高中英语第二册课本朗读16-c

　　THE BISON¹ ON THE PLAINS OF AMERICA

       The first settlers on the plains of America were Native Americans. They arrived more than. 30,000 years ago by crossing a land bridge from Asia to America. The Native Americans lived by gathering² roots, nuts and wild fruit and hunting wild animals.
They hunted bison, a type of wild animals which used to exist in huge numbers on the plains of America. The bison grows to a shoulder-height of 1.5 metres and can weigh 1100 kilogrammes. It was an important part of Native American’s life. Bison were killed for their meat, while their fur provided³ warm clothing during cold winters. The Native Americans made tents and water containers from the skins and tools from the bones. The teeth were used to make necklaces.
From about 1830 onwards⁴ in the USA, European settlers began to move westwards⁵. Large groups of Native Americans were forced to move fierce⁶ wars between Native Americans and European settlers. The American government made agreements with Native American chiefs but always broke them afterwards. In this way, Native Americans were forced onto poor land that the settlers did not want.
The settlers built railways across the plains and began to hunt even more bison. While early settlers had killed bison for food, now the killing⁷ became more widespread⁸. They killed the bison skins were sent by rail to cities to be sold. Between 1850and 1910 the bison population is thought to have fallen from 60 million to just a few hundred.
The killing of the bison changed the whole wildlife of the plains. With fewer bison, grass shoots were not eaten, so grass did not grow as strongly. Bison waste no longer fell on the ground to improve the soil, which as a result became less good for growing plants. The ground supported fewer plants, and the insects which lived on these plants died out. There was less food for birds and also for the prairie⁹ dog, a kind of animal which lives holes in the ground. This in turn had an effect on the food supply for wolves. Thus one simple fact, a change in number of bison, had an effect on the whole wildlife chain of the plains.

1 bison   

n.野牛

参考例句：

• American bison are very large.美洲野牛非常巨大。
• Herds of bison live in the park.公园内住有成群的野牛。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

4 onwards   

adv.前进；在前；在先；迈进

参考例句：

• From now onwards my teacher will be stricter.从此我的老师会更加严格。
• The crowd began to move onwards.人群开始向前移动。

5 westwards   

adv.西方；西部地

参考例句：

• We travelled westwards for several days.我们向西行了数日。
• They were sailing westwards.他们向西航行。

6 fierce   

adj.凶猛的，残忍的；狂热的，强烈的

参考例句：

• The soldiers got ready for a fierce battle.战士们准备进行一场恶战。
• What he said met with fierce opposition.他的话语遭到激烈反对。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 widespread   

adj.广布的，普及的，流传宽广的

参考例句：

• Plastic is in widespread use.塑料已被广泛地使用。
• English is a widespread language.英语是一种很普及的语言。

9 prairie   

n.大草原，牧场

参考例句：

• A single spark can start a prairie fire.星星之火，可以燎原。
• The vast prairie stretches west to the horizon.茫茫大草原向西伸展,直至天边。