英语听力：自然百科 冰冻星球 前往地球尽头(18)

They were travelling on foot and their first sight of this mountains must have been daunting¹ indeed. In front of them stretched one of the world's longest ranges, spanning two thousand miles from one side of the continent to the other. The winds uphill are the fastest on earth. They reach speeds of two hundreds an hour. An ice capped mountain bears its cuts of the gales², bizarre sculptures carved from solid ice. It's not only the ice that yields. This sculpture spire³ is surrender of a mountain that raided from all sides by the ferocious⁴ elements. Beyond, a holy unexpected landscape, the dry valleys. Only one percent of Antarctica is free of ice, and most of that bear rock. It's here. The dry valleys are more like the surface of Mars than is any other place on earth. The floor is covered with extraordinary natural sculptures, created by the same winds that help to keep these valleys free of snow. Over time, entire boulders⁵ are weathered from the inside out until just a shell remains⁶. At the head of these valleys, ice is making a breakthrough. Millions of tons are tumbling in slow motion into the valley.

他们徒步旅行，第一眼看到这座山脉一定会感到畏惧。在他们前面的是世界上最长的山脉之一,从大陆一端到另一端绵延二千英里。在顶端的风是地球上最快的。它们时速达到每小时两百公里。一个冰覆盖的山顶削减了风的作用,山顶充满了奇形怪状固体冰的雕刻。它不仅是冰的杰作。这座雕塑是因一座山对于四面八方凶猛的因素侵袭的一种妥协才造成的。此外,这里还有一处神圣的意想不到的风景——干谷。南极洲只有百分之一的冰是自由的,并且大部分都是坚硬的岩石。它就在这里。干谷更像是火星表面而非地球上任何其他地方。地上覆盖着非凡的天然雕塑,由相同的风创造,帮助保持这些山谷的自由积雪。随着时间的推移,整个大圆石由内而外风化直到最近的遗迹形成。在这些山谷的源头,冰正在突破。数百万吨的冰慢慢涌进山谷。

1 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

2 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。

3 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。

4 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

5 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。