【課文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
How did people probably imagine the sea-floor before it was investigated?
Our knowledge of the oceans a hundred years ago was confined to the two-dimensional shape of the sea surface and the hazards of navigation presented by the irregularities in depth of the shallow water close to the land. The open sea was deep and mysterious, and anyone who gave more than a passing thought to the bottom confines of the oceans probably assumed that the sea bed was flat. Sir James Clark Ross had obtained a sounding of over 2,400 fathoms in 1839, but it was not until 1869, when H.M.S. Porcupine was put at the disposal of the Royal Society for several cruises, that a series of deep soundings was obtained in the Atlantic and the first samples were collected by dredging the bottom. Shortly after this the famous H. M. S. Challenger expedition established the study of the sea-floor as a subject worthy of the most qualified physicists and geologists. A burst of activity associated with the laying of submarine cables soon confirmed the challenger's observation that many parts of the ocean were two to there miles deep, and the existence of underwater features of considerable magnitude.
Today, enough soundings are available to enable a relief map of the Atlantic to be drawn and we know something of the great variety of the sea bed's topography. Since the sea covers the greater part of the earth's surface, it is quite reasonable to regard the sea floor as the basic form of the crust of the earth, with, superimposed upon it, the continents, together with the islands and other features of the oceans. The continents form rugged tablelands which stand nearly three miles above the floor of the open ocean. From the shore line, out a distance which may be anywhere from a few miles to a few hundred miles, runs the gentle slope of the continental shelf, geologically part of the continents. The real dividing line between continents and oceans occurs at the foot of a steeper slope.
This continental slope usually starts at a place somewhere near the 100-fatheom mark and in the course of a few hundred miles reaches the true ocean floor at 2,500-3,500 fathoms. The slope averages about 1 in 30. but contains steep, probably vertical, cliffs, and gentle sediment-covered terraces, and near its lower reaches there is a long tailing-off which is almost certainly the result of material transported out to deep water after being eroded from the continental masses.
T.F.GASKELL Exploring the Sea-floor from Science Survey
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語】
navigation n. 航海
sounding n. 水深度
fathom n. 尋(1尋等于1.8米)
porcupine n. 箭豬
dredge v. 挖掘
expedition n. 遠(yuǎn)征
physicist n. 物理學(xué)家
magnitude n. 很多
topography n. 地形
crust n. 地殼
rugged adj.崎嶇不平
tableland n. 高地
sediment n. 沉淀物
terrace n. 階地
erode v. 侵蝕
【課文注釋】
1.be confined to 限制在，局限于
例句：He was confined to bed for a week with his cold.
他由于感冒而被限制在床上躺一個(gè)星期。
The work will not be confined to the Glasgow area.
此項(xiàng)工作不會(huì)局限于格拉斯哥地區(qū)。
2.hazard
①n. 危險(xiǎn)，冒險(xiǎn)，危害
例句：The car had its hazard warning lights on.
這輛汽車亮起了危險(xiǎn)信號(hào)燈。
②v. 冒險(xiǎn)，賭運(yùn)氣
例句：He hazarded all his money in the attempt to save the business.
他為挽救這家企業(yè)，不惜冒險(xiǎn)投入他的全部金錢。
I'll hazard a dollar on the bingo game.
我在這局賓果游戲上賭一元錢。
【詞義辨析】
danger, risk, hazard, menace, peril, threat 這些名詞均含有“危險(xiǎn)、威脅”之意。
danger: 含義廣，普通用詞，指能夠造成傷害、損害或不利的任何情況。
risk: 指有可能發(fā)生的危險(xiǎn)，尤指主動(dòng)進(jìn)行某種活動(dòng)或去碰運(yùn)氣而冒的危險(xiǎn)。
hazard: 比risk正式，多指偶然發(fā)生的或無法控制的危險(xiǎn)，常含較嚴(yán)重或有一定風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的意味。
menace: 所指的危險(xiǎn)性嚴(yán)重，表示使用暴力或造成破壞性的可能。
peril: 指迫在眉睫很有可能發(fā)生的嚴(yán)重危險(xiǎn)。
threat: 普通用詞，語氣弱于menace，指任何公開侵犯對(duì)方的言行，給對(duì)方構(gòu)成危險(xiǎn)或威脅。
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)。
3.irregularity n. 不規(guī)則性，不規(guī)則的事物
例句：Adjust this setting to control the amount of irregularity in the wind.
