Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

歌曲 Lesson 26 The past life of the earth
歌手 英语听力
专辑 新概念英语(第四册)

歌词

[00:01.51] Lesson 26
[00:03.68] The past life of the earth
[00:12.17] What is the main condition for the preservation of the remains of any living creature?
[00:19.84] It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved,
[00:26.93] for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial,
[00:31.97] and it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes,
[00:36.10] where mud and silt have been continuously deposited,
[00:39.68] that bodies and the like can be rapidly covered over and preserved.
[00:45.37] But even in the most favourable circumstances
[00:48.33] only a small fraction of the creatures that die are preserved in this way
[00:52.96] before decay sets in or, even more likely, before scavengers eat them.
[00:59.09] After all, all living creatures live by feeding on something else,
[01:04.21] whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive,
[01:08.09] and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided.
[01:12.95] The remains of plants and animals that lived on land are much more rarely preserved,
[01:18.68] for there is seldom anything to cover them over.
[01:22.41] When you think of the innumerable birds that one sees flying about,
[01:26.84] not to mention the equally numerous small animals like field mice and voles
[01:32.14] which you do not see,
[01:34.00] it is very rarely that one comes across a dead body, except, of course, on the roads.
[01:41.03] They decompose and are quickly destroyed by the weather or eaten by some other creature
[01:48.57] It is almost always due to some very special circumstances that traces of land animals survive,
[01:55.47] as by falling into inaccessible caves, or into an ice crevasse,
[02:01.63] like the Siberian mammoths,
[02:03.85] when the whole animal is sometimes preserved, as in a refrigerator.
[02:09.58] This is what happened to the famous Beresovka mammoth
[02:13.45] which was found preserved and in good condition.
[02:17.24] In his mouth were the remains of fir trees--the last meal that he had before he fell into the crevasse and broke his back.
[02:25.79] The mammoth has now been restored in the Palaeontological Museum in St.Petersburg.
[02:32.42] Other animals were trapped in tar pits,
[02:34.95] like the elephants, sabre-toothed cats, and numerous other creatures that are found at Rancho la Brea, which is now just a suburb of Los Angeles.
[02:45.86] Apparently what happened was that water collected on these tar pits
[02:50.59] and the bigger animals like the elephants ventured out on to the apparently firm surface to drink,
[02:57.01] and were promptly bogged in the tar.
[03:00.12] And then, when they were dead, the carnivores,
[03:03.85] like the sabretoothed cats and the giant wolves,
[03:07.53] came out to feed and suffered exactly the same fate.
[03:11.71] There are also endless numbers of birds in the tar as well.

