#看纪录片学单词# 之《恒河2：生命之河》
影片看点：你可能听说过印度的母亲河是恒河，但你知道她真正的源头是哪里吗？知道她千百年来经历过怎样的变迁吗？为什么恒河平原的土壤如此肥沃，为什么他们对动物看得如此神圣，眼睛蛇能随意滑行于他们的脚边，猴子可以大胆偷吃他们的煎饼，还有，听说他们把尸体直接抛到河里，真的是这样吗？这部影片将会给你答案。
学习指南：以下单词均出自影片台词，前面标一星的为四级词汇，二星的为六级、托福词汇，三星的为托福及以上词汇。大家根据自己的考试要求选择性学习。#看纪录片学单词# 分三步进行，第一步：把影片完整看一遍，可看中文字幕，了解剧情。第二步：看一小段，然后对照下面的单词进行学习。学完以后进行第三步，即再次把影片从头到尾看一遍，注意那些重点词汇和好的口语表达，最后还需反复浏览以下这些词句（最好打印出来，或者存手机）。
词汇统计：
★ 四级词汇：151个
★★ 六级/ 托福词汇：148 个 ★★★ 托福及以上词汇：67 个
观看地址： http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/4b7luRnwyEw/
下载地址： http://www.xiaopian.com/html/gndy/dyzz/20090904/21342.html
★ sacred a.神圣的 ★ nourish v.养育
★ extraordinary a.非凡的
★ inhabit vt.居住于 → inhabitant n.居民
★★★ inextricably ad.逃不掉的 ← extricate v.解脱，救出
These sacred waters, and the plains through which they flow, have always nourished an extraordinary wealth of life. And the lives of the people who inhabit her banks
have long been inextricably linked with nature. 恒河神圣的河水,流经辽阔广大的平原，孕育了无数丰裕的生命，长久以来在沿岸生活的居民，都因应着大自然的变化而迁徙。
★ intimate a.亲密的 ★ evolve v.发展
★ sweep v.横扫，席卷 ★ adapt vt.适应 ★ vanish vi.消失
But how did this intimate relationship evolve over the centuries as waves of people
swept across northern India? Which creatures adapted to the tides of change? And which ones vanished forever to live on only in legend? 都因应着大自然的变化而迁徙，可是当北印度人口迅速增加，和数百年来大自然的不断变迁，什么生物适应了改变的河道？什么生物却从此消失了，现在只是活在传说中？
★★ timeline n.时光隧道
★★ tantalizing a.迷人的 ★ glimpse n.一瞥
★★ bountiful a.慷慨的【对比：abundant a.丰富的】
The Ganges flows across the plains like a timeline through India's past.And even today, a journey along her course offers tantalizing glimpses into the rich natural history of this most bountiful river. 恒河流越广阔的平原，就像是印度的时光隧道，时至今天，这条历史上伟大的河流，仍会为你带来惊鸿的一瞥。
★★ congregate v.聚集 → gregarious n.群居的 ★★ Hindu a.印度教的 ★ fraction n.小部分
Once every 12 years, 50 million people congregate on the banks of the Ganges for the Kumbh Mela. This Hindu festival is the greatest gathering on Earth. Yet it's only a fraction of the half a billion population that the river supports. 每十二年一次，五千万人为了参加大壶节，聚集在恒河河岸，这个是印度教最盛大的节日，他们只是被恒河孕育数以百万计人口中的一部份
★ fertile a.肥沃的
★★ sustenance n.食物，生计 ← sustain
One out of every 10 people on our planet lives within the Ganges basin. And the fertile waters brings sustenance to them all. 地球上每十个人之中便有一个人居住在恒河盆地,丰盛的河产给他们全民带来粮食。 ★★★ delta n.三角洲
The river Ganges ends in the world's largest delta,and originates in the highest mountain range. But between these extremes, she cuts a 1,500-mile course through the heart of northern India. 恒河发源于最高的山脉,出口是世界上最大的三角洲,但在她的流域之中，长达2500公里的路程，穿越北印度的心脏。
★★★ torrent n.急流【对比：terrain n.地形】 ★ flat a.平坦的
★★★ marshy a.沼泽般的 ★★ lush a.青葱的 ★★ wilderness n.荒野 ★ productive a.多产的 ★ landscape n.土地
As the fast-flowing mountain torrents reach flatter land, they slow and spread out to create a band of marshy grassland. This lush wilderness is known as the Terai, and it's one of India's most productive landscapes. 当洪流到达这片平坦的土地，河流的速度减低形成无数支流，造成一片多沼泽的草原，这片苍翠茂密的土地，名为特莱平原，是印度最具生产力的地方。
★★ conceal vt.隐藏 ← seal vt.密封
The grass here can grow four metres each year. Tall enough to conceal some oversized wildlife. 这里的草每年可生长4米，高度足够隐藏巨大的野生动物。
★★★ succumb to 屈服 ★ plough n.犁 v.耕地 ★ isolated a.偏远的 ★ flourish vi.繁荣
★★ reach n.区域，河段
★★★ tributary n.支流 【提示：词根tribut 表“给”】
Today, most of the Terai around the Ganges has succumbed to the plough. But isolated pockets still flourish in the far reaches of some of her tributaries. 今天恒河上的特莱平原，大部份被辟作耕地，但在支流上那些偏远的区域，仍是野生动物的乐园。
★★ stronghold n.要塞，堡垒 ★★ rhino n.犀牛
★★ roam v.漫步，徘徊 = wander
These grasslands are the last stronghold of the Indian Rhino, which once roamed throughout the plains. 这片草原是印度犀牛最后的堡垒，从前印度犀牛是满布整片平原的
★★ graze v.吃草 ← grass ★ herd n.牧群
★ thrive v.繁荣，兴旺，茁壮 ★★ prey n.猎物
★★ predator n.食肉动物
