英語聽力：美洲大平原-6

The site was once a spring-fed pond, full of water. Mammoths were tempted in to drink. But when they tried to climb back out, the banks were steep and slippery. Just like the short-faced bear imprisone underground, some became trapped.

Scavengers would have been attracted by the mammoths' plight. The bones of wolf, coyote, and the short-faced bear have also been recovered from the dried-up sediment. The search for food was probably their death pool,too.

These prairie ponds are like time capsules. And they store another kind of data, showing how the plains have changed across millennia. Each spring, pollen6 from nearby plants is blown into the water. It sinks and settles layer upon layer on the bottom, building into a data bank of local plant life that we can still read today.

And grass pollens aren’t the only clue still sandwiched in the sediment. There are a wide variety of tree pollens, too, from aspens, spruce and other trees, both coniferous and deciduous.

1 tempted

v.慫恿(某人)干不正當(dāng)?shù)氖?冒…的險(xiǎn)(tempt的過去分詞)

參考例句：

I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我極想發(fā)牢騷，但還是沒開口。

I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜單饞得我垂涎欲滴。

2 imprisoned

下獄，監(jiān)禁( imprison的過去式和過去分詞 )

參考例句：

He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判處30個(gè)月和18個(gè)月的監(jiān)禁，合并執(zhí)行。

They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他們因擁有毒品而被監(jiān)禁。

3 plight

n.困境，境況，誓約，艱難;vt.宣誓，保證，約定

參考例句：

The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位領(lǐng)袖對(duì)難民的困境很擔(dān)憂。

She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

4 sediment

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉積(物)

參考例句：

The sediment settled and the water was clear.雜質(zhì)沉淀后，水變清了。

Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉積物開始淤塞河道口。

5 millennia

n.一千年，千禧年

參考例句：

For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 兩千年來，異族通婚一直是猶太人的一大禁忌。

In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在幾千年的時(shí)間里，恐龍逐漸死絕了。

6 pollen

n.[植]花粉

參考例句：

Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鳥發(fā)現(xiàn)花蜜和花粉是很有營養(yǎng)的。

He developed an allergy to pollen.他對(duì)花粉過敏。

7 pollens

n.花粉( pollen的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )

參考例句：

The Brownian movement of pollens also shows the fractal characteristics. 花粉的布朗運(yùn)動(dòng)軌跡也具有分形特征。 來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)

In contrast, C. sinensis var. sinensis and assamica couldn't be distinguished by the morphology of pollens. 至于不同地區(qū)的臺(tái)灣山茶之間、或是茶與阿薩姆茶之間，皆無法以花粉形態(tài)來區(qū)分。 來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)

8 deciduous

adj.非永久的;短暫的;脫落的;落葉的

參考例句：

Overgrown deciduous shrubs can be cut back at this time of year.過于繁茂的落葉灌木可以在每年的這個(gè)時(shí)候修剪。

Deciduous trees shed their leaves in autumn.落葉樹木在秋天落葉。