Lily的Scalers Talk第八轮新概念朗读持续力训练Da

L42-3: Modern cavemen

They plunged into the lake, and after loading their gear on an inflatable rubber dinghy, let the current carry them to the other side. To protect themselves from the icy water, they had to wear special rubber suits. At the far end of the lake, they came to huge piles of rubble which had been washed up by the water. In this part of the cave, they could hear an insistent booming sound which they found was caused by a small waterspout shooting down into a pool from the roof of the cave. Squeezing through a cleft in the rocks, the pot-holers arrived at an enormous cavern, the size of a huge concert hall. After switching on powerful arc lights, they saw great stalagmites -- some of them over 40 feet high -- rising up like tree-trunks to meet the stalactites suspended from the roof. Roundabout, piles of lime-stone glistened in all the colours of the rainbow. In the eerie silence of the cavern, the only sound that could be heard was made by water which dripped continuously from the high dome above them.

gear  /ɡɪr/ 一套工具

inflatable  /ɪnˈfleɪtəbl/ 可充气的

dinghy /ˈdɪŋi/ 小艇;小船

at the far end of the lake  在湖的尽头

rubble  /ˈrʌbl/ 碎石、碎瓦

wash up 退潮留下，（河水或海水）冲刷后留下、冲上岸

insistent  /ɪnˈsɪstənt/ 连续的、不断的, 坚决要求的;坚持的;固执的

waterspout  /ˈwɔːtərspaʊt/ 强大的水柱, 水龙卷;海龙卷

squeeze /skwiːz/  挤压;捏;

cleft /kleft/  开口、裂隙

cavern /ˈkævərn/ 大洞穴

concert hall  音乐厅     concert /ˈkɑːnsərt/ 音乐会、演奏会

switch /swɪtʃ/ (电路的)开关，闸      switch on 打开，开启（电灯等）

arc  /ɑːrk/ 弧形

stalagmite /stəˈlæɡmaɪt/  石笋

stalactite  /stəˈlæktaɪt/ 钟乳石

suspend /səˈspend/ 悬;挂;吊;

limestone /ˈlaɪmstoʊn/ 石灰石

glisten /ˈɡlɪsn/ 闪闪发光，闪闪发亮;

eerie /ˈɪri/ 诡异的;怪异的;神秘的;

drip /drɪp/ 滴下;滴水;充溢，充满;(如细雨般)轻柔地飘下，轻轻漏下

dome /doʊm/ 穹顶;圆屋顶;圆顶状物

科普性质的文章，生词太多，句式也复杂，学起来不轻松。