With so much to graze upon, huge herds of deer also thrive here. And where there's this much prey, predators are never far away. 由于野草生长茂盛，大量鹿群在这里聚居，这大群吸引的猎物，食肉动物当然不会走远了
★★ prolific a.多产的，富饶的
Tigers are surprisingly at home in this watery world. And such prolific hunting grounds enable them to grow into some of the biggest tigers in India. 老虎出奇地以这个水乡为家，这个富饶的猎食场，让它们成为印度体型最大的老虎。
★ fragment n.片段 ★ habitat n.栖息地 ★ rare a.珍贵的
★ reminder n.提示物
The last fragments of this unique habitat are a rare reminder of just how rich the banks of the Ganges must once have been. 这些栖息地的最后片段，给了我们一个珍贵的提示，诉说着恒河河岸曾是如何富裕。
★★ nomadic a.游牧的 【提示：noma ← roam v.漫步，徘徊】 ★ encounter v.遇到 ★★ teem with 充满
When nomadic hunter-gatherers discovered the Ganges,they encountered a river
teeming with so much life that they decided to settle by her banks. 当游牧人和搜猎者来到恒河，他们发现这是一条充满生命的河，他们决定了沿岸定居。
★ misleading a.误导的 ★★★ tributary n.支流
To consider the Ganges as a single river is misleading.Because throughout her journey,she's joined by thousands of tributaries,many of them large rivers in their own right. 视恒河为单一河流是误导的，因为她全程与数以千条支流交接，支流中很多还是独当一面的大河。
★★★ tributary n.支流 ★★ plateau n.高原
★★ tumble vi.摔倒，倒塌【对比：tremble n.颤抖】
The southern tributaries are fed by rainfall on India's central plateau. And they tumble from this higher land to meet the Ganges on the plains. 印度中部的高原降雨在南边支流，支流从高地往下流，与平原上的恒河汇合。
★★ arid a.干旱的【反：humid a.潮湿的】
Fed by underground springs, the river flows through some of India's most arid lands before reaching the plains. 它是由地下水汇聚而成，河流到达平原前，流经印度最贫瘠的土地。
★★ scratch a living 勉强度日 ★★ oasis n.绿洲 ★ treasure n.财富
Though some people do scratch a living here, the Chambal remains a wildlife oasis for the natural treasures once found right along the Ganges. 虽然人群在这里聚居 但昌巴尔河仍是野生动物的绿洲，是恒河拥有的天然财富。
★ migrant n.候鸟 → immigrant n.移民 ★ goose n.鹅
★ permanent a.永久的
★ residence n.居住 → resident n.居民
Some migrant birds, such as Bar-headed geese and Brahminy ducks, fly all the way across the Himalaya to over-winter here in the desert sun. Others, like spoonbills,
take up permanent residence. 像斑头雁和斑嘴鸭这些候鸟，飞越喜马拉雅山，来到这个充满阳光的地方过冬。其他的，像篦鹭也在这里定居。
★ graceful a.优美的
★★ patrol v.巡逻 【提示：pat ← 词根 pet “走” 】 ★★★ trawl v.（用网）捕鱼
This is one of only a few places where these graceful birds still patrol the waters, trawling for fish with their outsized lower bill. 这是少数的地方，仍有这些优美的雀鸟在水面盘旋，愉快地用它们特大的下喙捕鱼。
★ inhabitant n.居住者
As night falls over the desert, the Chambal's most unusual inhabitants begin to surface. 黑夜降临沙漠，昌巴尔河最不寻常的栖息者，开始出动了。
★★ bizarre a.奇怪的 ★★ crocodile n.鳄鱼 ★★ haul vt.拖拉：drag ★★★ beckon v.召唤
On warm May nights, bizarre-looking crocodiles haul themselves far up the sandy banks beckoned by strange sounds. 在五月温暖的晚上，外型奇特的鳄鱼，慢慢爬到沙岸上，用怪异的声音互相呼应着。
★ extraordinary a.非凡的
★★ reptile n.爬行动物 ← creep vi.爬 ★ precious a.珍贵的
★★ brood n.（动物的）一窝 ★★★ gharial n.大鳄鱼
As few as 200 of these extraordinary reptiles survive in the wild. So this precious brood represents a new generation of hope for the endangered gharial. 至少有二百种这些不寻常的，爬虫动物生存在野外，所以这些珍贵的幼儿，代表了频临绝种的恒河鳄。
★ expose v.暴露
★★ vulnerable a.易受攻击的 ← wound ★ predator n.掠夺者 ★ instinct n.本能
★★ sanctuary n.避难所,圣殿 ← saint n.圣人
Now exposed, they're vulnerable to predators and instinct drives them towards the sanctuary of the river. 暴露在外面，这些幼儿对捕猎者全无防备能力，但本能地它们跑往河里的避难处。
★★ lurk vi.潜伏 ← lower ★★★ gharial n.大鳄鱼 ★ inhabit vt.居住于
But even here, monsters lurk. Male gharial that grow up to six metres long also inhabit these waters, and at night they're on the hunt. 可是这里可能也是危机四伏，长达六米的雄恒河鳄，同样栖息河里，在晚间觅食。
★★ formidable a.可怕的: fearful ★★ jaw n.颚
★ specialise v.专攻
★★ profile n.外形: outline ★ minimal a.最小的 ★★ resistance n.阻力
The gharial's formidable-looking jaws are actually specialised for catching fish. A thin profile allows them to snap shut with minimal water-resistance. 恒河鳄可怕的巨颚，是捕鱼的最佳工具，纤薄的外型可减低水流的阻力。
★★ hatch vt.孵化