英语听力：自然百科 走进西藏 tibet—17

 The word for "burial" in Tibetan means "giving offerings to the birds", an act of generosity¹, in line with the concept of compassion² for all beings. By doing good deeds, Buddhists³ believe that they can contribute to the process of enlightenment. So a sky burial at Kailash contributes to a brighter future. 

 

There may be legends of mythical⁴ mountains and rivers that form the axis⁵ of the world. But the  Tibetan plateau itself, with its mountains, glaciers⁶ and rivers, and as the engine that drives the monsoon⁷, lays fair claim to being the real axis of the world.  

 

Apart from feeding the rivers in India and Pakistan, Tibet's glaciers are the source of even more great rivers. Vietnam's Mekong, Burma's Salween and the Yangtze and the Yellow, both of which flow into China. Each year, enough water flows from the Tibetan plateau to fill the entire Yellow River, the mother river of Chinese civilization. Today, in China alone, 300 million people depend on water from the Tibetan plateau. 

 

With its profound effect on Asia's weather and water systems, the Tibetan plateau helps to sustain almost half the world's population, for the moment at least. Close to the summit of Mount Everest, a forest of  ice once covered much of the area. But now, thanks to climate change, much of it has gone. Within the next 30 years, it's predicted that 80% of the Tibetan glaciers could disappear. In many ways, Tibet's fragile environment is the barometer⁸ of our world. What happens to it today, in time will affect us all.

1 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

2 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

3 Buddhists   

n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Jesuits in a phase of ascendancy, persecuted and insulted the Buddhists with great acrimony. 处于地位上升阶段的耶稣会修士迫害佛教徒，用尖刻的语言辱骂他们。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The return of Saivite rule to central Java had brought no antagonism between Buddhists and Hindus. 湿婆教在中爪哇恢复统治后，并没有导致佛教徒与印度教徒之间的对立。 来自辞典例句

4 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

5 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

6 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

7 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

8 barometer   

n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标

参考例句：

• The barometer marked a continuing fall in atmospheric pressure.气压表表明气压在继续下降。
• The arrow on the barometer was pointing to"stormy".气压计上的箭头指向“有暴风雨”。