【英语趣味课堂】加拉帕戈斯群岛-The Galapogos

Katia: Hello Felipe, how are you?

Felipe: Hello, I'm fine thank you and you?

 

Katia: Good. Listen I was reading about the Galapagos and I think that you might know a lot more than what I can find in the books. Can you tell me a little bit more about Galapagos, what is it or where is it?

 

Felipe: Well yes. Since I was living in Ecuador I know about the Galapagos because the Galapagos is part of Ecuador. Galapagos is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean and it's really famous because of its diversity¹ of animals and plants, so it attracts many, many hundreds, maybe thousands, of tourists every day from many countries in the world.

 

Katia: That is so interesting, but what is so special about the nature? I mean all islands have nature so about the Galapagos why is it so special?

 

Felipe: OK. I'll give you a clue². Do you know about the giant turtles of the Galapagos?

 

Katia: Oh, I know about the giant turtles, but not that they're from the Galapagos. Can you tell me about it?

 

Felipe: Well in fact there is, there are the giant turtles in the Galapagos and actually are considered to be the biggest turtles in the world so they are called giant turtles of the Galapagos and now this is something really special because you know who is Darwin?

 

Katia: Darwin, yes of course but what does it have to do with the Galapagos?

 

Felipe: Well actually the British explorer³, Darwin, traveled to the Galapagos in the nineteenth century and by looking at the many difference that you can find between the many different animals of each of the islands, he came up with the Theory of Evolution⁴.

 

Katia: So it was in the Galapagos?

 

Felipe: Yes, it was there that Darwin came up with the...

 

Katia: Wow, I didn't know that. Now I want to continue reading much more about the Galapagos.

 

Felipe: Yes.

 

Katia: Thank you Felipe.

 

Felipe: You're welcome.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

diversity

 

It's really famous for its diversity of animals and plants.

 

If a place has 'diversity' of plants, it means⁵ that there are plants of many different types. 'Diversity' is a variety of different kinds of something. Notice the following:

 

Is there a lot of plant diversity in your area?

People like this school because of its diversity.

clue

 

I'll give you a clue.

 

A 'clue' is a hint⁶ or information that will help you understand or solve something. Notice the following:

 

I need a clue about where to look.

Can you give me a clue about what you want?

have to do with

 

But what does it have to do with the Galapagos?

 

When you ask what one thing 'has to do with' another, you are asking about the connection between the two things. Notice the following:

 

A healthy body has a lot to do with a good diet.

I don't understand what our plans for tomorrow have to do with you.

evolution

 

He came up with the Theory of Evolution.

 

'Evolution' is the idea that things change over time to become better suited for their environment. Notice the following:

 

One evidence⁷ of evolutions⁸ is that birds of the same species⁹ look slightly different from one place to another.

It is interesting to watch the evolution of companies over time.

come up with

 

He came up with the Theory of Evolution.

 

When you 'come up with' something, you invent it or think it up. Notice the following:

 

We could come up with a better plan to deal with all of this.

I like the solution that you came up with.

1 diversity   

n.差异，多样性；vt.使不同，使多样化

参考例句：

• Our party believes in encouraging cultural diversity,not diversion.我们党鼓励多种文化，而不是文化分歧。
• His object is to gather as great a diversity of material as possible.他的目标就是尽可能多地搜集各种材料。

2 clue   

n.线索；提示；词语

参考例句：

• She will clue you in about this.她将为你提供这方面情况。
• No clue to his whereabouts has been found.至今没有找到有关他行踪的线索。

3 explorer   

n.探险家，探测者

参考例句：

• His father is an Arctic explorer.他父亲是一位北极探险者。
• The explorer organized an expedition to the North Pole.那位考察者组织了一个去北极的探险队。

4 evolution   

n.进展，发展，演变，进化

参考例句：

• A cultural and social evolution now becomes rapid.现在文化和社会发展很快。
• It has passed through an interesting procedure of evolution.它经过了一个有趣的进化过程。

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 hint   

n.暗示，示意；[pl]建议；线索，迹象；v.暗示

参考例句：

• He gave me a hint that I was being cheated.他暗示我在受人欺骗。
• He quickly took the hint.一点他就明白了。

7 evidence   

n.明显，显著，明白，迹象，根据，[物]证据，证物

参考例句：

• The first signs of spring are in evidence.春天的最初迹象已显然可见。
• From the evidence I must conclude that you are wrong.从证据看，我敢断定你错了。

8 evolutions   

演变( evolution的名词复数 )； 发生； （天体的）形成； （气体等的）放出

参考例句：

• She meant to go home and practise her evolutions as prescribed. 她想回家去，按照要求练习她的规定动作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• His long life comprised a series of evolutions. 他漫长的一生包括一系列的发展变化。

9 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。