Lesson 53
Hot snake
触电的蛇
First listen and then answer the question.
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
What caused the fire?
At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began. Forest fires are often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away. Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a firemen accidentally discovered the cause. He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.
New words and expressions 生词和短语
hot adj. 带电的,充电的
fireman n. 消防队员
cause v. 引起; n. 原因
examine v. 检查
accidentally adv. 意外地,偶然地
remains n. 尸体,残骸
wire n. 电线
volt n. 伏特(电压单位)
power line 电力线
solve v. 解决
mystery n. 谜
snatch v. 抓住
spark n. 电火花
参考译文
消防队员们终于扑灭了加利福尼亚的一场森林大火。从那时起,他们一直试图找出起火的原因。森林火灾时常由破碎的玻璃或人们随手扔掉的香烟头引起。昨天,消防队员仔细查看了地面,但未能发现碎玻璃。他们还十分肯定火灾也不是由烟头引起的。然而今天上午,一个消防队员偶然发现了起火的原因。他发现了缠绕在16,000伏高压线上的一条死蛇。就这样,他解开了起火之谜。解释很简单,却异乎寻常。一只鸟把蛇从地上抓起来,然后把它扔到了电线上。于是蛇就缠住了几根电线。当它这样做时,把火花送到了地面,这些火花立刻引起了一场大火。
暑假计划 Summer Vacation Plan
神奇的瑞典,居然把整个国家挂上了Airbnb?
国内英语资讯:Political advisors discuss home market regulation
国际英语资讯:U.S.-led strikes kill 35 civilians in eastern Syria
中国成全球稳定开采可燃冰第一国
如何提高学习效率 How to Study Efficiently
国内英语资讯:China completes construction of first Hualong One nuclear project
神奇新APP:给美食拍张照就能看到做法!
国内英语资讯:China seeks balanced trade, investment with U.S.
《超级女声》归来 Supergirl Has Come Back
体坛英语资讯:Human mistake costs Kes chance at overtaking AlphaGo
国际英语资讯:Former Greek PM Loukas Papademos recovering from terror attack, police on alert
国际英语资讯:Brasilia sees violent clashes as political crisis deepens
小黄车要发卫星了,ofo终于能有定位功能了
布鲁塞尔发生抗议北约和川普活动
中国点燃了可燃冰,要改变世界的能源格局了
英语四级盲文试卷准备工作已就绪
体坛英语资讯:Griezmann drops hint he could leave Atletico Madrid
体坛英语资讯:Guangzhou Evergrande beat Kashima Antlers 1-0
体坛英语资讯:English Premier League winners Chelsea cancel victory parade
旅游让我变得强大 Travel Makes Me Stronger
体坛英语资讯:Chinese tennis qualifiers Zhang and Han bow out from French Open
Head trip?
国内英语资讯:Russia, China pledge further cooperation, joint work on intl issues
我为什么要努力学习 Why Should I Study Hard
为什么有时候总感觉有人在盯着你看?
共享单车发展指导意见:要求实行用户实名制
支付宝进驻香港,开启首个非人民币支付系统
大战已至:《权力的游戏》第七季正式预告片发布(视频)
国内英语资讯:China, Bulgaria hope to deepen agricultural cooperation