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████    重点词汇
████    难点词汇
████    生僻词
████    词组 & 惯用语

[学习本文需要基础词汇量：5,000 ]
[本次分析采用基础词汇量：5,000 ]

The daily cycle of the sun has a profound

influence on life in the deep ocean.

As the sun sets, it triggers the largest

migration of living organisms
on our planet.

One thousand million tonnes of animals

travel up from the dark zone into richer,

shallower water, every night.

Tiny grazers are first up

searching for the microscopic plants that
only grow in shallow sunlit waters.

Predators follow the grazers.

An enormous variety of
different animals join the convoy

or feed off it as it passes.

Many will travel up hundreds of metres

towards the surface and then at dawn

finding themselves at
greater risk from predators

the visitors return to the safer
darkness of the depths.

The sun's rays only have a direct effect
in the top hundred metres,

or so, of the ocean.

lt's only here that photosynthesis can
take place and coral reefs can flourish.

Leave this thin, rich slice of life and

travel over the outer face of the reef and

you quickly enter a far
more demanding world.

Below a hundred and fifty metres
photosynthesis becomes impossible.

You find no plants, just animals.

Here, the animals are adapted to
catch marine snow,

particles of dead animals and
plants that drift down from above.

So they depend, second-hand,

on the energy captured from the sun

by organisms living in the surface waters.

Travelling close to the sea floor

we're going to take a journey to
the very bottom of the deep sea...

... to a world completely separate
from the midwater above.

At around three hundred metres,

the drop off levels out and

we move out onto the Continental slope.

This stretches for about a hundred and

fifty miles from the coast,
sloping in the gentle gradient

down to a maximum depth
of four thousand metres.

Water temperatures down here drop
below 4 degrees centigrade and

the pressure can reach up to 400 times
that of the surface.

Without the lights of the submersible
it would be completely dark.

The water is crystal clear because

there's so little organic matter.

Only three per cent
of the potential food in the

surface waters reaches
the Continental slope.

At first sight it
appears a lifeless desert

but take a closer look and you notice
a network of tracks and trails.

There is life even down here.

These animals would die
immediately if brought

to the surface in nets,
so you can only see them

behaving normally from submersibles.

Many are new to science.

The deep sea floor is dominated
by echinoderms

sea cucumbers,
brittle stars and sea urchins.

There are literally millions of them

marching across the seabed,
hoovering up any

edible particles there
might be in the sediment.

They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes

and though they are very thinly spread

the deep ocean floor is so vast that

these are among the most numerous
animals on the planet.

Their spikes are good for locomotion
and defence

but perhaps not quite so good
when it comes to mating.

Finding a mate in this largely
empty sea floor could be a problem

so some urchins stay together in herds

to be sure that they're never too
far from a potential partner.

Rocky outcrops provide good anchorage
for animals that rely on food

that might drift past.

These crinoids, or sea lilies

look like plants, but are in fact animals.

Their long stalks ensure
that their umbrella

of feeding tentacles are positioned

to best effect in the current.


知识点

重点词汇
herds [hə:dz] n. 畜群；大量（herd的复数）；人群 v. 聚在一起；结交（herd的三单形式） { :5174}

sediment [ˈsedɪmənt] n. 沉积；沉淀物 {toefl ielts gre :5512}

flourish [ˈflʌrɪʃ] n. 兴旺；茂盛；挥舞；炫耀；华饰 vi. 繁荣，兴旺；茂盛；活跃；处于旺盛时期 vt. 夸耀；挥舞 {cet4 cet6 ky toefl ielts gre :5548}

umbrella [ʌmˈbrelə] n. 雨伞；保护伞；庇护；伞形结构 {zk gk :5549}

rocky [ˈrɒki] adj. 岩石的，多岩石的；坚如岩石的；摇晃的；头晕目眩的 {toefl :5549}

coral [ˈkɒrəl] n. 珊瑚；珊瑚虫 adj. 珊瑚的；珊瑚色的 n. (Coral)人名；(英、法、西、葡)科拉尔 {gk toefl :5793}

reef [ri:f] n. 暗礁；[地质] 矿脉；收帆 vt. 收帆；缩帆 vi. 缩帆；收帆 {cet6 toefl :6352}

reefs [ri:fs] 礁体 { :6352}

convoy [ˈkɒnvɔɪ] n. 护送；护卫；护航队 vt. 护航；护送 {toefl gre :6616}

stalks [stɔ:ks] n. 茎秆（stalk的复数形式） v. 悄悄接近；高视阔步；蔓延（stalk的第三人称单数形式） { :6634}

gradient [ˈgreɪdiənt] n. [数][物] 梯度；坡度；倾斜度 adj. 倾斜的；步行的 {cet6 toefl :7370}

spikes ['spaɪks] n. 钉鞋（spike的复数） v. 把…钉牢（spike的第三人称单数） n. (Spikes)人名；(英)斯派克斯 { :7383}

