Wild Europe - Genesis 肇始之初- 3

In the east, another ancient range, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia. Both these ranges are evidence of Europe's earliest formation, the results of processes that began half a billion years ago. Back then, Europe was still in pieces. Scandinavia was in the southern oceans, England and the Low Countries were near the Antarctic Circle, and most of the rest sat near the South Pole. All of these isolated¹ fragments of crust were on the move.

Continental² plates are dragged along by powerful flows of molten rock deep in the earth's mantle³, some 80 kilometers underground. They only move a few centimeters every year, but over millions of years these centimeters add up.

Like a giant jigsaw⁴ puzzle, Europe was gradually assembled piece by piece. Each impact created enormous crumple⁵ zones. Rock was bent⁶ and buckled as if caught between the jaws⁸ of a vice⁹, and forced up into great mountain chains along the join.

They created Europe's backbone¹⁰, which in scale once rivalled the Himalayas. The formation of these ancient mountains was the first act of European union. Since then, Europe has traveled halfway¹¹ across the globe. 300 million years ago, it was straddling the equator.

In this warm, wet climate, the foothills of Europe's oldest mountain ranges now became the cradle of the world's first forests. Paris would have been smothered¹² in lush tropical rainforest which stretched east across the entire continent.

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words and expressions

the Urals :乌拉尔山脉

be on the move:to be travelling在活动中

buckle:to bend or become bent, often as a result of force, heat or weakness扣住, 变弯曲

vice:a tool with two parts which can be moved together by tightening a screw so that an object can be held firmly between them while it is being worked on老虎钳

straddle:to sit or stand with your legs on either side of something偏落于…旁

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

3 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

4 jigsaw   

n.缕花锯，竖锯，拼图游戏；vt.用竖锯锯，使互相交错搭接

参考例句：

• A jigsaw puzzle can keep me absorbed for hours.一副拼图就能让我沉醉几个小时。
• Tom likes to work on jigsaw puzzles,too.汤姆也喜欢玩拼图游戏。

5 crumple   

v.把...弄皱，满是皱痕，压碎，崩溃

参考例句：

• Take care not to crumple your dress by packing it carelessly.当心不要因收放粗心压纵你的衣服。
• The wall was likely to crumple up at any time.墙随时可能坍掉。

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

7 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

8 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

11 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

12 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。