Modern cavemen

原文

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.

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 Dauphine Alps. As it is only six feet across, it is barely noticeable. The cave might never have been discovered has not the entrance been spotted by the distinguished French pot-holer, Berger. Since its discovery, it has become a sort of potholers' Everest. Though a number of descents have been made, much of it still remains to be explored.

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 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.

译文

洞穴探险，或称为探洞，已成为一种相对较新的运动。或许是寻求孤独的欲望，或是发现意外之物的机会，将人们引向地球的深处。对于探洞者的动机，很难给出令人满意的解释。对于他来说，洞穴具有与高山对登山者相同的奇特魅力。它们唤醒了只能模糊理解的本能。

探索真正的深洞并非是星期日下午漫步者所能胜任的。此类活动需要像军事行动一样精确的计划和远见。搭设绳梯并建立补给基地，可能需要长达八天的时间，然后才能下到非常深的洞穴中。这种预防措施是必要的，因为无法预知探洞者将面临的困难的确切性质。世界上已知的最深洞穴是位于格勒诺布尔附近的伯杰深渊。它深达3,723英尺。这个巨大的裂隙是由一条地下溪流所形成，它在岩石的裂缝中开辟出一条通道。洞穴的入口位于多菲内阿尔卑斯山的台地上。由于入口仅宽六英尺，因此几乎不引人注目。要不是杰出的法国探洞者伯杰发现了这个入口，这个洞穴可能永远不会被发现。自从被发现以来，它已成为探洞者的一种“珠穆朗玛峰”。尽管已进行过多次下探，但其中大部分仍未被探索。

一支探洞队最近下到了伯杰深渊。他们从台地上的狭窄裂口进入后，顺着洞穴陡峭的侧壁爬下去，直至到达一条狭窄的走廊。他们不得不沿着这条走廊侧身前进，有时涉水穿过浅溪，有时游过深潭。突然，他们来到一个瀑布前，它垂直落入洞穴底部的地下湖中。他们跃入湖中，将装备装上充气橡皮艇，让水流将他们带到对岸。为了抵御冰冷的水，他们必须穿着特制的橡皮衣。在湖的尽头，他们看到一大堆巨石碎块，这些是水流冲积而成的。在洞穴的这一部分，他们听到一种持续的轰鸣声，原来是小水柱从洞顶喷入池中而发出的。通过岩石的裂缝挤过去，探洞者们来到一个巨大的洞厅，其大小堪比一座大型音乐厅。打开强力弧光灯后，他们看到巨大的石笋——有些高达四十英尺以上——如树干般耸立，向上与从顶棚垂下的石钟乳相接。周围，一堆堆石灰岩闪耀着彩虹般的各种色彩。在洞厅那诡异的寂静中，唯一能听到的声音是水从高高的穹顶上不断滴落发出的。

词汇表

solitude

名词

英:/ˈsɒlɪtjuːd/

美:/ˈsɑːlətuːd/

定义

1. 独处；孤寂 - The state of being alone or isolated from others.

例子: Many people seek solitude in nature to relax and reflect.

例子: The writer found solitude in the mountains, which helped her focus on her work.

2. 偏僻的地方 - A remote or isolated place.

例子: The cave provided a perfect solitude for the explorers.

例子: He built a cabin in the woods for complete solitude.

近义词

isolation: 强调与社会或人群的完全分离，常用于心理或物理层面，而 'solitude' 更中性，可能带有积极的含义。

seclusion: 暗示主动选择隐居，常涉及隐私或保护，而 'solitude' 可能更被动或自然发生。

loneliness: 通常带有负面情感，如悲伤或空虚，与 'solitude' 的平静或积极含义不同。

反义词:

crowds, company, society

用法

常用于描述寻求安静或反思的语境，如自然或个人空间；文化背景中，在西方文学中常与精神成长相关。

形式:

复数: solitudes

关键句型 "It is [adjective] to [verb]"

定义

此句型用于表达某事物的难度、可能性或性质，结构为：It is + [adjective]（形容词，如 impossible、easy）+ to + [verb]（动词原形）。根据《剑桥英语语法》教材，这种句型是一种常见的主语从句结构，其中 "It" 是形式主语，真正的主语是后面的 to [verb] 短语。它常用来描述一般情况或抽象概念，例如 "It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation"。

这个句型帮助学习者简洁地表达判断或意见，非常适合描述挑战或可能性。

用法

此句型主要用于正式或书面语境中，表达某事物的特征或难度，如在文章、报告或日常讨论中。规则：It is 后跟形容词（如 difficult、important），然后是 to 加上动词原形。它的位置在语法体系中属于主语从句或不定式结构，与其他表达方式形成联系。

