VOA慢速英语206 黄石：美国首个国家公园（在线收听）

Yellowstone: America's First National Park 黄石：美国首个国家公园

This week, America celebrated the National Park Service’s 100th birthday.

本周，美国庆祝国家公园管理局成立一百周年。

Yellowstone National Park became America’s first national park in 1872.The National Park Service was formed 44 years later in 1916.

1872年，黄石国家公园成为美国第一个国家公园。44年后国家公园管理局于1916年成立。

Yellowstone, which is mostly in the state of Wyoming, is considered an example of the success of the National Park System.

黄石公园大部分位于怀俄明州，被视为国家公园体系的成功案例之一。

Humans have been present in Yellowstone for more than 11,000 years.

11000多年前人类就在黄石区域活动。

The first organized exploration of the area which lies close to the continental divide of North America took place in 1870.

对坐落于北美大陆分水岭的黄石进行的第一次有组织的探索是在1870年。

Those first organized explorers must have seen right away how special the land was.

第一批有组织的探险家们一定当时就看出了这片土地是多么的特别。

Yellowstone contains beautiful mountains, deep canyons, lakes and rivers.

黄石公园有美丽的山脉，幽深的峡谷，湖泊和河流。

The name Yellowstone comes from the river running through the area. At first known as Rock Yellow River, it became known as the Yellowstone River.

黄石这一名字取自于流经该区域的一条河流。最初这条河流叫Rock Yellow River，之后更名为Yellowstone River（黄石河）。

Yellowstone is host to many different species of plants.However, the park is most special because of what lies underneath it.It sits on top of an ancient super volcano, known as The Yellowstone Caldera.The caldera is 48 by 72 kilometers.And it remains an active volcano.

黄石公园是多种不同植物的生长地。然而该公园最独特之处在于它下面坐落的火山。黄石公园坐落于古老的大火山之上，火山名叫Yellowstone Caldera（黄石火山）。火山口大小为48乘72公里。它仍然是一座活火山。

It is believed that the last time the volcano exploded or erupted was one half million years ago.The area has had three major eruptions in the last three million years.

据说该火山上一次爆发是在50万年前。在近三百万年间，该区域爆发过三次大火山。

Experts say it may erupt again in another 1,000 to 10,000 years. But each year, there are thousands of earthquakes at Yellowstone. Most are too small to be felt by people visiting the park.

专家表示，火山下次喷发可能在一千年到一万年之后。但是每年黄石都会发生上千次地震。但震级很低，游客们都感觉不到。

Yellowstone is filled with the beauty of many thermal or hot water springs.Of all the geothermal places in the world, half are in Yellowstone.

黄石公园到处都是美丽的温泉。全世界一半的地热温泉都在黄石。

In places of geothermal activity, hot water and gasses are trapped under the earth’s crust. In places like Yellowstone, they rush to the surface in the form of hot water and steam to form geysers.

地热活动活跃的地方，热水和热汽都困于地壳之中。在黄石，它们以热水或蒸汽的形式从地面喷涌而出，形成间歇喷泉。

There are more geysers and hot springs in Yellowstone than anywhere else on Earth.The most famous geyser is Old Faithful.It erupts about every hour or hour and a half. The eruption can last from one and a half minutes up to 5 minutes.The amount of hot water it expels in that time can be as much as 31,000 liters or more.

黄石的间歇喷泉和温泉比世界上任何一处地方都多。最著名的间歇喷泉是老忠实泉。它每小时或每一个半小时喷发一次。每次喷发时长为一分半到五分钟。在此期间涌出的热水量可以达到31000升，甚至更多。

In addition to its beauty and wonder, Yellowstone is an animal sanctuary.It is home to the largest group of wild animals in the lower 48 United States.As you travel through the park, you can sometimes see them in their natural habitat and hear their calls to mate and defend themselves.Listen to this elk’s bugle.

黄石不仅有这些美景和奇观，它还是一个动物圣殿。黄石是美国本土48个州中最大的野生动物群栖息地。当你穿过公园，你可以看到他们在自然栖息地活动，听到他们呼唤交配的声音，听到他们抵御外敌时战斗的声音。我们听听麋鹿的叫声。

There is still a wild west in America and its name is Yellowstone.

这里是美国的西大荒，它的名字叫黄石。

Words in This Story

continental divide - n. the watershed of North America made of the line of highest points of land separating the waters flowing west from those flowing north or east matching with various ranges of the Rockies, extending from Canada to South America

sanctuary - n. a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter

habitat – n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows

bugle – n. the call of the bull elk