全新版大学英语视听阅读4视频听力原文.docx

1、全新版大学英语视听阅读4视频听力原文Unit 1The Perfect SwarmNarrator: Damage from swarms of locusts can reach disastrous proportions. A single swarm of desert locusts can consume over 70,000 metric tons of vegetation a day. There is, however,one continent that s-free:locustNorth America.旁白：蝗虫群的伤害可以达到灾难性的程度。一个单一的沙漠蝗虫可以

2、消耗超过70000 吨的植被一天。然而，有一个大陆是蝗虫自由：美国北部。Interestingly enough, this wasn t always true. For hundreds of years, the Rocky Mountain locustwas a common pest in theAmerican West. Back in the mid-1800s, thousands of pioneersjourneyed across the U.S. insearch of free land and new opportunities. They settled on

3、 thefrontier of the western states, and began to farm the land intensively, growing corn and other crops.有趣的是， 这并不总是真实的。 几百年来，落基山脉的蝗虫是美国西部的一种常见害虫。早在19 世纪中叶，成千上万的先驱者跨越美国在自由的土地和寻找新的机会。他们定居在西部边境，并开始对土地进行集中耕种，种植玉米和其他农作物。Then, in 1875, out of nowhere, a rare combination of air currents, drought, and basi

4、c biology produced the right conditions for an unthinkable event, the worst storm ever recorded, the“ perfect swarm.” eItovercamthe horizon like a strange, dark cloud. Not millions, not billions, buttrillions of insects, sweeping through the land like a living tornado. Those who saw the incredible e

5、vent and survived never forgot what they witnessed.然后，在 1875 ，走出无处，一个罕见的组合，空气电流，干旱，和基本生物学产生了正确的条件为一个不可想象的事件， 最坏的风暴有史以来， “完美的群” ，它在地平线上像一个奇怪的，黑暗的云。不是上百万，不是数十亿，而是数以万亿计的昆虫，像一个活生生的龙卷风席卷过大地。 那些看到了令人难以置信的事件， 并幸存下来的人从来没有忘记他们见证了什么。The swarm came together over the state of Texas, and soon moved quickly acros

6、s the frontier in a huge destructive cloud that was nearly 3,000 kilometers long. The storm spread north towards North Dakota. The locusts eventually went as far west as the Rocky Mountains, leaving a path of devastation and destruction wherever they went.群聚在德克萨斯州的上空，并很快在一个巨大的破坏性的云，是近 3000 公里长的边界迅速移

7、动。 风暴向北到了北。 蝗虫最终在落基山脉的西部， 离开了一条破坏性的道路和毁灭的道路。An account from one person who observed the swarm described the locust storm. The locusts came down from the sky like hail. Frightened people ran screaming into their homes as the locusts claws dug into their skin and hung upon their clothing. They heard s

8、harp cracks as the insects came underfoot. The large locusts were everywhere, looking with hungry eyes turning this way and that. Their bodies blocked the sun, bringing darkness along with the destruction.一个来自一个人的帐户， 观察到群描述了蝗虫风暴。 蝗虫从空中落下如冰雹。 当蝗虫的爪子被挖进他们的皮， 挂在他们的衣服上时， 吓得人们尖叫着进入他们的家里。 随着昆虫来踩在脚下他们听到尖锐的

9、裂缝。 大蝗虫到处都是， 看着饥饿的眼睛转动着这样的方式。 他们的身体挡住了太阳，带来了黑暗与毁灭。Crop damages were absolutely astonishing. If such destruction were to happen today it would cost an estimated US$116 billion, more than the most costly hurricane in American history. And then, something remarkable happened: the Rocky Mountain locust

10、simply vanished.农作物的损害是绝对惊人的。 如果这样的破坏将发生在今天， 它将花费大约 116 美元，超过者的生活看起来像当它蒸蒸日上。川。了美国历史上最昂贵的飓风。 然后，一些非凡的事情发生了： 落基山脉的蝗虫简直就消失了。At the University of Wyoming,entomologist Dr. Jeff Lockwoodhas spent over a decadeinvestigating why the Rocky Mountain locust disappeared.在怀俄明大学的昆虫学家杰夫博士，她已经花了超过十年调查为什么落基山蝗虫消失。Dr.