調(diào)節(jié)設(shè)置控制風(fēng)的不規(guī)則的數(shù)量。
4.shallow water 淺水區(qū)
5.open sea 無邊際的大海
6.gave more than a passing thought 稍微想過
7.H. M. S. 是Her/His Majesty's Ship (英國皇家海軍艦艇)的縮寫。
8.at the disposal of 交由……支配
dispose v. 清除，處理掉，解決，殺死，打敗
例句：His job is to dispose of the rubbish every night.
他的工作是每晚清除垃圾。
Hardship disposes man to meet adversity.
艱苦能讓人適應(yīng)逆境。
He doesn't know how to dispose of his spare time.
他不知道怎樣安排業(yè)余時(shí)間。
disposal n. 處理， 處置， 布置
例句：We placed everything at his disposal.
我們把一切事情都交給他處理。
He has a large number of reference books at his disposal.
他有大量的參考書可供使用。
9.dredge v. 用挖泥機(jī)疏浚
例句：Can we dredge the river to make it deeper?
我們能不能把這條河疏浚得深一點(diǎn)?
10.a relief map 地形圖
11.with, superimposed upon it, the continents, together with the islands and other features of the oceans 這是with引導(dǎo)的一個(gè)過去分詞獨(dú)立主格結(jié)構(gòu)。因邏輯主語太長，所以使用了倒裝語序。 superimposed upon it 是邏輯謂語部分。
12.rugged adj. 高低不平的，崎嶇的，粗糙的
例句：They walk on the rugged country road.
他們在崎嶇不平的鄉(xiāng)村小路上走著。
The path to glory is always rugged.
通向光榮的道路常常是崎嶇的。
13.continental shelf 大陸架
14.1 in 30 1/30
15.erode vt. 腐蝕， 侵蝕
例句：Soft drinks erode your stomach lining.
軟飲會(huì)腐蝕你的胃壁。
The sea have erode the cliff face over the years.
海水經(jīng)年累月沖刷著峭壁的表面。
【參考譯文】
本世紀(jì)已研制出許多新奇的交通工具，其中新奇的要數(shù)氣墊船了。1953年，有一位50多歲名叫克里斯托弗.科克雷的原電子工程師，改行在諾福克郡的湖泊地區(qū)從事造船業(yè)，他向英國政府和工業(yè)界提出了他研究多年的一項(xiàng)計(jì)劃。他的設(shè)想是：用一個(gè)低壓空氣或軟墊來支撐船體，軟墊周圍用高壓空氣環(huán)繞。自那以后，人們很難決定是否應(yīng)該將這種運(yùn)載工具列為輪船、飛機(jī)，或是陸上交通工具，因?yàn)樗墙橛诖惋w機(jī)之間。作為一個(gè)船舶技師，科克雷爾在尋找解決波浪阻力的方法，因?yàn)椴ɡ俗枇速M(fèi)掉了船在水面行駛的大量動(dòng)力，從而限制了船的速度。他的解決辦法是把船體提離水面，讓船在一個(gè)氣墊上行駛，氣墊只有一兩英尺厚。船底裝上大量環(huán)狀噴氣嘴以實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目的。這樣，船就能飛了，但飛不高。它的飛行限決于它所懸浮的水面或地面。
1959年，在蘇倫特海峽進(jìn)行的首次試航引起了轟動(dòng)，氣墊船先是在水面上行駛，后又登上海岸，爬上沙丘，后停在路上。后來氣墊船跨越英吉利海峽，平衡地在波浪上方行駛，波浪不再產(chǎn)生阻力。
從那以后，各種各樣的氣墊船出現(xiàn)了，并開始了定期航行服務(wù)。氣墊船在非洲、澳大利亞等交通不發(fā)達(dá)地區(qū)特別有用。它能成為“飛行水果盤子”，把香蕉從種植園運(yùn)到港口。大型的氣墊班輪或許能跨越大西洋。未來的火車或許能成為“氣墊火車”，靠氣墊在單軌上行駛而不接觸軌道，時(shí)速可達(dá)每小時(shí)300英里。氣墊船的前途是不可限量的。
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
How did people probably imagine the sea-floor before it was investigated?
