【課文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What is the main condition for the preservation of the remains of any living creature?
It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved, for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial, and it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes, where mud and sit have been continuously deposited, that bodies and the can be rapidly covered over and preserved.
But even in the most favourable circumstances only a small fraction of the creatures that die are preserved in this way before decay sets in or, even more likely, before scavengers eat them. After all, all living creatures live by feeding on something else, whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive, and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided. The remains of plants and animals that lived on land are much more rarely preserved, for there is seldom anything to cover them over. When you think of the innumerable birds that one sees flying bout, not to mention the equally numerous small animals like field mice and voles which you do not see, it is very rarely that one comes across a dead body, except, of course, on the roads. They decompose and are quickly destroyed by the weather or eaten by some other creature.
It is almost always due to some very special circumstances that traces of land animals survive, as by falling into inaccessible caves, or into an ice crevasse, like the Siberian mammoths, when the whole animal is sometimes preserved, as in a refrigerator. This is what happened to the famous Beresovka mammoth which was found preserved and in good condition. In his mouth were the remains of fir trees -- the last meal that he had before he fell into the crevasse and broke his back. The mammoth has now just a suburb of Los Angeles. Apparently what happened was that water collected on these tar pits, and the bigger animals like the elephants ventured out on to the apparently firm surface to drink, and were promptly bogged in the tar. And then, when they were dead, the carnivores, like the sabre-toothed cats and the giant wolves, came out to feed and suffered exactly the same fate. There are also endless numbers of birds in the tar as well.
ERROL WHITE The past life of the earth from Discovery
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語】
preservation n. 保存
silt n. 淤泥
scavenger n. 食腐動(dòng)物
vole n. 野鼠，鼴鼠
decompose v. 腐爛
inaccessible adj. 不能到達(dá)的
crevasse n. 縫隙
Siberian adj.西伯利亞的
palaeontological adj. 古生物學(xué)的
St. Petersburg n. 圣彼得堡
sabre-toothed adj. 長著銳利的長牙
venture v. 冒險(xiǎn)
bogged adj. 陷入泥沼的，陷入要困境的
【課文注釋】
1. 第1段中有兩個(gè)由it is ...引導(dǎo)的強(qiáng)調(diào)句。
一個(gè)是It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved, 被強(qiáng)調(diào)的部分animals and plants which lived in or near water。另一個(gè)強(qiáng)調(diào)句是it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes, ... that bodies and the like can be ..., 這一句中強(qiáng)調(diào)的是地點(diǎn)狀語。
2.preserve v. 保護(hù), 保存, 保持
例句：It is highly important to preserve the environment.
保護(hù)自然環(huán)境至關(guān)重要。
【錯(cuò)句舉例與錯(cuò)句分析】
錯(cuò)句: His life and loves have been preserved at Shaw's Corner.
訂正: The record of his life and loves has been preserved at Shaw's Corner.
翻譯: 他的生活與感情記錄都保存在“蕭氏角落”里。
分析: 這里的錯(cuò)誤是把“生活”與“生活的記錄”混淆在了一起，意思表達(dá)不明確。
【詞義辨析】
keep, retain, reserve, preserve, conserve, withhold, maintain, save , store
這些動(dòng)詞均有“保持，保存”之意。
keep: 常用詞，指長時(shí)間牢固地保持或保存。
retain: 指繼續(xù)保持。
reserve: 正式用詞，指為了將來的用途或其他用途而保存、保留。
preserve: 主要指為防止損害、變質(zhì)等而保存。
conserve: 一般指保存自然資源，保全人的精力、力量等。
withhold: 指扣住不放，暗示有阻礙。
maintain: 指保持原樣，不增不減
save: 普通用詞，指盡量少用，以爭(zhēng)取數(shù)量上有所增加。
store: 普通用詞，指將物品存放，以備將來使用。
3.set in 到來，開始
例句：The moist season has set in.
