,000 years.
這些古代君主的墳墓已有3000多年的歷史。
Great civilizations and intensive settlement are hardly associated with the Amazon,
亞馬遜河幾乎從未與偉大的文明和密集聚居地這樣的字眼關聯在一起。
yet this 4,000-mile-long South American river carries about 20 percent of the world's fresh water-more than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze combined.
然而，4000英里長的南美洲河流承載著世界上20%的淡水——比密西西比河、尼羅河和長江的總和還多。
Other statistics are equally astonishing.
其它數據也同樣驚人，
The Amazon is so wide at some points that from its center neither shore can be seen.
亞馬遜河太寬了，從河中心都看不見海岸。
Each second, the Amazon pours some 55 million gallons of water into the Atlantic;
亞馬遜河向大西洋每秒注入約5500萬加侖的水；
there, at its mouth, stands one island larger than Switzerland.
在其河口處，有一個比瑞士還大的島嶼。
Most important of all, the Amazon irrigates the largest tropical rain forest on Earth.
最重要的是，亞馬遜河灌溉著地球上最大的熱帶雨林。
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
根據你剛才聽到的短文回答9-11題。
9. What can be found in the Valley of the Kings?
問題9：在帝王谷能找到什么?
10. In what way is the Amazon different from other big rivers?
問題10：亞馬遜河與其它大河有何不同?
11. What does the speaker say about the Amazon?
問題11：關于亞馬遜，說話者說了什么?