tentacles ['təntəkəlz] n. [动] 触手；[动] 触须（tentacle的复数） { :7471}

thinly [ˈθɪnli] adv. 薄；稀疏地；细；瘦 { :7720}

cucumbers [k'ju:kʌmbəz] n. [园艺] 黄瓜（cucumber的复数） { :8294}

brittle [ˈbrɪtl] adj. 易碎的，脆弱的；易生气的 {cet4 cet6 ky toefl ielts gre :8736}

microscopic [ˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪk] adj. 微观的；用显微镜可见的 {cet6 toefl gre :9581}

cent [sent] n. 分；一分的硬币；森特（等于半音程的百分之一） n. (Cent)人名；(法)桑 {zk gk cet4 cet6 ky :10111}

edible [ˈedəbl] n. 食品；食物 adj. 可食用的 {cet6 ky toefl ielts :10611}

lifeless [ˈlaɪfləs] adj. 无生命的；死气沉沉的；无趣味的 { :11973}


难点词汇
hoovering [ˈhu:vərɪŋ] v. 用真空吸尘器打扫( hoover的现在分词 ) { :15417}

urchins [ˈɜ:tʃɪnz] n. 顽童( urchin的名词复数 ); 淘气鬼; <主英><动>猬; <动>海胆 { :15461}

outcrops [ˈautkrɔps] n. 露出地面的岩层( outcrop的名词复数 ) { :15569}

anchorage [ˈæŋkərɪdʒ] n. 锚地；下锚；停泊税 { :16425}

sunlit [ˈsʌnlɪt] adj. 阳光照射的；被日光照射了的 {toefl :16959}

photosynthesis [ˌfəʊtəʊˈsɪnθəsɪs] n. 光合作用 {toefl gre :17561}

submersibles [ ] (submersible 的复数) a. 能沉入水中的, 能潜水的 { :20782}

submersible [səbˈmɜ:səbl] adj. 能潜水的；能沉入水中的 { :20782}

locomotion [ˌləʊkəˈməʊʃn] n. 运动；移动；旅行 {toefl gre :22712}

seabed [ˈsi:bed] n. 海底；海床 {toefl :23196}

centigrade [ˈsentɪgreɪd] adj. 摄氏的；[仪] 摄氏温度的；百分度的 {gk cet4 cet6 ky toefl gre :27004}

echinoderms [ekɪ'nəʊdəmz] 棘皮动物 { :30749}

midwater [ ] 中层水域 { :38316}

grazers ['greizə] n. 吃草的动物, 食草动物 { :44053}


复习词汇
metres [ˈmi:təz] n. 米( metre的名词复数 ); （诗的）格律; 用于竞赛名称 metres { :2099}


生僻词
crinoids [kraɪnɔɪzd] 海百合类


词组
at dawn [ ] na. 天一亮 [网络] 在黎明；破晓时分；拂晓时

brittle star [ˈbritl stɑ:] [网络] 海蛇尾；阳燧足海星；状海蛇尾

brittle stars [ ] un. 海蛇尾 [网络] 海星；脆星；阳燧足

continental slope [ ] n. 大陆坡 [网络] 大陆斜坡；大陆坡大陆坡；坡度较陡的大陆坡

coral reef [ˈkɔrəl ri:f] n. 【地】珊瑚礁 [网络] 海底珊瑚礁；美国珊瑚礁；礁墙

coral reefs [ ] n. 【地】珊瑚礁 [网络] 珊瑚礁生态系；国际珊瑚礁期刊；岌岌可危的珊瑚礁

crystal clear [ˈkristəl kliə] adj. 清澈透明的；晶莹的；浅显易懂的；显而易见的 [网络] 完全透明的；十分清楚；湛

degree centigrade [diˈɡri: ˈsentiɡreid] un. 摄氏度数 [网络] 摄氏温度度数；百分度；百分度参考例句

degrees centigrade [ ] un. 摄氏度数 [网络] 温度是摄氏五度；摄氏度的温度；摄氏温度计

drift down [ ] un. 姗姗离去；随波逐流而去；在巡航中下降；漂降 [网络] 飘降

good anchorage [ ] 良好锚地

hoover up [ ] [网络] 获得大量的

living organism [ ] un. 活生物 [网络] 活体；生物体；生命体

marine snow [məˈri:n snəu] un. 海雪 [网络] 海洋雪；海上飞雪；海蓝雪花

microscopic plant [ ] 微生植物

per cent [pə: sent] adj. 每一百中 n. 百分之… [网络] 百分数；百分率；百分比

sea cucumber [si: ˈkju:kʌmbə] n. 海参 [网络] 海黄瓜；海参干；刺参

sea lily [si: ˈlili] n. 海百合

sea urchin [si: ˈɜ:tʃɪn] n. 海胆 [网络] 生海胆；马粪海胆；紫海胆

shallow water [ ] un. 浅水 [网络] 浅水区；浅水区域；浅水湿地

shallow waters [ ] [水文] 浅水；浅海，浅水域；浅滩

slice of life [ ] adj. 栩栩如生地反映实际生活的一个片断的 [网络] 生活片段；生命的点点滴滴；生活片断

the continental [ ] [网络] 大陆；欧陆式早餐；大陆酒店

the seabed ['si:bed] n. 海底；海床

three per cent [ ] [网络] 百分之三；三厘利息的公债



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