---
url: https://gaojian.site/new-concept/book-3/42-modern-cavemen.md
description: 新概念英语第三册：Modern Cavemen。精读、词块回忆、双向译练、句法、逻辑与FSRS复习。
---

# 现代洞穴人

## 课文学习台 {#study}

### 第1段

Cave exploration, or pot-holing, as it has come to be known, is a relatively new sport. Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures people down to the depths of the earth. It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation for a pot-holer's motives. For him, caves have the same peculiar fascination which high mountains have for the climber. They arouse instincts which can only be dimly understood.

中文理解：洞穴勘查——或洞穴勘探——是一项比较新的体育活动。寻求独处的愿望或寻求意外发现的机会的欲望吸引人们来到地下深处。要想对洞穴探险者的动机作出满意的解释是不可能的。对洞穴探险者来说，洞穴有一种特殊的魅力，就像高山对登山者有特殊魅力一样。洞穴唤起了一些连人们自己也难以清楚理解的本能。

#### 这一段的读法与用法

注释：①relatively = comparatively, quite。②desire for solitude = wish to be alone。 ③lures = attracts, tempts。④arouse = wake up, excite。

### 第2段

Exploring really deep caves is not a task for the Sunday afternoon rambler. Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deep cave. Precautions of this sort are necessary, for it is impossible to foretell the exact nature of the difficulties which will confront the pot-holer. The deepest known cave in the world is the Gouffre Berger near Grenoble. It extends to a depth of 3,723 feet. This immense chasm has been formed by an underground stream which has tunneled a course through a flaw in the rocks. The entrance to the cave is on a plateau in the Dauphiné Alps. As it is only six feet across, it is barely noticeable. The cave might never have been discovered had not the entrance been spotted by the distinguished French pot-holer, Berger. Since its discovery, it has become a sort of pot-holers' Everest. Though a number of descents have been made, much of it still remains to be explored.

中文理解：洞穴探险可不是那些在周日下午散散步的人所能胜任的。这种活动需要具备军事行动般的周密部署和预见能力。有时需要花费整整8天时间来搭绳梯，建立供应基地，然后才能下到一个很深的洞穴里。作出这样的准备是必要的，因为无法预见到洞穴探险者究竟会遇到什么性质的困难。世界上最深的洞穴是格里诺布尔附近的高弗·伯杰洞，深达3,723英尺。这个深邃的洞穴是由一条地下暗泉冲刷岩石中的缝隙并使之慢慢变大而形成的。此洞的洞口在丹芬阿尔卑斯山的高原上，仅6英尺宽，很难被发现。若不是法国著名洞穴探险家伯杰由于偶然的机会发现了这个洞口的话，这个洞也许不会为人所知。自从被发现以后，这个洞成了洞穴探险者的珠穆朗玛峰，人们多次进入洞内探险，但至今尚有不少东西有待勘探。

* **a number of**：许多 / 大量 / 少量；a number of 说若干个；the number of 说数量本身，主谓一致要跟着变。

#### 这一段的读法与用法

注释：①precise = exact, detailed。②confront = be faced with and have to deal with。 ③is barely noticeable = can hardly be seen。

### 第3段

A team of pot-holers recently went down the Gouffre Berger. After entering the narrow gap on the plateau, they climbed down the steep sides of the cave until they came to a narrow corridor. They had to edge their way along this, sometimes wading across shallow streams, or swimming across deep pools. Suddenly they came to a waterfall which dropped into an underground lake at the bottom of the cave. 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 forty feet high—rising up like tree-trunks to meet the stalactites suspended from the roof. Round about, piles of limestone 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.

中文理解：最近，一队洞穴探险者下到了高弗·伯杰洞里。他们从高原上的窄缝进去，顺着笔直陡峭的洞壁往下爬，来到一条狭窄的走廊上。他们不得不侧着身子往前走，有时涉过浅溪，有时游过深潭。突然，他们来到一道瀑布前，那瀑布奔泻而下，注入洞底一处地下湖里。他们跳入湖中，把各种器具装上一只充气的橡皮艇，听任水流将他们带往对岸。湖水冰冷刺骨，他们必须穿上一种特制的橡皮服保护自己。在湖的尽头，他们见到一大堆由湖水冲刷上岸的碎石。在这儿，他们可以听见一种连续不断的轰鸣声。后来他们发现这是由山洞顶部的一个小孔里喷出的水柱跌落到水潭中发出的声音。洞穴探险者从岩石缝里挤身过去，来到一个巨大的洞里，其大小相当于一个音乐厅。他们打开强力弧光灯，看见一株株巨大的石笋，有的高达40多英尺，像树干似地向上长着，与洞顶悬挂下来的钟乳石相接。周围是一堆堆石灰石，像彩虹一样闪闪发光。洞里有一种可怕的寂静，唯一可以听见的声响是高高的圆顶上不停滴水的嘀嗒声。

#### 这一段的读法与用法

注释：①cleft = fissure。②eerie = eery，同音同义。 ③continuously 的反义词(antonym)为intermittently。

#### Summary 摘要

On entering a narrow gap on the plateau, they climbed down and reached a narrow corridor. They edged their way along and came to a waterfall which dropped to an underground lake. They plunged into the lake in special rubber suits and let the current take them to the other side. On squeezing through a cleft in the rocks, they discovered an enormous cavern where they saw massive stalagmites and stalactites. All they could hear was water dripping from above. (80 words)

#### Composition 作文

\[1]One day last summer Rob, a friend of mine, decided to go out for a day on his own. He took a day off work and went to the beach. He walked round the headland(n.海岬) a mile from the town and found a deserted beach. He couldn't believe it there was no one else there. He spent a marvellous relaxing day there swimming, sunbathing and reading, and for the whole day he was the only one on the beach. Then, late in the afternoon, he decided to pack up and go home.

\[2]He took his time drying himself, changing and packing his things into the shoulder bag he had brought with him, and then began to walk towards the headland. As he was walking along the beach, he suddenly realized that the tide was coming in: it was coming in very fast, and he began to get a little worried. He walked faster, but soon the tide had reached the headland and there was no way that he could walk around.

\[3]He looked round and saw a cave in the cliff. As he hoped to climb up inside it, he went in. Unfortunately, he just couldn't see a way out, so he started back. It was too late: the tide was coming in the cave and as he looked down from the point he had reached, the sea that was already covering the floor of the cave and beginning to rise up the chimney in the cave. He turned round and started climbing again—and eventually found a smaller chimney that he managed to climb up to reach the top of the cliff.

## 学完这一课

保留原段的推进关系，换成自己的经历，写或说一段四五句的话。

[Nce · 本册复习台](/new-concept/book-3/review) · [三册选择地图](/new-concept/)

*译文与解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及本站首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第143—146页，2022年2月第3版。*