EXPLORATIONS - One of the World’s Natural Wonders: the Gran

EXPLORATIONS² - One of the World’s Natural Wonders: the Grand³ Canyon⁴
By Oliver Chanler

Broadcast: Wednesday, June 15, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today, we tell about a famous natural place, the Grand Canyon.

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VOICE ONE:

In late September, fifteen forty, a group of Spanish explorers⁵ led by Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas came to a stop. For weeks they had walked north across the great southwestern American desert. The land was dry. The sun was hot. They were searching for seven golden⁶ cities that they had been told about. There was not much to see on this land, just the far-away line where the sky meets the ground.

 
The Grand Canyon
Suddenly, they came to the edge⁷ of what seemed to be a huge cut in the Earth. There seemed to be no way to walk around this deep canyon. It stretched below them into the distance, to their left and right, as far as they could see. Below them and across from where they stood were strange shapes of yellow, red, brown and black rocks and stone.

VOICE TWO:

A small, muddy⁸ river appeared to be flowing at the bottom. Captain Cardenas ordered three of his soldiers to climb down the side of the canyon to see if they could find a way to cross to the other side. The three climbed about one-third of the way down. They found that the canyon was much deeper than they thought, so they climbed back up.

Captain Cardenas and his group turned back to the south. Today, history recognizes them as the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon, formed by the Colorado River. They had reached a place that today is considered one of the most beautiful, strange, and interesting places in the world.

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VOICE ONE:

European explorers did not return to the Grand Canyon for more than two centuries. Instead, native peoples continued to live there, as they had for hundreds, some of them for thousands of years.

In seventeen seventy-six, two Spanish clergymen were seeking a way to travel from Santa Fe, in what is now New Mexico, to Monterey, California⁹ on the west coast of North America. Father Francisco Escalante and another clergyman were unsuccessful in their search. However, they re-discovered the Grand Canyon.

VOICE TWO:

During the nineteenth century, the population of the United¹⁰ States was expanding rapidly¹¹ to the west. The Grand Canyon was considered a barrier¹² to travelers. Only two places had been found where the river is low enough to cross.

As settlers moved west, the United States government wanted more information about western territories¹⁴. Much of the Grand Canyon was unknown. The words "Unknown Territory¹⁶" were written on maps that showed the area.

VOICE ONE:

In May, eighteen sixty-nine, Major John Wesley Powell and nine others began the first full exploration¹ of the Colorado River. They put four wooden boats into the water at Green River Station in Wyoming. They began their trip to where the Green River joined the Colorado River. Major Powell wrote in his book that they were beginning "the trip down the Great Unknown".

Major Powell had served in the Union army during the American Civil War. He lost his right arm in a battle during the war. After the war he became a professor of geology¹⁷ at Illinois Wesleyan University. He also studied paleontology, the science of life existing in different periods of Earth's history. And he became expert in ethnology, the study of different cultures. He was the right person to explore the Grand Canyon. He was someone who could describe the geology of the area, as well as learn about the American Indians who had begun living in the canyon as many as nine thousand years ago. Several of those tribes¹⁸ still consider the Grand Canyon their home.

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VOICE TWO:

The geology of the Grand Canyon is like a history of the formation¹³ of the Earth. During millions of years, water, ice, and wind formed the canyon. Although the Grand Canyon is in the middle of a desert, water plays an important part in the way the land looks. The sun shines bright and hot almost every day. It makes the soil hard. When rain does come, it cannot sink into the soil. Instead it flows to the Colorado River.

Often, heavy rains cause violent¹⁹ floods along small rivers and streams that flow into the Colorado. These floods move huge amounts of soil and sometimes stones as big as houses. All of this material falls into the river and then is pushed along by the rapidly flowing river. This way the river slowly digs²⁰ itself deeper into the rock surface of the Earth. The Colorado has been doing this for millions of years.

You can see in the sides of the Grand Canyon different kinds of rock at different levels. Each of the eighteen levels was formed during a different period of Earth's history.

VOICE ONE:

The ancestor²¹ of the Colorado River began flowing about seventy million years ago. After it began flowing, volcano²² explosions²³ and other natural events changed the river's path many times.

About seventeen million years ago, pressures deep in the Earth pushed up the land through which the river flowed. The river continued to flow through the area, cutting deeper into the rock.

The Grand Canyon is twenty-nine kilometers across at the widest place, and more than one and one-half kilometers deep. At the bottom of the Grand Canyon, where the river flows today, the rock is almost two thousand million years old.

