英语听力：自然百科 冰冻星球 前往地球尽头(17)

The relative of the woodlouse is the size of a dinner plate. And this so-called sea spider has legs that span half a meter. Now explorers are revealing other worlds that lie hidden beneath the ice on land. These smoking towers are the gateway¹ to a network of caves. Each contains an extraordinary assembly of ice crystals unlike any other on earth. Like snowflakes, every crystal is unique. Some are taller than the man; others are thought to harbor life, seeded by strange bacteria that thrive in these extreme conditions. The breeze that gently sways these crystals is responsible for making them. It's steam from the molten heart to mount Alps, the most subtly volcano on our planet. It's now thought that the ice caves fringing this crater² may even be a home for hitherto unknown life forms. From this oasis³ of warmth at the edge of the continent, our journey continues inland towards the south pole. The first great hurdle⁴ is the formidable trans-Antarctica mountain range. We will be following the route take by Scottain Emosan as they struggled to become the first humans to reach the south pole.

潮虫和餐盘一般大小。这种所谓的海蜘蛛有腿,跨度为半米。现在探险家揭示隐藏在这片大陆冰下的其他世界。这些冒着烟的塔楼通往纵横交错的洞穴。每一个都包含无与伦比的冰晶体装饰，而这与地面上看到的截然不同。像雪花,每一个水晶都是独一无二的。一些甚至比人还高,有些则认为就像生活,由奇怪的细菌播种在这极端的条件下存活。微风轻轻摇曳,表示对制造的这些水晶负责。这是从在我们的星球最微妙的火山阿尔卑斯山融化后所产生的蒸汽,。现在认为,这种冰洞穴可能是某种高级生命的家，他们以前所未有的生活方式生存。离开这温暖的绿洲的边缘大陆,我们的旅程继续向南极内陆进发。我们遇到的第一处天然屏障是强大的横贯南极山脉。我们将遵循斯科蒂安?艾默生的路线，他成为历史上第一个踏上南极土地的人类。

1 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

2 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

3 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

4 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。