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And at other times, they'd have looked more like Africa's Serengeti Plains. More than 15 millions years ago, what is now Vienna and Paris would have been submerged beneath rich tropical seas. And over a hundred million years ago, Florence and Oxford would have looked more like Jurassic park. Go back over two hundred million years, and Europe rivaled the Sahara. And three hundred million years ago, the world's first forests covered the continent. Berlin would have been part of the tropical rainforest. Edinburgh sits astride ancient volcanoes which shook the earth nearly half a billion years ago. All these great events help to lay the foundations for the extraordinary continent we now call Europe.
The northern fringes of Europe are its wildest country, Scandinavia, a land dominated by the elements. In summer, it's bathed in the glow of midnight sun. And in winter, by the ghostly shadows of the northern lights. In this coastal labyrinth of fjords and islands, Europe's most ancient history lies hidden. Norway's Lofoten islands, seemingly lifeless, but they're surrounded by the richest of seas. Here Atlantic storms pound some of the most ancient rocks in the world. They're nearly three billion years old. These granites formed long before the European continent even existed. Here in Norway, there are also clues to Europe's birth. These fjords and mountains are part of an ancient range, the Caledonides, stretching form Ireland to Scotland, and up through Norway, mountains that today help define the continent's western edge.
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words and expressions
Jurassic park:侏罗纪公园
astride:with a leg on each side of something:跨着
midnight sun:
the sun when seen in the middle of the night in summer in the arctic or antarctic (= the parts of the world furthest to the north and the south) 夜半太阳（夏季在南极或北极能见到）
northern lights:北极光
labyrinth:something which is very confusing:迷宫, 难解的事物
fjord(fiord):a long strip of sea between steep hills, found especially in Norway海湾, 峡湾
granite:a very hard, grey, pink and black rock, which is used for building花岗岩
Caledonides:[地质]加里东山系
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