Wild Europe - Genesis 肇始之初- 12

...Africa. The African plate has been drifting north over millions of years. And when it pushes against the European plate, huge folds of rock have been forced up and over one another into great mountain ranges.

Europe's southern mountains, the Pyrenees, Carpathians, and the Alps, all rose from this collision. Pieces of primeval ocean floor have been lifted thousands of meters up into the sky. The Alps are still rising, as Africa continues to push north.

The volcanoes of southern Europe are vivid reminders¹ of the great tectonic forces, lurking² beneath our feet. The Vesuvius in Southern Italy is a sleeping giant. Nearly 2000 years ago, a huge eruption³ buried Pompeii. Today the city of Naples lies sprawled⁴ across its lower slopes. Who knows when another nudge from Africa would set it off again? It isn't just Europe's southern mountains that owe their existence to the advancing African plate. So too, does the Mediterranean⁵ Sea.

This sea is one of the defining boundaries of the continent. With its spectacular coastline and clear blue waters, it's one of Europe's great natural treasures. Much of the Mediterranean's extraordinary history hinges on the narrow seaway at its western end. At the Rock of Gibraltar, only 14 kilometers now separate Europe from Africa. About 6 millions years ago, the northward⁶ push of Africa, combined with a drop in sea level, created a vast dam, cutting off the Mediterranean from the Atlantic.

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words and expressions

fold: (n.) To form bends in (a stratum⁷ of rock). 【地质学】地层褶曲（在地层的岩石上）形成弯曲

Pyrenees: (n.) A mountain range of southwest Europe extending along the French-Spanish border from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea. It rises to 3,406.2 m (11,168 ft) at Pico de Aneto. 比利牛斯山脉

Carpathians: (n.) (=Carpathian Mountains)(中欧)喀尔巴阡山脉

tectonic: (n.) Relating to, causing, or resulting from structural⁸ deformation⁹ of the earth's crust. 【地质学】地壳构造的关

Vesuvius: (v.) An active volcano, 1,281 m (4,200 ft) high, of southern Italy on the eastern shore of the Bay of Naples. A violent eruption in a.d. 79 destroyed the nearby city of Pompeii. 维苏威山

nudge: (n.) A gentle push. 轻推

hinge: (v.) To attach by or equip with or as if with hinges or a hinge.给…装铰链，用铰链接合

Gibraltar: (n.) A British colony at the northwest end of the Rock of Gibraltar, a peninsula on the south-central coast of Spain in the Strait of Gibraltar, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean between Spain and northern Africa. 直布罗陀

1 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

2 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

4 sprawled   

v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
• He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

6 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

7 stratum   

n.地层，社会阶层

参考例句：

• The coal is a coal resource that reserves in old stratum.石煤是贮藏在古老地层中的一种煤炭资源。
• How does Chinese society define the class and stratum?中国社会如何界定阶级与阶层？

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 deformation   

n.形状损坏；变形；畸形

参考例句：

• The deformation frequencies are not sufficiently distinctive.其变形频率不是十分明显的。
• The calculated deformation is almost equal to the real situation by measurement.经检测，计算变形量与实际情况基本一致。