VOICE TWO:

In eighteen sixty-nine, not many people expected John Wesley Powell and his team of explorers to survive the trip through the Grand Canyon. No one had ever done it before.

There are many dangers on the fast-moving river. Rocks hidden under the water can smash²⁴ small boats. In places where the river is narrow, the water becomes violent as it rushes between high rock walls. Also, there are rapids of fast moving water in places where the river drops to a lower²⁵ level. In some places, strong currents²⁶ can push a boat into rocks in the water, or against the walls of the canyon.

Major Powell knew the trip would be dangerous. When the boats came near a rapid, he and his crew²⁷ would stop. Sometimes they decided²⁸ to go through by rowing the boats with their oars²⁹, as they did in calm water. At other times they carried the boats and all their equipment around dangerous rapids. Major Powell wrote every day in a book about what they did and saw. This is how he described the difficulties³⁰ of one day:

VOICE THREE:

"We carried the boats around rapids two times this morning... During the afternoon we ran a narrow part of the river, more than half a mile in length, narrow and rapid. We float on water that is flowing down a gliding³¹ plane. At the bottom of the narrow part of the river, the river turns sharply³² to the right, and the water rolls up against a rock that seems to be in the middle of the stream. We pull with all our power to the right, but it seems impossible to avoid being carried against the cliff³³, and we are carried up high on the waves – not against the rocks, for the water strikes us and we are pushed back and pass on with safety..."

VOICE ONE:

More than three months after starting, Major Powell and his group reached the end of the Grand Canyon. Three men had left the group earlier and were never seen again. Two of the men in the group continued down the river to the sea, becoming the first people known¹⁵ to have traveled the entire length of the Colorado River.

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VOICE TWO:

Today, the Grand Canyon is in a national park. About five million people visit it each year. They stop at its edge and look in wonder at a place that can create great emotions in those seeing it. Others walk down the many paths into the canyon.

Some ride rubber boats down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. River guides are experts at taking the boats through the most violent rapids. This activity, called white-water rafting, is very popular.

VOICE ONE:

Generally, the trip takes about two weeks in boats that carry three or four people. Bigger boats with motors³⁴ that carry about twenty people can make the trip in several days. As people float down the river, they see the many wonderful and strange shapes created by the forces of nature. They may see animals, such as bighorn sheep, and coyotes. They experience the excitement of traveling through white-water rapids, and sleeping under the stars.

The sound of the river is always present, sometimes loud, sometimes soft. After several days traveling on and sleeping near the river as it flows through the Grand Canyon, many visitors say they feel their cares and worries leave them. Their concerns are replaced by a feeling of wonder about the canyon and the powers of nature.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Oliver Chanler and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Shirley Griffith.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program in Special English on the Voice of America.

 

1 exploration   

n.探险，踏勘，探测

参考例句：

• Their team will undertake exploration for oil.他们队将着手进行石油勘探工作。
• This book is descriptive of a scientific exploration.这本书是描写科学探险的。

2 explorations   

探险旅行( exploration的名词复数 )； 搜寻； 考察； 勘探

参考例句：

• Our underwater explorations also helped to confirm the theory. 我们的水下考察也有助于证实这个理论。
• The geographical explorations had revealed the inadequacies of the existing maps. 地形勘查揭露出现有地图的不妥之处。

3 grand   

adj.豪华的，宏伟的，壮丽的，主要的，重大的；n.(美俚)一千美元

参考例句：

• The pianist played several pieces of music on a grand piano.钢琴家在一架大钢琴上弹了几首乐曲。
• Come on,I'll give you the grand tour of the backyard.跟我来，我带你去后院来一次盛大的旅游。

4 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

5 explorers   

n.探险家，勘探者( explorer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them. 勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The explorers had to rough it when they got into the jungle. 那些探险者进入丛林后，不得不过着艰苦的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 golden   

adj.金的，含金的，可贵的，金色的，贵重的，繁盛的

参考例句：

• My teacher is an Englishman with golden hair.我的老师是一个金黄色头发的英国人。
• It's a balmy evening,the golden time for lovers.这是一个暖和的夜晚，是恋人们的黄金时光。

7 edge   

n.边(缘)；刃；优势；v.侧着移动，徐徐移动

参考例句：

• Sight along the edge to see if it's straight.顺着边目测，看看直不直。
• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。

8 muddy   

adj.泥泞的，污的，肮脏的；vt.使污浊，使沾上泥污

参考例句：

• The road is very muddy.这条路非常泥泞。
• They passed a muddy track through the forest.他们穿过森林的泥泞小路。

