英语听力：2012-01-22 从南极到北极 From Pole To Pole—3

 But they are hungry and eager to reach their mother who’s delayed feeding them on this special day. Now she lures¹ them with the promise of milk, the only food the cubs² have known since they were born, deaf and blind beneath the snow some two months ago. Their mother has not eaten for five months and has lost half her body weight. Now she converts the last of her fat reserves into milk for her cubs. 

 

The spring sun brings warmth, but also a problem for the mother. It starts to melt the sea ice. That is where she hunts for the seal she needs to feed her cubs and she must get there before the ice breaks up. For now though, it’s still minus 30 degrees and the cubs must have the shelter of the den³. 

 

It’s six days since the bears emerged and spring is advancing rapidly. But even now, blizzards⁴ can strike without warning. Being so small, the cubs are easily chilled and they will be more comfortable resting in the den. But their mother must keep them out and active. She’s becoming weak from hunger and there’s no food on these nursery slopes. The sea ice still holds firm, but it won’t last much longer.

1 lures   

吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式）

参考例句：

• He left home because of the lures of life in the city. 他离家是由于都市生活的诱惑。
• Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. 可能正是寻觅幽静的去处，或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。

2 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

4 blizzards   

暴风雪( blizzard的名词复数 )； 暴风雪似的一阵，大量（或大批）

参考例句：

• Even in the summertime we might be struck by blizzards. 甚至在夏天，我们也可能受到暴风雪的袭击。
• Blizzards battered Britain for the third day. 大风雪袭击英国已进入第三天。