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火山喷发中,古时代的南非人没有受伤害

时间:2018-03-19 16:07:25

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(单词翻译)

Ancient People in South Africa Unharmed by Volcanic1 Eruption2

About 74,000 years ago, the Mount Toba volcano erupted on what is now the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The eruption caused a worldwide environmental disaster. It may have destroyed ancient human populations in many parts of the world. But experts say some groups may have survived the disaster unharmed.

Earlier this month, scientists announced that they had found tiny pieces of volcanic glass from the Mount Toba eruption.

Their discovery, however, was 9,000 kilometers away on South Africa’s southern coast.

Some researchers believe the eruption may have caused world temperatures to drop causing a so-called “volcanic winter” that lasted for many years.

Scientists suggest this cold period damaged ecosystems4 and reduced food resources for people around the world.

But, the researchers in South Africa found evidence that the hunter-gatherers there continued to thrive.

Pieces of volcanic glass were found in a rock shelter at a place called Pinnacle5 Point near the town of Mossel Bay. Ancient people lived, cooked food and slept there. They made tools out of stone, bone and wood. Glass pieces were also found in an area about 10 kilometers away.

The researchers said people lived in the rock shelter from 90,000 to 50,000 years ago. They found no sign that people left the area at the time of the eruption.

They said the seaside location may have provided a refuge. Marine6 food sources like shellfish may have been less affected7 than inland plants and animals to the environmental effects of the eruption.

The Mount Toba eruption sent large amounts of volcanic particles into the atmosphere. The particles dimmed the sunlight and possibly killed many plants.

Scientists say it was the most powerful eruption in the past 2 million years. But they are divided over the eruption’s effects. Some think it may have caused a human population collapse8 that became a near-extinction event. Others believe its effects were less severe.

Curtis Marean is a paleoanthropologist with Arizona State University’s Institute of Human Origins and Nelson Mandela University’s Centre for Coastal9 Palaeoscience in South Africa. He spoke10 to the Reuters news service about the findings.

He said, “On a regular basis through time, humans faced dire11 threats from natural disasters. As hunter-gatherers endowed with advanced cognition and a proclivity12 to cooperate, we were able to make it through this disaster, and we were very resilient.”

He added, “But this may not be the case now with our reliance on our highly complicated technological13 system. In my opinion, a volcano like this could annihilate14 civilization as we know it...”

The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Nature.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in this Story

ecosystem3 –n. everything that exists in a particular environment

thrive –v. to grow or develop successfully; to flourish or succeed

location –n. a place or position

marine –adj. of or relating to the sea or the plants and animals that live in the sea

annihilate – v. to destroy something or someone completely

dire – adj. very bad; causing great fear or worry

endowed – v. freely or naturally provided something

erupt – v. to send out rocks, ash, lava15, etc. in a sudden explosion

proclivity – n. a strong natural liking16 for something that is usually bad; a tendency to do something that is usually bad.

resilient – adj. able to become strong, healthy or successful again after something bad happens


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1 volcanic BLgzQ     
adj.火山的;象火山的;由火山引起的
参考例句:
  • There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
2 eruption UomxV     
n.火山爆发;(战争等)爆发;(疾病等)发作
参考例句:
  • The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
  • The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。
3 ecosystem Wq4xz     
n.生态系统
参考例句:
  • This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
4 ecosystems 94cb0e40a815bea1157ac8aab9a5380d     
n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样,从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句
5 pinnacle A2Mzb     
n.尖塔,尖顶,山峰;(喻)顶峰
参考例句:
  • Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
  • It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。
6 marine 77Izo     
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
参考例句:
  • Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
7 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
8 collapse aWvyE     
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
9 coastal WWiyh     
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
  • This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
10 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
11 dire llUz9     
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的
参考例句:
  • There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
  • We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了,但是我们渡过了困难。
12 proclivity ztuyn     
n.倾向,癖性
参考例句:
  • He has a proclivity toward violence.他有暴力的倾向。
  • He has a proclivity for exaggeration.他总爱夸夸其谈。
13 technological gqiwY     
adj.技术的;工艺的
参考例句:
  • A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
  • Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今, 随着科技进步,生活节奏不断增快。
14 annihilate Peryn     
v.使无效;毁灭;取消
参考例句:
  • Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture could annihilate the news it contained.阿切尔把这张黄纸揉皱,好象用这个动作就会抹掉里面的消息似的。
  • We should bear in mind that we have to annihilate the enemy.我们要把歼敌的重任时刻记在心上。
15 lava v9Zz5     
n.熔岩,火山岩
参考例句:
  • The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
  • His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。
16 liking mpXzQ5     
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢
参考例句:
  • The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
  • I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

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