横向比较：与 "To [verb] is [adjective]" 相比（如 "To give an explanation is impossible"），此句型更正式和常见，因为 "It is" 结构让句子更平衡；与 "[Subject] is [adjective]" 相比（如 "Giving an explanation is impossible"），它使用不定式更简洁，避免了动名词的复杂性。同时，它与条件句相关联，例如可以扩展到 "It is hard to [verb] if [condition]"，建立起与 if 从句的联系。

在实际应用中，此句型常用于探险或科学文章中，如描述洞穴探索的挑战，帮助学生理解如何在叙述中表达普遍真理。

注意事项

学生容易犯的错误包括：误用形容词形式，例如用 "impossiblely" 代替 "impossible"，或忘记不定式 "to"，导致句子不完整，如说 "It is impossible give"。纠正建议：始终记住 to + verb 的固定搭配，并练习形容词的选择。另一个常见偏误是忽略语境，例如在非正式对话中使用此句型显得过于正式；建议在练习时结合实际场景。

具体例句：

错误示例：It is impossible giving a explanation for motives.
正确示例：It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation for a pot-holer's motives.

通过比较这些例句，学生可以学会避免结构错误。

练习

一个原创例子：假设你在讨论探险时说："It is exciting to explore a deep cave, but it requires careful planning." 学生可以替换 [adjective] 为 "dangerous" 或 "rewarding"，并改变 [verb] 为 "climb a mountain"，从而创建新句子，如 "It is dangerous to go alone into the cave."

这种替换练习能让学生在模拟探险故事中应用句型，增强记忆和自信。

额外内容

背景知识：此句型源于英语中拉丁语的影响，常见于17世纪的文学作品中，体现了英语表达抽象概念的传统。对比分析：与中文的 "做某事很[形容词]" 类似，如 "做某事很不可能"，但英语通过 "It is" 结构更精确。而在法语中，类似结构是 "Il est [adjective] de [verb]"，如 "Il est impossible de donner une explication"，这显示了英语和法语的相似性，有助于跨语言学习。同时，了解此句型能帮助学生过渡到更复杂的结构，如 "It is [adjective] for [someone] to [verb]"，丰富表达能力。

关键句型 "which [clause] 引导的定语从句"

定义

此句型用于修饰前面的名词，提供额外信息，结构为：主句 + which + [clause]（从句）。根据《牛津现代英语语法》，which 是关系代词，引导非限制性定语从句，常用于正式英语中，例如 "caves have the same peculiar fascination which high mountains have for the climber"。它将从句与主句连接，添加描述性细节，而不改变主句含义。

这种句型让句子更丰富，适合描述复杂关系。

用法

此句型常用于书面语或叙述性文章中，修饰事物或概念。规则：which 后跟一个完整的从句，通常在逗号后出现，表示额外解释。在语法体系中，它属于从句结构，与主从复合句相关联。

横向比较：与 "that" 引导的定语从句相比，which 常用于非限制性从句（添加非必要信息），而 "that" 多用于限制性从句（定义名词）；与 "who" 相比，which 专门修饰物，而 "who" 修饰人。这建立起从句类型间的联系，例如学生可以比较 "which" 和 "that"，理解何时使用逗号。跨语法点联系：它常与被动语态结合，如 "which has been formed by"，帮助学生整合多个语法元素。

在文章中，此句型增强了描述性，如解释洞穴的魅力。

注意事项

学生常犯错误是混淆 which 和 that，例如在限制性从句中使用 which，导致歧义；或忘记逗号，导致句子不清晰，如 "The cave which is deep is dangerous"（应为限制性）。纠正建议：练习区分限制性和非限制性从句，并使用逗号正确分隔。另一个问题是句子过长，建议简化从句以保持流畅。

具体例句：

错误示例：The stream which tunneled the rocks it has created a chasm.
正确示例：The stream which has tunneled a course through a flaw in the rocks has formed an immense chasm.

这些例句能帮助学生修正结构问题。

练习

原创例子：在探险语境中说："The cave, which is located in the Alps, offers many challenges that explorers must face." 学生可以替换 [clause] 为 "which contains underground lakes"，创建新句，如 "The team, which went down the cave, discovered amazing formations."

通过这种练习，学生能在故事叙述中灵活应用，提升表达技能。

额外内容

背景知识：which 从句起源于古英语的相对结构，常见于科学和文学中，体现了英语的精确性。对比分析：与中文的定语后置类似，如 "高山拥有的那种独特魅力"，但英语使用 which 更正式。而在西班牙语中，类似结构是 "que" 引导的从句，规则相似。这对比能加深学生对从句的理解，并扩展到其他语言的学习。