9 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

10 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

11 rapidly   

adv.快地，迅速地

参考例句：

• The company has grown rapidly in the last five years.这家公司近五年来迅速地发展壮大。
• Ice changes into water rapidly on a hot day.天气炎热的时候，冰很快就化为水。

12 barrier   

n.栅栏，障碍，壁垒，关卡

参考例句：

• You must show your ticket at the barrier.你在关卡处必须出示许可证。
• The driver jumped a horse over a barrier.骑手骑马跳过障碍。

13 formation   

n.形成，组成；形成物，结构；队形，排列

参考例句：

• This is the formation of a new government.这是新政府的构成。
• The aircraft are flying in formation.飞机编队飞行。

14 territories   

n.领土( territory的名词复数 )；（某人负责的）地区；（个人、群体、动物等占据的）领域；地盘

参考例句：

• Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 2 territories. 加拿大分为十个省和两个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He careened through foreign territories on a desperate kind of blitz. 在孤注一掷地闪电战中他猛冲过外国领地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

16 territory   

n.领土，领地，版图，地区，活动范围

参考例句：

• Resources in plenty can be found in this territory.这一地区能找到大量自然资源。
• Our country has a vast territory and abundant resources.我国土地辽阔，资源丰富。

17 geology   

n.地质学，（某地）地质

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• In his lecture on geology,he touched on the subject of climate.他在关于地质学的报告中，也涉及气候问题。

18 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 violent   

adj.暴力的，猛烈的，激烈的，极端的，凶暴的，歪曲的

参考例句：

• The madman was violent and had to be locked up.这个精神病患者很凶暴，不得不把他锁起来。
• They caught him and gave him a violent beating.他们抓住了他，把他狠狠打了一顿。

20 digs   

n.寓所，住处v.挖，掘( dig的第三人称单数 )；（如用铲、锨或推土机等）挖掘；挖得；寻找

参考例句：

• She makes mean little digs at him. 她冲他说一些刻薄的挖苦话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The more the boss tries to get rid of her, the more she digs in. 老板越是想开除她，她就越是拼命保住自己的地位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 ancestor   

n.祖先；祖宗

参考例句：

• This machine is the ancestor of the modern computer.这台机器是现代电脑的始祖。
• She has worshipped her ancestor.她已拜过她的祖先。

22 volcano   

n.火山

参考例句：

• The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning.火山一早突然爆发了。
• It is most risky to go and examine an active volcano.去探察活火山是非常危险的。

23 explosions   

爆炸( explosion的名词复数 )； 爆发； 激增； （感情，尤指愤怒的）突然爆发

参考例句：

• Soon afterwards five explosions were heard from the area. 此后不久从那个地方传来五次爆炸声。
• They were monitoring the upper air to collect evidence of atomic explosions. 他们正在检测高空空气以收集原子爆炸的证据。

24 smash   

v.粉碎，打碎；n.轰动的演出，巨大的成功

参考例句：

• We heard the smash of plates breaking in the kitchen.我们听到厨房里盘子破碎的声音。
• The gifted author wrote one smash after another.这个天才作家创作了一篇又一篇轰动一时的作品。

25 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

26 currents   

电流( current的名词复数 )； 水流； 流速

参考例句：

• The motorboat cut across swift currents and skirted dangerous reefs. 汽艇穿过激流，绕过险滩。
• She was swept away by the treacherous currents. 她给凶险的激流卷走了。

27 crew   

n.全体船员，全体乘务员；vi.一起工作

参考例句：

• A captain controls his ship and its crew.船长管理他的船和船上的船员。
• The captain kept his crew at a distance.船长与他的船员总保持一段距离。

28 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

29 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 difficulties   

n.困难( difficulty的名词复数 )；难度；难事；麻烦

参考例句：

• I am acutely aware of the difficulties we face. 我十分清楚我们面临的困难。
• the difficulties of English syntax 英语句法的难点

31 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

32 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

33 cliff   

n.悬崖，峭壁

参考例句：

• The cliff edge is dangerous and should be railed.崖边危险，应该用栏杆围起来。
• He took the measure of the cliff before he climbed it.他把悬崖的高度估量一下后再攀登。

34 motors   

n.马达，发动机( motor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The United Auto Workers hit the bricks against General Motors. 联合汽车工人工会举行罢工，反对通用汽车公司。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The whine of the motors jangled her nerves. 马达的闹声使她的神经受不了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》