歌词大意

[00:01.51]
[00:03.68] dì qiú shàng de xī rì shēng mìng
[00:12.17] shén me shì rèn hé shēng líng yí jī bǎo cún de zhǔ yào tiáo jiàn?
[00:19.84] zhǐ yǒu shēng huó zài shuǐ zhōng huò shuǐ biān de dòng zhí wù shī tǐ zuì yǒu kě néng bèi bǎo cún xià lái
[00:26.93] yīn wèi bǎo cún de bì yào tiáo jiàn zhī yī shì xùn sù yǎn mái
[00:31.97] suǒ yǐ zhǐ yǒu zài hǎi yáng hé jiāng hé lǐ, yǒu shí zài hú pō lǐ
[00:36.10] zài nà li ní shā bù tíng yū jī
[00:39.68] shī tǐ zhī lèi de dōng xī cái néng bèi xùn sù dì fù gài ér bǎo cún xià lái
[00:45.37] jí shǐ shì zài zuì yǒu lì de huán jìng zhōng
[00:48.33] sǐ qù de shēng wù zhōng yě zhǐ yǒu yī xiǎo bù fèn
[00:52.96] néng zài kāi shǐ fǔ làn qián huò gèng kě néng zài bèi shí fǔ dòng wù chī diào zhī qián, bèi zhè yàng bǎo cún xià lái
[00:59.09] yīn wèi yī qiè shēng wù dōu shì kào chī bié de dōng xī lái huó mìng de
[01:04.21] bù guǎn zhè zhǒng dōng xī shì zhí wù hái shì dòng wù, sǐ de hái shì huó de
[01:08.09] yīn cǐ, shēng wù ǒu ěr cái néng bì miǎn bèi chī diào de mìng yùn
[01:12.95] céng zài lù dì shàng shēng huó guò de dòng zhí wù de yí tǐ bèi bǎo cún xià lái de gèng wéi hǎn jiàn
[01:18.68] yīn wèi lù dì shàng jī hū méi yǒu shén me dōng xī fù gài tā men
[01:22.41] nǐ kě yǐ xiǎng xiàng chū tiān shàng yǒu kàn de jiàn de fēi lái fēi qù, shǔ bù qīng de niǎo
[01:26.84] gèng bù yòng shuō tóng yàng zhòng duō de lǎo shǔ hé tián shǔ zhī lèi de
[01:32.14] nèi xiē bù xiǎn yǎn de xiǎo dòng wù
[01:34.00] dàn shì, chú fēi zài lù shàng, hěn shǎo yǒu rén yù dào zhèi xiē dòng wù de shī tǐ
[01:41.03] yīn wèi tā men fǔ bài zhī hòu hěn kuài jiù bèi fēng huà diào, huò bèi bié de dòng wù chī diào le.
[01:48.57] jī hū zǒng shì yóu yú mǒu xiē tè shū de tiáo jiàn, lù dì dòng wù de yí tǐ cái bèi cún xià lái
[01:55.47] rú diào jìn nán yǐ dào dá de dòng xué, huò diào jìn bīng hé liè fèng lǐ
[02:01.63] jiù xiàng zhèi xiē xī bó lì yà cháng máo xiàng
[02:03.85] yǒu shí zhěng gè dòng wù xiàng bèi fàng zài bīng xiāng lǐ yí yàng bèi bǎo cún xià lái
[02:09.58] zhù míng de nà lín suǒ fū kǎ cháng máo xiàng jiù shì zhè yàng bèi bǎo cún xià lái de
[02:13.45] ér qiě bǎo cún de hěn hǎo
[02:17.24] tā zuǐ lǐ hái liú zhe lěng shān tā diào jìn bīng hé liè xì tā diào jìn bīng hé liè xì zhé duàn jǐ zhuī zhù zhī qián de zuì hòu yī dùn fàn
[02:25.79] zhè tóu cháng máo xiàng yǐ bèi xiū fù, xiàn cún yú shèng bǐ dé bǎo gǔ shēng wù xué bó wù guǎn
[02:32.42] yǒu de dòng wù diào jìn tiān rán lì qīng kēng lǐ bèi bǎo cún xià lái
[02:34.95] rú zài lán qiáo. lā. bù lǐ xiàn zài shì luò shān jī de jiāo qū fā xiàn de dà xiàng xiàn zài shì luò shān jī de jiāo qū fā xiàn de dà xiàng jiàn chǐ hǔ hé xǔ duō qí tā dòng wù
[02:45.86] xiǎn rán, shì qíng de jīng guò shì zhè yàng: lì qīng kēng lǐ jī cún le shuǐ,
[02:50.59] dà xiàng nà yàng de dà dòng wù mào xiǎn dào sì hū jiān gù de shuǐ miàn shǎng qù yǐn shuǐ
[02:57.01] lì jí diào jìn le lì qīng kēng
[03:00.12] dà xiàng sǐ hòu, yī xiē shí ròu dòng wù
[03:03.85] rú jiàn chǐ hǔ hé dà huī láng
[03:07.53] jiù lái chī dà xiàng, jié guǒ zāo dào le tóng yàng de mìng yùn
[03:11.71] lì qīng kēng lǐ hái yǒu wú shù zhǐ niǎo de shī tǐ