时间:2018-12-07 作者:英语课 分类:(科普英语)Earth and Sky


英语课


 


Water Cycle 水循环


All the oceans on earth are salty, while inland water is typically fresh. How does water become salty? We'll answer a listener's question -- today on Earth and Sky.


DB: This is Earth and Sky. We recently visited the Austin Children's Museum in Texas to record your science questions. This one is from Jeana Lungwitz.


Jeana Lungwitz: Why are the oceans salt water and the rivers and lakes typically fresh water?


JB: Jeana, first imagine a tea kettle. If you boil tap water to make tea, some of it evaporates. After a while, you might notice a hard crust of mineral deposits forms on the bottom of your teapot


DB: That crust is there because when tap water evaporates it leaves behind any dissolved salts and minerals. Now take this scenario 1 to the ocean. Most water on Earth evaporates from the surface of the ocean. There it leaves behind dissolved salts. Then, when water precipitates 2 out of the atmosphere, it falls as fresh water.


JB: The freshwater that falls onto land cascades 3 over surfaces like rocks and sediments 4. Here it picks up nutrients 5, chemicals, and salts. The water carries the dissolved salts on its long journey back to sea. If you run this water cycle over and over again, through four and a half billion years, you eventually leave a lot of salt in the ocean.


DB: In fact, if you came back in another billion years, the ocean would be even saltier than it is now. Thanks for your question Jeana. And with thanks to the National Science Foundation, we're Block and Byrd for Earth and Sky.



1 scenario
n.剧本,脚本;概要
  • But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
  • This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。
2 precipitates
v.(突如其来地)使发生( precipitate的第三人称单数 );促成;猛然摔下;使沉淀
  • Water precipitates camphor from its alcoholic solution. 水能把樟脑从其酒精溶液中淀析出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Precipitates are usually collected by centrifugation at intervals. 常常是用离心法分段收集沉淀的。 来自辞典例句
3 cascades
倾泻( cascade的名词复数 ); 小瀑布(尤指一连串瀑布中的一支); 瀑布状物; 倾泻(或涌出)的东西
  • The river fell in a series of cascades down towards the lake. 河形成阶梯状瀑布泻入湖中。
  • Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. 现在他朝着太阳驶去,开始了穿越喀斯喀特山脉的漫长而曲折的路程。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦
4 sediments
沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 ); 沉积物
  • When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后,体积的70-80%是水。
  • Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。
5 nutrients
n.(食品或化学品)营养物,营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )
  • a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
  • Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
abebe
accounting cost
air blast separation
ambiguous data
amenorrhea due to contraceptive
amplitude of symmetrical alternating quantity
angular milling
atingle
atto-tesla
ballpen
balustrading
bounding box coordinates
brake fluid reservoir
buck against
cablephoto
capillary nonperfusion
carmel-by-the-sea (carmel)
cartilago meatus acustici
Christmas holidays
Claraville
close rotative gas-lift system
coma vigile
compressed air locomotive
conjugate wave
coordinate system of the pole
Copalis National Wildlife Refuge
Cycadatae
dentulated
depectinization
Diamond Bar
disbenched
document change form
Doische
expertized
fault-screened hydrocarbon reservoir
fellow-teachers
file attributes
flageolets
flint polishing strip
flowing pressure gradient
fly speck
forest management rules
genus campyloneurums
get down to work
haemopiss
Hanawa-machi
houselled
Ikorodu
inert gas element
jamrock
Kukerin
lanthanum sesquioxide
laps up
LD50 time
luidiids
lummer brodhun photometer head
Macnean Lower, Lough
mafia
malicious gossip
mamilliferous
modulation analysis
neoseiulus longispinosus
non-segregated
nonforeclosure
nonmetallic sheathed cable
nonpermutable
notalgic
one-tests
partial-automatic checker
peckford
pehin
Phyllomyzidae
pick-up head
plastic remover
prothoracic bristle
PSAGN
quartz thermometre
ready-issue room
rusting out
screaming of an engine
Scurfpea Fruit
selfshadowing
simple aerial cableway
smart cookies
solenid
star finder
strategic bombardment
string bet
swally
tax on price land
tectonometamorphic
telemaintenance service
triequal
trifluoroacetic
trottee
truepennies
underwriting department
uniramian
virilization
wage garnishments
youts
zumologic