雨季已來臨。
The rot set in when we lost that important customer in Japan.
我們失去了日本的那家重要客戶後，情況越來越糟了。
4.whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive這是讓步狀語從句，用的是虛擬語氣形式。
5.come across
①碰到, 遇到
例句：I, came across an old school friend in Oxford Street this morning.
今天早上我在牛津大街碰見一位老校友。
②被理解
例句：He spoke for a long time but his meaning did not really come across.
他講了很長時(shí)間，但他的意思沒有人真正理解。
③無意中發(fā)現(xiàn)
例句：I came across this book in an old bookstore in London.
我在倫敦一家舊書店里發(fā)現(xiàn)了這本書。
【同義詞】
encounter n.意外的相見, 邂逅,...
happen upon 偶然碰到(偶然發(fā)現(xiàn))
chance on 偶然碰到(不期而遇)
6.decompose vt. 腐爛
例句：Most animals decompose very quickly after death.
大多數(shù)動(dòng)物死后很快腐爛。
Bacteria can decompose organic matter.
細(xì)菌能使有機(jī)物腐爛。
7.inaccessible adj. 難接近的, 難達(dá)到的, 難達(dá)成的
例句：His busy schedule made him completely inaccessible to his students.
他的時(shí)間排得很滿，學(xué)生根本無法和他接觸。
inaccessibility n. 難接近, 難達(dá)到, 難達(dá)成
【反義詞】accessible adj.可得到的, 易接近的...
8.apparently adv.
①表面上
例句：Beneath that apparently calm surface is a man of fierce temper.
文靜的外表掩蓋著的是一個(gè)火暴脾氣的人。
②似乎, 顯然
例句：Apparently they're intending to put up the price of water.
看來他們要提高水費(fèi)了。
9.venture
① v.冒險(xiǎn), 敢于
例句：Venture a small fish to catch a great one.
[諺]欲釣大魚，先舍小魚。
He ventured his life to save a little girl from drowning.
他冒生命危險(xiǎn)救起了一個(gè)小女孩，使她免于淹死。
②n. 冒險(xiǎn)(事業(yè)), 風(fēng)險(xiǎn), 投機(jī)
例句：All our hopes rested upon this venture.
我們所有的希望都寄托在這次冒險(xiǎn)上了。
【詞義辨析】
venture, chance, dare, hazard, risk這些動(dòng)詞均含有“敢于冒險(xiǎn)”之意。
venture: 指冒風(fēng)險(xiǎn)試一試，或指有禮貌的反抗或反對(duì)。
chance: 指碰運(yùn)氣、冒風(fēng)險(xiǎn)試試。
dare: 可與venture換用，但語氣較強(qiáng)，著重挑戰(zhàn)或違抗。
hazard: 主要指冒險(xiǎn)作出某個(gè)選擇，隱含碰運(yùn)氣意味。
risk: 指不顧個(gè)人安危去干某事，側(cè)重主動(dòng)承擔(dān)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
10.bogged adj. 陷入泥沼的, 陷于困境的
例句：The tank (got) bogged down in the mud.
坦克陷入泥沼之中。
Our discussions got bogged down in irrelevant detail.
