英语听力：自然百科 大堡礁 珊瑚礁至雨林(8)

Sea cucumbers are repulsive¹ to most predators², so the pearl fish is safe inside.

大多数捕食者排斥海参，所以珍珠鱼在里面很安全。

It'll stay until it's time to feed again.

它会呆在那里直到下一次觅食。

It doesn't harm its host, but the bad news for sea cucumbers is that pearl fish are happy to share that temporary home with others.

它对寄主无害，但对海参而言坏消息是珍珠鱼喜欢与大家分享它们的临时住所。

It seems there's plenty of room for all.

看来里面空间足够大家呆的。

The Barrier Reef we see today is comparatively young.

我们现在看到的大堡礁相对年轻。

It began to form during the last ice-age when sea levels were 120 meters lower than they are today.

它们在上一冰河世纪开始形成，那时海平面比现在低120米。

When the ices began to melt, the growth of corals get paste of the rising seas blocking off the waters of the lagoon³.

当冰层褪去，随着海水上升开始生长，将环礁湖的水体封闭了起来。

And during that one great event, another important habitat was created.

经过那个大事件，另一个重要的栖息地出现了。

Stretching away behind May to the Horizon, it's the greatest expense of the lagoon.

在我身后一直延伸到地平线的是广阔的环礁湖，

And yet admit 10,000 years ago, that's a blink of an eye in geological time.

在仅仅1万年前，那只是地质年代的一瞬间。

The beach under standing⁴ on would have been a slope of the hill overlooking a plane covered in Eucalyptus⁵ forest.

我所站的这片海滩，曾是一座俯视着树林平原的小山坡。

With the sea level rose, the plain was inundated,and the hill became an island.

但是海平面上升，平原被淹没而小山变成一座岛屿。

These continental⁶ islands as they're known are essentially⁷ pieces of mainland cut off by the rising water.

这些陆边岛正如它们的名字是被上升的海水隔开的大陆地块。

There are 600 of them scattered⁸ about the lagoon.

在环礁湖上星罗棋布着600多座这样的小岛。

1 repulsive   

adj.排斥的，使人反感的

参考例句：

• She found the idea deeply repulsive.她发现这个想法很恶心。
• The repulsive force within the nucleus is enormous.核子内部的斥力是巨大的。

2 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 eucalyptus   

n.桉树，桉属植物

参考例句：

• Eucalyptus oil is good for easing muscular aches and pains.桉树油可以很好地缓解肌肉的疼痛。
• The birds rustled in the eucalyptus trees.鸟在桉树弄出沙沙的响声。

6 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。