Our knowledge of the oceans a hundred years ago was confined to the two-dimensional shape of the sea surface and the hazards of navigation presented by the irregularities in depth of the shallow water close to the land. The open sea was deep and mysterious, and anyone who gave more than a passing thought to the bottom confines of the oceans probably assumed that the sea bed was flat. Sir James Clark Ross had obtained a sounding of over 2,400 fathoms in 1839, but it was not until 1869, when H.M.S. Porcupine was put at the disposal of the Royal Society for several cruises, that a series of deep soundings was obtained in the Atlantic and the first samples were collected by dredging the bottom. Shortly after this the famous H. M. S. Challenger expedition established the study of the sea-floor as a subject worthy of the most qualified physicists and geologists. A burst of activity associated with the laying of submarine cables soon confirmed the challenger's observation that many parts of the ocean were two to there miles deep, and the existence of underwater features of considerable magnitude.
Today, enough soundings are available to enable a relief map of the Atlantic to be drawn and we know something of the great variety of the sea bed's topography. Since the sea covers the greater part of the earth's surface, it is quite reasonable to regard the sea floor as the basic form of the crust of the earth, with, superimposed upon it, the continents, together with the islands and other features of the oceans. The continents form rugged tablelands which stand nearly three miles above the floor of the open ocean. From the shore line, out a distance which may be anywhere from a few miles to a few hundred miles, runs the gentle slope of the continental shelf, geologically part of the continents. The real dividing line between continents and oceans occurs at the foot of a steeper slope.
This continental slope usually starts at a place somewhere near the 100-fatheom mark and in the course of a few hundred miles reaches the true ocean floor at 2,500-3,500 fathoms. The slope averages about 1 in 30. but contains steep, probably vertical, cliffs, and gentle sediment-covered terraces, and near its lower reaches there is a long tailing-off which is almost certainly the result of material transported out to deep water after being eroded from the continental masses.
T.F.GASKELL Exploring the Sea-floor from Science Survey
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語】
navigation n. 航海
sounding n. 水深度
fathom n. 尋(1尋等于1.8米)
porcupine n. 箭豬
dredge v. 挖掘
expedition n. 遠(yuǎn)征
physicist n. 物理學(xué)家
magnitude n. 很多
topography n. 地形
crust n. 地殼
rugged adj.崎嶇不平
tableland n. 高地
sediment n. 沉淀物
terrace n. 階地
erode v. 侵蝕
【課文注釋】
1.be confined to 限制在，局限于
例句：He was confined to bed for a week with his cold.
他由于感冒而被限制在床上躺一個(gè)星期。
The work will not be confined to the Glasgow area.
此項(xiàng)工作不會(huì)局限于格拉斯哥地區(qū)。
2.hazard
①n. 危險(xiǎn)，冒險(xiǎn)，危害
例句：The car had its hazard warning lights on.
這輛汽車亮起了危險(xiǎn)信號(hào)燈。
②v. 冒險(xiǎn)，賭運(yùn)氣
例句：He hazarded all his money in the attempt to save the business.
他為挽救這家企業(yè)，不惜冒險(xiǎn)投入他的全部金錢。
I'll hazard a dollar on the bingo game.
我在這局賓果游戲上賭一元錢。
【詞義辨析】
danger, risk, hazard, menace, peril, threat 這些名詞均含有“危險(xiǎn)、威脅”之意。
danger: 含義廣，普通用詞，指能夠造成傷害、損害或不利的任何情況。
risk: 指有可能發(fā)生的危險(xiǎn)，尤指主動(dòng)進(jìn)行某種活動(dòng)或去碰運(yùn)氣而冒的危險(xiǎn)。
hazard: 比risk正式，多指偶然發(fā)生的或無法控制的危險(xiǎn)，常含較嚴(yán)重或有一定風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的意味。
menace: 所指的危險(xiǎn)性嚴(yán)重，表示使用暴力或造成破壞性的可能。
peril: 指迫在眉睫很有可能發(fā)生的嚴(yán)重危險(xiǎn)。
threat: 普通用詞，語氣弱于menace，指任何公開侵犯對(duì)方的言行，給對(duì)方構(gòu)成危險(xiǎn)或威脅。
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)。
3.irregularity n. 不規(guī)則性，不規(guī)則的事物
例句：Adjust this setting to control the amount of irregularity in the wind.
