英语听力：自然百科 冰冻星球 前往地球尽头—9

 Further south still, unstooped, shrouded¹ figures end the flat monotony of the Tundra².

 

This is the tree line, the first place on our journey with sufficient warmth and liquid water to enable a tree to grow。

 

Surviving here is so crushingly difficult that it can take hundreds of years for a seedling³ to grow into a stunted⁴ shrub⁵.

 

But even small trees can provide / cover for a predator⁶

 

Wolves, these in northern Canada are the largest and most powerful in the world and they are setting out to hunt

 

The pack is 25 strong, a sign that the prey⁷ they are seeking is formidable

 

These bison/ are even bigger than their southern cousins and the largest land animals in North America

 

For generations, wolves and bison/ here have been shaped by their battles for the each other, making each the most impressive of its kind

 

The bison/ would not stay in long among the trees, they are not safe here

 

The wolves are closing in, but their chance of ambushing⁸ the bison/ in the woods has passed, their prey are now in the open and group together for safety.

 

The wolves will need to work as a team, exact to make a kill.

 

They circle the herd⁹, try to unsettle it and split it up

 

But the bison/ are / armed and dangerous, they will be safe as long as they stick together.

 

The wolves, up their game, hurrying the herd, a ploy to trigger a stampede and split away one of the smaller ones

1 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

3 seedling   

n.秧苗，树苗

参考例句：

• She cut down the seedling with one chop.她一刀就把小苗砍倒了。
• The seedling are coming up full and green.苗长得茁壮碧绿。

4 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

5 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

6 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

7 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

8 ambushing   

v.埋伏( ambush的现在分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The militia succeeded in ambushing the invading enemy soldiers. 民兵们成功地伏击了入侵的敌军。 来自互联网

9 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。