英语听力：自然百科 蛙之殇（一）

 I have always loved frogs. They are just some of the most amazing creatures on earth. They’ve been around for 250 million years. They actually survived the dinosaurs¹. They come in just about every color, shape and size. But they are disappearing. 

 

I’m Allison Argo, and I’ve just spent the last year, documenting the story of amphibians² and the fact that they are vanishing. It’s really serious. It’s probably the most important environmental story of our time. Nature asked me to make a film about the disappearance³ of frogs. I’d actually tackled this topic almost 15 years ago. (Ok, I look in the viewfinder.) So my knee-jerk reaction was: I think I should move on to a different subject. (It's just beautiful!). But when I started researching it I realized things had not improved in the last 15 years. I felt that I had to tackle it again. 

 

There were too many people who did not have access to information about what’s happening to amphibians. Since I made that film, dozens of species have disappeared globally. Some experts are saying that it is the greatest mass extinction⁴ since the dinosaurs. It’s just a huge serious problem. Since the extinctions are happening throughout the world, our locations covered a pretty wide scope. We shot in Central America, Australia and in numerous locations in the US. 

 

In shooting the film we looked for ways to bring a frog’s world to life. We built a little pond set where we could capture some of their incredible athletics⁵ in sort of a more controlled environment. (Are you ready? Yeah, I'm ready.) We used the camera called “the Phantom” which allows you to shot really slow motion. (That was the best for him. That's pretty! Do you see?). It really captures how exquisite⁶ they are. (Shorter range! More in front of them? Yeah, more in front! Cut. How do you see what that looks like? I think it's good coz at one point it does move a little. And he got a good drop. Yeah, blasted by one… Oh, it’s pretty good!)    

 

Frogs are pretty slippery, and they don’t always take direction. When you are lucky enough to catch a moment, they are just incredible.

1 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

3 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

4 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

5 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

6 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。