[by:喜欢Hxen.com,请把Hxen.com告诉你QQ上的5位好友,多谢支持!] [00:00.00]恒星英语学习网 Unit 5 [00:07.99]The power of nature [00:10.03]Reading [00:11.18]AN EXCITING JOB [00:14.34]I have the greatest job in the world. [00:18.18]I travel to unusual places and meet interesting people from all over the world. [00:24.45]Sometimes working outdoors, [00:26.91]sometimes in an office, [00:29.15]sometimes using scientific instruments in my work and sometimes meeting with local people and tourists, [00:36.34]I am never bored. [00:38.48]Although my job is occasionally dangerous I don’t mind, because danger excites me and makes me feel alive. [00:47.12]However, the most important thing about my job is that I help to protect people from one of the most powerful natural forces on earth –the volcano. [00:59.38]I am a volcanologist working for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). [01:07.32]My main job is collecting information about Mount Kilauea, which is one of the most active volcanoes in Hawaii. [01:17.37]Having collected and evaluated the information, I help other scientists to predict where lava from the volcano will flow next and how fast it will flow. [01:29.84]Our work has saved man lives because people in the path of the lava can be warned to leave their homes. [01:37.99]Unfortunately, we can’t move their homes out of the way and many houses have been covered with lava or burned to the ground. [01:47.34]When boiling rock erupts from the volcano and crashes back to earth, it causes less damage than you might imagine. [01:56.79]This is because no one lives near the top of Mount Kilauea where the rocks fall. [02:03.01]The lava that flows slowly down the mountain causes far more damage because it buries everything in its path under the molten rock. [02:13.17]However, the eruption itself is really exciting to watch and I’ll never forget my first sight of an eruption. [02:21.92]It was in the second week after I arrived in Hawaii. [02:26.16]Having worked hard all day , I went to bed early. [02:31.12]I was fast asleep when suddenly my bed began shaking and I heard a strange sound, like a railway train passing outside my window. [02:41.88]Having experienced quite a few earthquakes in Hawaii already, I didn’t take much notice. [02:48.93]I saw about to go back to sleep when suddenly my bedroom became as bright as day. [02:55.49]I ran out of the house into the back garden where I could see mount Kilauea in the distance. [03:03.07]There had been an eruption in the side of the mountain and red hot lava was fountaining hundreds of metres into the air. [03:11.82]It was an absolutely fantastic sight . [03:15.89]The day after this eruption I was lucky enough to have a much closer look at it . [03:22.87]Two other scientists and I were driven up the mountain and dropped as close as possible to the carter that had been formed during the eruption. [03:32.82]Having earlier collected special clothes from the observatory, we put them on before we went any closer. [03:40.76]All three of us looked like spacemen . [03:44.89]we had white protective suits that covered our whole body, helmets , big boots and special gloves. [03:53.56]It wasn’t very easy to walk in these suits, but we slowly make our way to the edge of the crater and looked down into the red, boiling center. [04:04.19]The other two climbed down into the crater to collect some lava for later study, but this being my first experience, I stayed at the top and watched them. [04:15.92]Today , I am just as enthusiastic about my job as the day I first started. [04:22.40]Having studied volcanoes now for more than twenty years, I am still amazed at their beauty as well as their potential to cause great damage. [04:33.35]Reading [04:44.11]THE LAKE OF HEAVEN [04:48.26]Changbaishan is in Jilin Province, Northeast china. [04:52.81]Much of this beautiful, mountainous area is thick forest. [04:57.04]Changbaishan is China’s largest nature reserve and is kept in its natural state for the people of China and visitors from all over the world to enjoy. [05:07.77]The height of the land varies from 700 metres above sea level to over 2,000 metres and is home to a great diversity of plants and animals . [05:19.84]Among the rare animals are cranes, black bears , leopards and Siberian tigers. [05:27.39]Many people come to Changbaishan to study the unique plants and animals. [05:34.24]Others come to walk in the mountains, to see the spectacular waterfalls or to bathe in the hot water pools . [05:42.26]However, the most popular attraction in the reserve is Tianchi, or Lake of Heaven. [05:49.70]Tianchi is a deep lake that has formed in the crater of a dead volcano on top of the mountain . [05:57.77]the lake is 2,194 metres above sea level . [06:03.23]it is more than 200 metres deep, and in the winter the surface freezes over. [06:10.18]It takes about an hour to climb from the end of the road to the top of the mountain. [06:16.56]When you arrive you are rewarded not only by the sight of the crystal clear waters of the Lake of Heaven, but also by the view of the other sixteen mountain peaks that surround Tianchi. [06:30.61]There are many stories told about Tianchi. [06:33.64]The most well-know concerns three young women from heaven. [06:38.39]They were bathing in Tianchi when a bird flew above them and dropped a small fruit onto the dress of the youngest girl. [06:47.54]When she picked up the fruit to smell it , it flew into her mouth. [06:53.41]Having swallowed the fruit, the girl became pregnant and some time later gave birth to a handsome boy. [07:01.28]It is said that this boy, who had a great gift for language and persuasion, it the father of the Manchu people. [07:10.42]If you are lucky enough to visit the Lake of Heaven with your loved one, don’t forget to drop a coin into the clear,blue water to guarantee your love will be as deep and lasting as the lake itself.