英语听力：自然百科 秋日黄石公园 Autumn—16

 The return of the wolf will always be controversial. But evidence is now emerging that wolves are far more important than anyone imagined, especially back in the heart of Yellowstone. 

 

It's nearly the end of October. The cold autumn nights have brought a thin crust of ice to a beaver¹'s pond. Unlike in the river valleys below, up here, there are not many tall cottonwood trees, so this beaver has built his dam from the shoots of young willows² sprouting³ all along the side of his pond.

 

But he is something of a novelty. Even by the time Yellowstone was made a national park, beavers⁴ had been virtually hunted to extinction⁵ by fur tappers. They only began to reappear here in 1995, the year the wolves came back.

 

Now wolves are chasing elk⁶ again. Elk have had less time to eat willows, so willows are sprouting everywhere. Today, as winter approaches, all over Yellowstone, beavers are using those willows to put the finishing touches to a dam-building renaissance

1 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

2 willows   

n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木

参考例句：

• The willows along the river bank look very beautiful. 河岸边的柳树很美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Willows are planted on both sides of the streets. 街道两侧种着柳树。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 sprouting   

v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶
• They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分

4 beavers   

海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人

参考例句：

• In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。
• Thus do the beavers, thus do the bees, thus do men. 海狸是这样做的，蜜蜂是这样做的，人也是这样做的。

5 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

6 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。