我們的討論糾纏在無關(guān)緊要的細(xì)節(jié)上。
【參考譯文】
只有生活在水中或水邊的動(dòng)植物尸體有可能被保存下來，因?yàn)楸４娴谋匾獥l件之一是迅速掩埋，所以只有在泥沙不停淤積的海洋和江河里，有時(shí)在湖泊里，尸體之類的東西才能被迅速地覆蓋而保存下來。
即使是在有利的環(huán)境中，死去的生物中也只有一小部分能在開始腐爛前，或更可能在被食腐動(dòng)物吃掉之前，被這樣保存下來。因?yàn)橐磺猩锒际强砍詣e的東西來活命的，不管這種東西是植物還是動(dòng)物，死的還是活的，因此，生物偶爾才能避免被吃掉的命運(yùn)。曾在陸地上生活過的動(dòng)植物的遺體被保存下來的更為罕見，因?yàn)殛懙厣蠋缀鯖]有什么東西覆蓋它們。你可以想象出天上有看得見的飛來飛去、數(shù)不清的鳥，地上有不顯眼的無數(shù)的老鼠和田鼠之類的小動(dòng)物，但是，除非在路上，很少有人遇到這些動(dòng)物的尸體，因?yàn)樗鼈兏瘮≈蠛芸炀捅伙L(fēng)化掉，或被別的動(dòng)物吃掉了。
幾乎總是由于某些特殊的條件，陸地動(dòng)物的遺體才被存下來，如掉進(jìn)難以到達(dá)的洞穴，或掉進(jìn)冰河裂縫里，或者像西伯利亞長毛象那樣掉進(jìn)冰窟中，有時(shí)整個(gè)動(dòng)物像被放在冰箱里一樣被保存下來，的那林索夫卡長毛象就是這樣被保存下來的，而且保存得很好。它嘴里還留著冷杉 -- 它掉進(jìn)冰河裂隙折斷脊椎柱之前的后一頓飯。這頭長毛象已被修復(fù)，現(xiàn)存于圣彼得堡古生物學(xué)博物館。有的動(dòng)物掉進(jìn)天然瀝清坑里被保存下來，如在蘭橋.拉.布里 -- 現(xiàn)在是洛杉磯的郊區(qū)發(fā)現(xiàn)的大象、劍齒虎和許多其他動(dòng)物。顯然，事情的經(jīng)過是這樣：瀝青坑里積存了水，大象那樣的大動(dòng)物冒險(xiǎn)到似乎堅(jiān)固的水面上去飲水，立即掉進(jìn)了瀝青坑。大象死后，一些食肉動(dòng)物，如劍齒虎和大灰狼就來吃大象，結(jié)果遭到了同樣的命運(yùn)。瀝青坑里還有無數(shù)只鳥的尸體。
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What is the main condition for the preservation of the remains of any living creature?
It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved, for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial, and it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes, where mud and sit have been continuously deposited, that bodies and the can be rapidly covered over and preserved.
But even in the most favourable circumstances only a small fraction of the creatures that die are preserved in this way before decay sets in or, even more likely, before scavengers eat them. After all, all living creatures live by feeding on something else, whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive, and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided. The remains of plants and animals that lived on land are much more rarely preserved, for there is seldom anything to cover them over. When you think of the innumerable birds that one sees flying bout, not to mention the equally numerous small animals like field mice and voles which you do not see, it is very rarely that one comes across a dead body, except, of course, on the roads. They decompose and are quickly destroyed by the weather or eaten by some other creature.
It is almost always due to some very special circumstances that traces of land animals survive, as by falling into inaccessible caves, or into an ice crevasse, like the Siberian mammoths, when the whole animal is sometimes preserved, as in a refrigerator. This is what happened to the famous Beresovka mammoth which was found preserved and in good condition. In his mouth were the remains of fir trees -- the last meal that he had before he fell into the crevasse and broke his back. The mammoth has now just a suburb of Los Angeles. Apparently what happened was that water collected on these tar pits, and the bigger animals like the elephants ventured out on to the apparently firm surface to drink, and were promptly bogged in the tar. And then, when they were dead, the carnivores, like the sabre-toothed cats and the giant wolves, came out to feed and suffered exactly the same fate. There are also endless numbers of birds in the tar as well.