調(diào)節(jié)設(shè)置控制風(fēng)的不規(guī)則的數(shù)量。
4.shallow water 淺水區(qū)
5.open sea 無邊際的大海
6.gave more than a passing thought 稍微想過
7.H. M. S. 是Her/His Majesty's Ship (英國皇家海軍艦艇)的縮寫。
8.at the disposal of 交由……支配
dispose v. 清除，處理掉，解決，殺死，打敗
例句：His job is to dispose of the rubbish every night.
他的工作是每晚清除垃圾。
Hardship disposes man to meet adversity.
艱苦能讓人適應(yīng)逆境。
He doesn't know how to dispose of his spare time.
他不知道怎樣安排業(yè)余時(shí)間。
disposal n. 處理， 處置， 布置
例句：We placed everything at his disposal.
我們把一切事情都交給他處理。
He has a large number of reference books at his disposal.
他有大量的參考書可供使用。
9.dredge v. 用挖泥機(jī)疏浚
例句：Can we dredge the river to make it deeper?
我們能不能把這條河疏浚得深一點(diǎn)?
10.a relief map 地形圖
11.with, superimposed upon it, the continents, together with the islands and other features of the oceans 這是with引導(dǎo)的一個(gè)過去分詞獨(dú)立主格結(jié)構(gòu)。因邏輯主語太長，所以使用了倒裝語序。 superimposed upon it 是邏輯謂語部分。
12.rugged adj. 高低不平的，崎嶇的，粗糙的
例句：They walk on the rugged country road.
他們在崎嶇不平的鄉(xiāng)村小路上走著。
The path to glory is always rugged.
通向光榮的道路常常是崎嶇的。
13.continental shelf 大陸架
14.1 in 30 1/30
15.erode vt. 腐蝕， 侵蝕
例句：Soft drinks erode your stomach lining.
軟飲會(huì)腐蝕你的胃壁。
The sea have erode the cliff face over the years.
海水經(jīng)年累月沖刷著峭壁的表面。
【參考譯文】
本世紀(jì)已研制出許多新奇的交通工具，其中新奇的要數(shù)氣墊船了。1953年，有一位50多歲名叫克里斯托弗.科克雷的原電子工程師，改行在諾福克郡的湖泊地區(qū)從事造船業(yè)，他向英國政府和工業(yè)界提出了他研究多年的一項(xiàng)計(jì)劃。他的設(shè)想是：用一個(gè)低壓空氣或軟墊來支撐船體，軟墊周圍用高壓空氣環(huán)繞。自那以后，人們很難決定是否應(yīng)該將這種運(yùn)載工具列為輪船、飛機(jī)，或是陸上交通工具，因?yàn)樗墙橛诖惋w機(jī)之間。作為一個(gè)船舶技師，科克雷爾在尋找解決波浪阻力的方法，因?yàn)椴ɡ俗枇速M(fèi)掉了船在水面行駛的大量動(dòng)力，從而限制了船的速度。他的解決辦法是把船體提離水面，讓船在一個(gè)氣墊上行駛，氣墊只有一兩英尺厚。船底裝上大量環(huán)狀噴氣嘴以實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目的。這樣，船就能飛了，但飛不高。它的飛行限決于它所懸浮的水面或地面。
1959年，在蘇倫特海峽進(jìn)行的首次試航引起了轟動(dòng)，氣墊船先是在水面上行駛，后又登上海岸，爬上沙丘，后停在路上。后來氣墊船跨越英吉利海峽，平衡地在波浪上方行駛，波浪不再產(chǎn)生阻力。
從那以后，各種各樣的氣墊船出現(xiàn)了，并開始了定期航行服務(wù)。氣墊船在非洲、澳大利亞等交通不發(fā)達(dá)地區(qū)特別有用。它能成為“飛行水果盤子”，把香蕉從種植園運(yùn)到港口。大型的氣墊班輪或許能跨越大西洋。未來的火車或許能成為“氣墊火車”，靠氣墊在單軌上行駛而不接觸軌道，時(shí)速可達(dá)每小時(shí)300英里。氣墊船的前途是不可限量的。