11、 Jeff Lockwood, University ofWyoming: “ Therewere probablymore locusts in the largestswarm than there are stars in the Milky Way trillions. Not only is something of that scale andmagnitude and power gone, but it s gone within a few years. It s not as if we had a tremendousseries of earthquakes or ti

12、dal waves or forest fires. And so it doesn t make sense that it coulgone extinct. There s no reason for it to have done so. It s a great mystery.”杰夫博士：怀俄明大学洛克伍德，“有可能是更多的蝗虫在最大的群有比银河系中的恒星万亿。这不仅是一种规模和规模和力量去了，但它在几年内消失了。这并不是因为我们有一系列的地震或海啸或森林火灾。因此，它没有意义，它可能已经灭绝。没有理由这么做了。这是一个伟大的奥秘。 ”Narrator:It asmystery t

13、hat Lockwood is determined tosolve. Whatever wiped out theRocky Mountain locust changed American history. Exactly whatcould have destroyed a plaguenearly 3,000 kilometers long? Lockwood is on the case. He starts the investigation with the victimitself. Unfortunately,very few locust specimens exist,

14、and those that do areoften in badcondition.旁白：这是一个谜， 她下决心要解决。 无论是什么， 消灭了落基山脉的蝗虫改变了美国历史。到底是什么能摧毁一个瘟疫近 3000 公里长？洛克伍德的情况。他开始调查受害者本身。不幸的是，极少数的蝗虫标本存在，那些做的往往是在恶劣的条件下。Dr. Lockwood: “ So what we have is a bodyofevidence of the victim in its dying moments, alright, but we don knowt what the life of the victi

15、m looked like when it was flourishing. The next opportunity we have for a major set of clues is locked up in the ice of the glaciers of the Rocky Mountain s. ”Lockwood 博士：“我们是在死亡的时候，身体的受害者的证据，好吧，但是我们不知道受害下一次机会， 我们要一大套线索被锁在冰的岩石山脉的冰Narrator: Lockwood is headed to Knife Point Glacier, Wyoming, not far

16、from Yellowstone National Park. For centuries, strong winds would sweep swarms of locusts high into the mountains, where they would freeze to death.旁白：洛克伍德前往刀点的冰川，怀俄明，离黄石公园不远。几百年来，强风将蝗虫群中的蝗虫群高到山上，在那里它们将被冻成死亡。Dr. Lockwood: “ These glaciers serve as both traps and sort of icy tombs for the Rocky Mount

17、ainlocust. Were we looking at a long, slow death , or were we looking at a sudden demise?Lockwood 博士：“这些冰川作为陷阱和落基山蝗虫冰冷的坟墓排序。 我们是在寻找一个漫长、”缓慢的死亡，还是我们在看着一个突然死亡？“Narrator: By extracting DNA samples from specimens frozen over a period of time, Lockwood may be able to specify exactly what caused the extin

18、ction of the insects. The good news for the expedition is that there could be locust specimens anywhere, but the bad news isthat “ anywhere ” includes thousands of square meters covered with snow and ice. Then, on one of the steeper parts of the mountain, Lockwood sees something.旁白：在经过一段时间的冰冻标本提取 DN

19、A 样本，洛克伍德可以指定究竟是什么原因导致昆虫的灭绝。探险的好消息是，这里可能有蝗虫标本，但坏消息是， “任何地方”包括数千平方米，覆盖着冰雪。然后，在一个山的陡峭的部分，洛克伍德看到的东西。Dr. Lockwood:“ Check it out!”Lockwood 博士：“检查出来！ “Lockwood s Colleague:“ A whole body?”洛克伍德的同事： “整个身体？“Dr. Lockwood:“ It looks like it.”Lockwood 博士：“它看起来像它一样。 ”Lockwood s Colleague:“ Head, thorax, and abd

20、omen?”洛克伍德的同事： “头，胸，腹？“Dr. Lockwood:“ Look, you can see the wings.”Lockwood 博士：“看，你可以看到的翅膀。 ”Narrator:Lockwood will takethe locusts back tohis laboratory to examinethemmoreclosely. If they re the right species, they could help solve one of the greatest extinction mysteriesof our time.旁白： 洛克伍德将蝗虫回到他的