ERROL WHITE The past life of the earth from Discovery
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語】
preservation n. 保存
silt n. 淤泥
scavenger n. 食腐動(dòng)物
vole n. 野鼠，鼴鼠
decompose v. 腐爛
inaccessible adj. 不能到達(dá)的
crevasse n. 縫隙
Siberian adj.西伯利亞的
palaeontological adj. 古生物學(xué)的
St. Petersburg n. 圣彼得堡
sabre-toothed adj. 長著銳利的長牙
venture v. 冒險(xiǎn)
bogged adj. 陷入泥沼的，陷入要困境的
【課文注釋】
1. 第1段中有兩個(gè)由it is ...引導(dǎo)的強(qiáng)調(diào)句。
一個(gè)是It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved, 被強(qiáng)調(diào)的部分animals and plants which lived in or near water。另一個(gè)強(qiáng)調(diào)句是it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes, ... that bodies and the like can be ..., 這一句中強(qiáng)調(diào)的是地點(diǎn)狀語。
2.preserve v. 保護(hù), 保存, 保持
例句：It is highly important to preserve the environment.
保護(hù)自然環(huán)境至關(guān)重要。
【錯(cuò)句舉例與錯(cuò)句分析】
錯(cuò)句: His life and loves have been preserved at Shaw's Corner.
訂正: The record of his life and loves has been preserved at Shaw's Corner.
翻譯: 他的生活與感情記錄都保存在“蕭氏角落”里。
分析: 這里的錯(cuò)誤是把“生活”與“生活的記錄”混淆在了一起，意思表達(dá)不明確。
【詞義辨析】
keep, retain, reserve, preserve, conserve, withhold, maintain, save , store
這些動(dòng)詞均有“保持，保存”之意。
keep: 常用詞，指長時(shí)間牢固地保持或保存。
retain: 指繼續(xù)保持。
reserve: 正式用詞，指為了將來的用途或其他用途而保存、保留。
preserve: 主要指為防止損害、變質(zhì)等而保存。
conserve: 一般指保存自然資源，保全人的精力、力量等。
withhold: 指扣住不放，暗示有阻礙。
maintain: 指保持原樣，不增不減
save: 普通用詞，指盡量少用，以爭(zhēng)取數(shù)量上有所增加。
store: 普通用詞，指將物品存放，以備將來使用。
3.set in 到來，開始
例句：The moist season has set in.
雨季已來臨。
The rot set in when we lost that important customer in Japan.
我們失去了日本的那家重要客戶後，情況越來越糟了。
4.whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive這是讓步狀語從句，用的是虛擬語氣形式。
5.come across
①碰到, 遇到
例句：I, came across an old school friend in Oxford Street this morning.
今天早上我在牛津大街碰見一位老校友。
②被理解
例句：He spoke for a long time but his meaning did not really come across.
他講了很長時(shí)間，但他的意思沒有人真正理解。
③無意中發(fā)現(xiàn)
例句：I came across this book in an old bookstore in London.
我在倫敦一家舊書店里發(fā)現(xiàn)了這本書。
【同義詞】
encounter n.意外的相見, 邂逅,...
happen upon 偶然碰到(偶然發(fā)現(xiàn))
chance on 偶然碰到(不期而遇)
6.decompose vt. 腐爛
例句：Most animals decompose very quickly after death.
大多數(shù)動(dòng)物死后很快腐爛。
Bacteria can decompose organic matter.
細(xì)菌能使有機(jī)物腐爛。
7.inaccessible adj. 難接近的, 難達(dá)到的, 難達(dá)成的
例句：His busy schedule made him completely inaccessible to his students.
他的時(shí)間排得很滿，學(xué)生根本無法和他接觸。
inaccessibility n. 難接近, 難達(dá)到, 難達(dá)成
【反義詞】accessible adj.可得到的, 易接近的...
8.apparently adv.
①表面上
例句：Beneath that apparently calm surface is a man of fierce temper.
文靜的外表掩蓋著的是一個(gè)火暴脾氣的人。
②似乎, 顯然
例句：Apparently they're intending to put up the price of water.
看來他們要提高水費(fèi)了。
9.venture
① v.冒險(xiǎn), 敢于
例句：Venture a small fish to catch a great one.
[諺]欲釣大魚，先舍小魚。
He ventured his life to save a little girl from drowning.
