英语听力：自然百科 大堡礁：自然奇迹—15

 During the lowest tides,the water runs off and whole sections of living coral are normally beyond the water,are exposed.

The level of water on the reef top decreases dramatically,getting ever shallower,and going from a stable environment,to ever changing hostile one.

It's almost as though some mighty¹ force has lifted the reef right out of the water,these are extreme conditions.As the exposed corals start to heat up ,the tiny polyps retract² inside their stony³ skelectons for protection,then they secrete⁴ mucouscan,it acts as sunscreen, and there is no skimping⁵ on quantity,am area no larger than the size of a coffee table can produce five meters of the stuff.As the tides retreat to the edge of the reef,it cuts off pools of water,for most animals like the sea cucumboers and starfish,the best way to stay alive is by taking refuge in these rock pools.

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 retract   

vt.缩回，撤回收回，取消

参考例句：

• The criminals should stop on the precipice, retract from the wrong path and not go any further.犯罪分子应当迷途知返，悬崖勒马，不要在错误的道路上继续走下去。
• I don't want to speak rashly now and later have to retract my statements.我不想现在说些轻率的话，然后又要收回自己说过的话。

3 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

4 secrete   

vt.分泌；隐匿，使隐秘

参考例句：

• The pores of your body secrete sweat.身上的毛孔分泌汗液。
• Squirrels secrete a supply of nuts for winter.松鼠为准备过冬而藏坚果。

5 skimping   

v.少用( skimp的现在分词 )；少给；克扣；节省

参考例句：

• Nearly a third of workers are skimping on work to meet personal commitments. 几乎有三分之一的员工仅仅是为了达到自己许下的承诺因而在工作上马虎了事。 来自互联网