听美文故事记6级单词06-09

9.The Great Lakes

　　 The Great Lakes are the greatest wonder of America. It is the

　　largest group of lakes in the world and the biggest body of fresh water.

　　It is hard to grasp that a land should contain several freshwater seas

　　so big that a ship can steam out of sight of the shore for a day or more

　　or even founder¹ in giant waves, as happens from time to time.

　　

　　 Let us approach the lakes the best way: We should get on board a ship

　　and start from the Lake Ontario. It is the smallest of the Great Lakes,

　　but compared with the other lakes, Ontario is more illusive². This Niagara

　　Falls with its sheer thunderous drop has been an illusive barrier between

　　this and other lakes, and the St. Lawrence sluicing³ out its eastern end

　　draws Ontario's attention seaward.

　　 The Welland Canal, 27 miles long, with eight locks to lift the ship over

　　the Niagara Falls Escarpment to Lake Erie, has beautiful scenery on both

　　sides. The ship drifts between backyards, orchards⁴, and the back porch

　　of a small farmhouse⁵. Then, the ship breaks through the last lock and goes

　　into Lake Erie.

　　 Erie has a reputation for treacherous⁶ flash storms. The shallowest of

　　the lakes, it can be pale as glass, and as smooth. Then a few hours later

　　it can be insensately churning under a fugitive⁷ sky. Its shores are low-lying,

　　its beaches are narrow, but it is succulently pastoral.

　　 After a day's sailing, the ship passes the Detroit lighthouse at dusk.

　　Detroit lies beside us now, an immense suffusion⁸ of light, sound of machine

　　and people.

　The next day the ship enters Lake Huron, the second largest of the lakes. You can smell north here; the wind has the resinous⁹ taste of pine, and stings having blown a long way across cold water.

　　The ship enters St Mary's River at the upper end of Huron at twilight¹⁰. The river is wide and still. On either side of the river the forest comes down to the water. The country behind rises to low hunched¹¹ mountains. The overwhelming impression is its absolute silence. Not even Huron itself seemed so wide, so empty, so soundless as these woods. In this silence, a gull¹² rises beside the rail and then wheels and soars high, floats for a moment and then vanishes.

　　Our destination now is Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, also the deepest of the Lakes. There is a graceful¹³ stillness on Lake Superior. The rounded humped mountains along the shores look like burial mounds¹⁴ of the gods.

　　The ship slowly steams up to Fort William. The town wears the look of

any city, but what strikes one most is the gleaming tracks and lines of cars. Forty-eight hours later we enter Lake Michigan. It is the only one of the lakes that built Chicago. It is the main route of the Oceangoing ships. Its shores are green and tangled¹⁵ in the north and white with dunes¹⁶ to the east.

　　Now the whole lake is glassy, and the sky is black. There are distant rumbles¹⁷, and suddenly the storm comes. In no time the ship begins to lift and roll. The curtains swing. Lightning illuminates¹⁸ the whole ship. From that windless dusk to this black age, tomorrow the ship is to reach Chicago. Chicago? Shouldn't it be a port it England or France? Well, it is better to lie and listen to the water.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 illusive   

adj.迷惑人的，错觉的

参考例句：

• I don't wanna hear too much illusive words.我不想听太多虚假的承诺。
• We refuse to partake in the production of illusive advertisements.本公司拒绝承做虚假广告。

3 sluicing   

v.冲洗( sluice的现在分词 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸

参考例句：

• The ship's crew was sluicing down the deck. 船员们正在冲洗甲板。
• An attendant was sluicing out the changing rooms. 一位服务员正在冲洗更衣室。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

5 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

6 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

7 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

8 suffusion   

n.充满

参考例句：

• He suffered from suffusion of blood on the brain. 他患脑溢血。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 resinous   

adj.树脂的，树脂质的，树脂制的

参考例句：

• Alcohol is a solvent of resinous substances.酒精是树脂性物质的溶媒。
• He observed that the more resinous the wood, the more resistant it was to decay.他观察到木材含树脂越多，其抗腐力越强。

10 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

11 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

12 gull   

n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈

参考例句：

• The ivory gull often follows polar bears to feed on the remains of seal kills.象牙海鸥经常跟在北极熊的后面吃剩下的海豹尸体。
• You are not supposed to gull your friends.你不应该欺骗你的朋友。

13 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

14 mounds   

土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆

参考例句：

• We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
• Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊，这就是同墓，”——我想他要说的一定是公墓，“看到那些土墩了吗？

15 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

16 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

17 rumbles   

隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If I hear any rumbles I'll let you know. 我要是听到什么风声就告诉你。
• Three blocks away train rumbles by. 三个街区以外，火车隆隆驶过。

18 illuminates   

v.使明亮( illuminate的第三人称单数 )；照亮；装饰；说明

参考例句：

• The light shines on from over there and illuminates the stage. 灯光从那边照进来，照亮了舞台。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sun illuminates the sky. 太阳照亮了天空。 来自《简明英汉词典》