他冒生命危險(xiǎn)救起了一個(gè)小女孩，使她免于淹死。
②n. 冒險(xiǎn)(事業(yè)), 風(fēng)險(xiǎn), 投機(jī)
例句：All our hopes rested upon this venture.
我們所有的希望都寄托在這次冒險(xiǎn)上了。
【詞義辨析】
venture, chance, dare, hazard, risk這些動(dòng)詞均含有“敢于冒險(xiǎn)”之意。
venture: 指冒風(fēng)險(xiǎn)試一試，或指有禮貌的反抗或反對(duì)。
chance: 指碰運(yùn)氣、冒風(fēng)險(xiǎn)試試。
dare: 可與venture換用，但語氣較強(qiáng)，著重挑戰(zhàn)或違抗。
hazard: 主要指冒險(xiǎn)作出某個(gè)選擇，隱含碰運(yùn)氣意味。
risk: 指不顧個(gè)人安危去干某事，側(cè)重主動(dòng)承擔(dān)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
10.bogged adj. 陷入泥沼的, 陷于困境的
例句：The tank (got) bogged down in the mud.
坦克陷入泥沼之中。
Our discussions got bogged down in irrelevant detail.
我們的討論糾纏在無關(guān)緊要的細(xì)節(jié)上。
【參考譯文】
只有生活在水中或水邊的動(dòng)植物尸體有可能被保存下來，因?yàn)楸４娴谋匾獥l件之一是迅速掩埋，所以只有在泥沙不停淤積的海洋和江河里，有時(shí)在湖泊里，尸體之類的東西才能被迅速地覆蓋而保存下來。
即使是在有利的環(huán)境中，死去的生物中也只有一小部分能在開始腐爛前，或更可能在被食腐動(dòng)物吃掉之前，被這樣保存下來。因?yàn)橐磺猩锒际强砍詣e的東西來活命的，不管這種東西是植物還是動(dòng)物，死的還是活的，因此，生物偶爾才能避免被吃掉的命運(yùn)。曾在陸地上生活過的動(dòng)植物的遺體被保存下來的更為罕見，因?yàn)殛懙厣蠋缀鯖]有什么東西覆蓋它們。你可以想象出天上有看得見的飛來飛去、數(shù)不清的鳥，地上有不顯眼的無數(shù)的老鼠和田鼠之類的小動(dòng)物，但是，除非在路上，很少有人遇到這些動(dòng)物的尸體，因?yàn)樗鼈兏瘮≈蠛芸炀捅伙L(fēng)化掉，或被別的動(dòng)物吃掉了。
幾乎總是由于某些特殊的條件，陸地動(dòng)物的遺體才被存下來，如掉進(jìn)難以到達(dá)的洞穴，或掉進(jìn)冰河裂縫里，或者像西伯利亞長毛象那樣掉進(jìn)冰窟中，有時(shí)整個(gè)動(dòng)物像被放在冰箱里一樣被保存下來，的那林索夫卡長毛象就是這樣被保存下來的，而且保存得很好。它嘴里還留著冷杉 -- 它掉進(jìn)冰河裂隙折斷脊椎柱之前的后一頓飯。這頭長毛象已被修復(fù)，現(xiàn)存于圣彼得堡古生物學(xué)博物館。有的動(dòng)物掉進(jìn)天然瀝清坑里被保存下來，如在蘭橋.拉.布里 -- 現(xiàn)在是洛杉磯的郊區(qū)發(fā)現(xiàn)的大象、劍齒虎和許多其他動(dòng)物。顯然，事情的經(jīng)過是這樣：瀝青坑里積存了水，大象那樣的大動(dòng)物冒險(xiǎn)到似乎堅(jiān)固的水面上去飲水，立即掉進(jìn)了瀝青坑。大象死后，一些食肉動(dòng)物，如劍齒虎和大灰狼就來吃大象，結(jié)果遭到了同樣的命運(yùn)。瀝青坑里還有無數(shù)只鳥的尸體。