英语听力：探索发现 2012-11-09 美洲大平原 American Serengeti—6

 The site was once a spring-fed pond, full of water. Mammoths were tempted¹ in to drink. But when they tried to climb back out, the banks were steep and slippery. Just like the short-faced bear imprisoned² underground, some became trapped. 

 

Scavengers would have been attracted by the mammoths' plight³. The bones of wolf, coyote, and the short-faced bear have also been recovered from the dried-up sediment⁴. The search for food was probably their death pool,too.

 

These prairie ponds are like time capsules. And they store another kind of data, showing how the plains have changed across millennia⁵. Each spring, pollen⁶ from nearby plants is blown into the water. It sinks and settles layer upon layer on the bottom, building into a data bank of local plant life that we can still read today.

 

And grass pollens⁷ aren’t the only clue still sandwiched in the sediment. There are a wide variety of tree pollens, too, from aspens, spruce and other trees, both coniferous and deciduous⁸.

1 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

2 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

3 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

4 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

5 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

6 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

7 pollens   

n.花粉( pollen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Brownian movement of pollens also shows the fractal characteristics. 花粉的布朗运动轨迹也具有分形特征。 来自互联网
• In contrast, C. sinensis var. sinensis and assamica couldn't be distinguished by the morphology of pollens. 至于不同地区的台湾山茶之间、或是茶与阿萨姆茶之间，皆无法以花粉形态来区分。 来自互联网

8 deciduous   

adj.非永久的；短暂的；脱落的；落叶的

参考例句：

• Overgrown deciduous shrubs can be cut back at this time of year.过于繁茂的落叶灌木可以在每年的这个时候修剪。
• Deciduous trees shed their leaves in autumn.落叶树木在秋天落叶。