时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2011年(八月)


英语课

Rocky Mountain Sigh as More People Move In


For many Americans, the “good life” means owning a piece, or at least a view, of the majestic 1 Rocky Mountains. Who wouldn’t be drawn 2 to a land of snow-capped peaks, abundant wildlife, and breathtaking hiking trails and ski slopes?

Did we say “breathtaking”? Perhaps that’s because of the smog.

You see, big cities in America’s high country - like Denver and Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City - have grown so fast that on many days, noxious 3 haze 4 obscures the mountains.

Morning and evening - and on weekends - around many mountain towns, you can watch an endless string of sport-utility vehicle lights snake through what used to be unspoiled hills and ravines.

Gigantic housing tracts 5 cropped up among the ponderosa pines. People built fancy houses and mountain retreats so deep into wild places that local fire departments had to tell them they’re on their own come the next forest fire.

Other folks snapped up meadow parcels with a mountain view - “ranchettes,” as they’re called.

Commuters have no “rush hour” on Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs because, they say, the highway is one long parking lot.

So rampant 6 was Denver’s suburbanization 7 before the recent U.S. economic downturn that Northern Colorado ranchers by the hundreds sold out to developers and moved operations up into remote Wyoming.

Water, which is scarce in many parts of the American West, seems abundant in frigid 8 Rocky Mountain streams. But new subdivisions and shopping malls are draining aquifers 9 on the prairies beneath the peaks.

And human sprawl 10 is steadily 11 constricting 12 the habitats of eagles, elk 13, and bears. All because of the western version of Americans’ search for a simpler life, close to nature.

The magnificent Rocky Mountains have inspired songs such as “Springtime in the Rockies” and “Rockin’ in the Rockies.”

Some have suggested a new title for a tune 14: “Ruinin’ the Rockies.”



adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的
  • In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
  • He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
adj.有害的,有毒的;使道德败坏的,讨厌的
  • Heavy industry pollutes our rivers with noxious chemicals.重工业产生的有毒化学品会污染我们的河流。
  • Many household products give off noxious fumes.很多家用产品散发有害气体。
n.霾,烟雾;懵懂,迷糊;vi.(over)变模糊
  • I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中,我看不见她。
  • He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。
大片土地( tract的名词复数 ); 地带; (体内的)道; (尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的)短文
  • vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
  • There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。
adj.(植物)蔓生的;狂暴的,无约束的
  • Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
  • You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。
郊区城市化
  • The population suburbanization is a new trend in the population development of big cities in our country. 人口郊区化是我国大城市人口发展的新动向。
  • Suburbanization and counter-urbanization are two concepts of similarities as well as differences. 郊区化与逆城市化是既有联系又有区别的两个概念,逆城市化是郊区化的升级版本。
adj.寒冷的,凛冽的;冷淡的;拘禁的
  • The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨,他在下面呆不了太长时间。
  • She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。
n.地下蓄水层,砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )
  • And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
  • Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30%。 来自辞典例句
vi.躺卧,扩张,蔓延;vt.使蔓延;n.躺卧,蔓延
  • In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里,灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
  • He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
压缩,压紧,使收缩( constrict的现在分词 )
  • Objective To discuss the clinical characteristics and treatment of congenital constricting band syndrome(CCBS) and amputations. 目的探讨先天性束带症与先天性截肢的临床特点及治疗方法。
n.麋鹿
  • I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近,能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
  • The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
学英语单词
Acer mapienense
aead time
algebraic extension
algorithm error
anti-crocking agent
ANTI-S
Arran, Island of
arthrology
automatic parallel operation unit
Bakio-Basigo
balisse
Barrymore, Lionel
be well placed
branchiointestinal nerve
bring down the persimmon
brogdens
bug about/at
caliper brake
cdp stacked section
charno
clerk of the course
consent dividend
corporeity
counter-ion
cuprohydromagnesite
cut-off pulse height
dead lock condition
deferred profit on instalment sales
die carter
earth short-circuit current
elixations
euler cireterionphi-function
fagling
fast back style
federacin
fernene
filings
film circuit
freaking me out
fretsawing
garden balm
garrison house
harness eye
hawaii times
hydrobiontes
hyperbolize
imvr
inter-electrode leakage
interruptable
Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force
Juanita Doe
lais'
Lavardin
light-source quantum effeciency
local lighting
macrocycloalkene
makes account of
mapleton
mencs
menthol valerate
metalogue
motor wrench pipe dog
Nadtsy
Nalón, R.
necrotizing anterior scleritis
nonthinkers
OCTOMEINE
open a bank account
out-trail
overhead-under ground network
oxygen potential
Passaic
Pelsart Seamount
predisposition(to)
pseudocelebrity
pseudorotaxane
quiller-couches
repeating work
retransmit
rodrik
sanctuary game refuge
Sandvika
seelands
skull
soil lump
spotty steel
submit a tax return
sulkiness
system life
tenoun
thermodynamic energy
tort-reform
twin magnets
undreading
unprisonable
Uspeniya, Mys
variable bit rate
Winnipeg River
wolz
yousef
zivotas