雅思听力材料：地中海(BBC纪录片)

　　Mediterranean Sea

　　The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely separate body of water.

　　The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of the land . It covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km , but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Seato distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere.

　　The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 m in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.

　　It was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region. The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. For the three quarters of the globe, the Mediterranean Sea is similarly the uniting element and the centre of World History.