21、实验室仔细检查。如果他们是正确的物种，他们可以帮助解决我们这个时代最大的灭绝之谜之一。Dr. Lockwood: “ Toget my handson thebody, in terms of this murder mystery, was criticallyimportant. ”Lockwood 博士：“把我的手放在身上，在这个神秘的谋杀，是非常重要的。”Narrator:A look under the microscope reveals the signs.旁白：显微镜下观察的迹象。Dr. Lockwood:“ At that moment, I knew that we had

22、 the Rocky Mountain locust.”Lockwood 博士：“在那一刻，我知道我们有落基山蝗虫。”Narrator:It s an exact match. They re the same species of locusts that once devastated theAmerican plains. Lockwood s study of the Rocky Mountain locust has told him more and moreabout this odd insect. They seem to have split personalities.

23、On one hand, as members of thegrasshopper family, they re generally shy and remain alone. But when annoyed in just the rightway, the once gentle locust changes completelyinto some kind of destructive monster. Theychange color and their wings and legs grow longer. Eventually, they become more aggress

24、ive andswarm, whereby they become a kind of living, breathing weapon of mass destruction.讲述者：这是一个精确的匹配。他们是同一种类的蝗虫， 一旦摧毁了美国的平原。的岩石山蝗虫洛克伍德的研究告诉他更多关于这个奇怪的昆虫。他们似乎有分裂的人格。一方面， 作为一个家庭的成员， 他们一般都很害羞，并且仍然独自一人。但当不好的时候，一次温柔的蝗虫完全转变成某种破坏性的怪物。它们改变颜色，它们的翅膀和腿长得更长。最终，他们变得更加好斗和群，从而使他们成为一种生活，呼吸的大规模杀伤性武器。Dr. Lockwood:“

25、Nobody s in charge. There s no leader, there s nobody out in front.”Lockwood 博士：“没人负责。没有领袖，前面没有人。”Narrator:Back in the laboratory, the locusts are revealing their secrets. The DNA test resultsare back and they ve indicated one certain fact: the Rocky Mountain locust didn t decline olong period of ti

26、me.旁白： 在实验室里， 蝗虫正在揭露他们的秘密。脱氧核糖核酸测试结果是回来的，他们已经指出了一个事实：落基山脉的蝗虫在很长一段时间内没有下降。Dr. Lockwood: “ Itwas notsortof a death by old age. In fact, what we relookingat is a verysudden sort of bolt out of the blue disappearance. There s nothing in the genetic course of thisspecies that would lead us to believe tha

27、t it was in its last days.”博士：“这不是那种洛克伍德的老年死亡。事实上，我们所期待的是一种非常突然的“螺栓”消失。在这个物种的基因过程中，没有什么能使我们相信它是在它的最后几天。”Narrator:Some other force musthave been responsible for destroying theplague, andLockwood is determined to find it.旁白：其他力量必须是负责消灭瘟疫，和洛克伍德决定找到它。Dr. Lockwood:“ I began to realize that we ve been loo

28、king at theIfwrongwewantscaleto.findout perhaps what eliminated the Rocky Mountain locust, what we should be looking for is whatwas happening to the species at the time of its weakest link.”Lockwood 博士：“我开始意识到，我们一直在寻找错误的规模。如果我们想找出可能消除了落基山脉的蝗虫，我们应该寻找的是什么是发生在该物种在其最薄弱的环节。”Narrator:Now, after years of r

29、esearch, Lockwood may finally be able to solve the mystery ofwhy the Rocky Mountain locust disappeared. It turns out that the Rocky Mountain locust gathered in one particular region to lay its eggs. In the 1800s, that region was in the river valleys of the Rocky Mountains.旁白：现在，经过多年的研究，她终于可以回答这个落基山蝗虫消失。原来，落基山脉的蝗虫聚集在一个特定的地区产卵。在 19 世纪，该地区是在落基山脉的河谷。Dr. Lockwood: “ Iturned out that agriculture was booming in these river valleys in the late 1800s. ”Lockwood 博士：“原来，农业是在 19 世纪后期在这些流域蓬勃发展。 ”Narrator: The gold and silver industries were booming as well. The major nesting area of the ro