【练习材料】

(喜马拉雅新概念英音第二册)

☞原文

Lesson53 Hot snake

At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began. Forest fires are often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away. Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a fireman accidentally discovered the cause. He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.

☞音标

ˈlɛsn53 hɒt sneɪk

æt lɑːst ˈfaɪəmən hæv pʊt aʊt ə bɪg ˈfɒrɪst ˈfaɪər ɪn ˌkæləˈfɔːniə. sɪns ðɛn, ðeɪ hæv biːn ˈtraɪɪŋ tuː faɪnd aʊt haʊ ðə ˈfaɪə bɪˈgæn. ˈfɒrɪst ˈfaɪəz ɑːr ˈɒf(ə)n kɔːzd baɪ ˈbrəʊkən glɑːs ɔː baɪ ˌsɪgəˈrɛt ɛndz wɪʧ ˈpiːpl ˈkeəlɪsli θrəʊ əˈweɪ. ˈjɛstədeɪ ðə ˈfaɪəmən ɪgˈzæmɪnd ðə graʊnd ˈkeəfli, bʌt wɜː nɒt ˈeɪbl tuː faɪnd ˈɛni ˈbrəʊkən glɑːs. ðeɪ wɜːr ˈɔːlsəʊ kwaɪt ʃʊə ðæt ə ˌsɪgəˈrɛt ɛnd dɪd nɒt stɑːt ðə ˈfaɪə. ðɪs ˈmɔːnɪŋ, haʊˈɛvə, ə ˈfaɪəmən ˌæksɪˈdɛntəli dɪsˈkʌvəd ðə kɔːz. hiː ˈnəʊtɪst ðə rɪˈmeɪnz ɒv ə sneɪk wɪʧ wɒz wuːnd raʊnd ði ɪˈlɛktrɪk ˈwaɪəz ɒv eɪ 16,000-vəʊlt ˈpaʊə laɪn. ɪn ðɪs weɪ, hiː wɒz ˈeɪbl tuː sɒlv ðə ˈmɪstəri. ði ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən wɒz ˈsɪmpl bʌt ˈvɛri ʌnˈjuːʒʊəl. ə bɜːd hæd snæʧt ʌp ðə sneɪk frɒm ðə graʊnd ænd ðɛn drɒpt ɪt ɒn tuː ðə ˈwaɪəz. ðə sneɪk ðɛn wuːnd ɪtˈsɛlf raʊnd ðə ˈwaɪəz. wɛn ɪt dɪd səʊ, ɪt sɛnt spɑːks daʊn tuː ðə graʊnd ænd ðiːz ɪˈmiːdiətli ˈstɑːtɪd ə ˈfaɪə.

【任务配置】

L0+L4