TOEFL READING 1994/05(2)
Some of the most beautiful caves are formed in glaciers. Streams of
melting ice and snow tunnel through the glaciers the same way that water from a
faucet melts its way through an ice cube. Water from the surface drips down
through cracks, hollowing out the tunnels and decorating the caves with crystal
icicle .The smooth walls and floors are so glasslike that pebbles frozen six
feet deep can easily be seen .Crystal-clear icicles draping from the ceilings
flash blue-green , as though they were carved from precious jewels instead of
ice.
Although most of the cave ice in the United States is found in lave
caves, there are a number of limestone ice caves as well. Some people believe
that ice was formed thousands of years ago , when temperatures were much colder
than they are today . Other think that the cave ice broke off from the ancient
glaciers as they spread over the country.
Today many cave scientists have another idea. They believe that cold
water sinks down through cracks into these caves until the temperature is chilly
enough to freeze the water that seeps in , The ice that forms keeps the cave
cool. and that helps build up still more ice. Many eaves become covered with so
much ice that no one knows just how thick it is. In some , such as Crystal Falls
Cave in Idaho , there are frozen rivers and even frozen water- falls. Native
Americans and early settlers used to store food in these underground
refrigerators and chip out blocks of ice to melt for ice to melt for drinking
water.
重点单词：
cave : n. 洞,穴;vi. 凹陷,凹落,投降;vt. 挖洞,使凹陷,暗中破坏
glacier : n. 冰河
stream : n. 水流,小河,流出,趋势,人潮;vt. 流出,流动,展开;vi.
流,涌,飘扬
melting : a. 熔化的,温柔的,令人感动的,甜美的
tunnel : n. 隧道,地下道;vi. 挖隧道;vt. 掘隧道于
faucet : n. 龙头,旋塞
cube : n. 立方体,立方
drip : n. 水滴;vt. vi. (使)滴下
crack : n. 裂缝,爆裂声;vi. (使)爆裂,(使)裂开,(使)发出爆裂声;a.
第一流的;ad. 啪地一声;v.
破解,解拆,解密
hollow : n. 洞,窟窿,山谷;a. 空的,虚伪的,空腹的,凹的;vi.
形成空洞;vt. 挖空
decorate : vt. vi. 装饰
crystal : n. 水晶,水晶装饰品,结晶;a. 水晶的,水晶一样的,透明的
icicle : n. 垂冰,冰柱,冷冰冰的人
pebble : n. 小圆石,小鹅卵石
frozen : a. 冻结的,冰冷的,冷酷的;vbl. freeze 的过去分词
drape : n. 布帘,褶皱;vt. 用布帘覆盖,披上;vi. 成褶皱状
ceiling : n. 天花板
flash : n. 闪光,闪现,一瞬间;vi. 闪光,闪现,反射;vt. 使闪光,反射
carved : a. 有雕刻的
precious : a. 宝贵的,珍贵的,过于精致的,珍爱的
jewel : n. 珠宝,贵重的物,镶珠宝的饰物;vt. 饰以珠宝,镶以宝石
instead : ad. 改为,抵作,更换,替代
lave : vt. 沐浴,洗;n. 剩余物 lave cave : 熔岩洞
limestone : n. 石灰石
temperature : n. 温度,发烧,热度
sink : n. 接收端,沟渠,污水槽;vi. 下沉,沉没,下陷,堕落,陷落,消沉,渗透,下垂;vt.
使低落,使下沉,陷于,使下垂,挖掘;接收器
chilly : a. 寒冷的,冷淡的,不友好的 chill : n. 寒冷,寒意,失意;a.
寒冷的,冷漠的;vt.
使寒心,冷冻;vi. 变冷
seep : vi. 渗出,渗流,漏;n. 小泉,水陆两用的吉普车
cool : n. 凉爽,凉爽的空气;a. 凉爽的,冷淡的,冷静的;vi. 冷却,平息;vt.
使冷却,使平静
eaves : n. pl. 屋檐
waterfall : n. 瀑布
refrigerator : n. 电冰箱,冷藏库
chip : n. 芯片,晶片,薄片,碎片;vt. 削,切,削成碎片,使摔倒,凿;vi.
碎裂
block : n. 街区,木块,石块,块;vt. 阻塞,封锁,使成块状
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