Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

Exploring really deep caves is not a task for the Sunday afternoon rambler.

探測非常深的洞穴不是那些在星期日下午漫步的人所能勝任的。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations.

這種活動需要有軍事行動般的周密布署和預見能力。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

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.

有時需要花費整整8天時間來搭起繩梯，建立供應基地，然后才能到一個很深的洞穴里。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

Precautions of this sort are necessary, for it is impossible to foretell the exact nature of the difficulties which will confront the pot-holer.

作出這樣的準備是必要的，因為無法預見到洞穴探險者究竟會遇到什么性質的困難。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

The deepest known cave in the world is the Gouffre Berger near Grenoble.

世界上最深的洞穴是格里諾布爾附近的高弗。伯杰洞，

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

It extends to a depth of 3,723 feet.

深達3，723英尺。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

This immense chasm has been formed by an underground stream which has tunneled a course through a flaw in the rocks.

這個深邃的洞穴是由一條地下暗泉沖刷巖石中的縫隙并使之慢慢變大而形成的。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

The entrance to the cave is on a plateau in the Dauphine Alps.

此洞的洞口在丹芬阿爾卑斯山的高原上，

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

As it is only six feet across, it is barely noticeable.

僅6英尺寬，很難被發現。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

The cave might never have been discovered has not the entrance been spotted by the distinguished French pot-holer, Berger.

若不是法國著名洞穴探險家伯杰由于偶然的機會發現了這個洞口的話，這個洞也許不會為人所知。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

Since its discovery, it has become a sort of potholers' Everest.

自從被發現以后，這個洞成了洞穴探險者的珠穆朗瑪峰，

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

Though a number of descents have been made, much of it still remains to be explored.

人們多次進入洞內探險，但至今尚有不少東西有待勘探。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

A team of pot-holers recently went down the Gouffre Berger.

最近，一隊洞穴探險者下到了高弗。伯杰洞里。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

After entering the narrow gap on the plateau, they climbed down the steep sides of the cave until they came to narrow corridor.

他們從高原上的窄縫進去，順著筆直陡峭的洞壁往下爬。來到一條狹窄的走廊上。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

They had to edge their way along this, sometimes wading across shallow streams, or swimming across deep pools.

他們不得不側著身子往前走，有時過淺溪，有時游過深潭。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

Suddenly they came to a waterfall which dropped into an underground lake at the bottom of the cave.

突然，他們來到一道瀑布前，那瀑布奔瀉而下，注入洞底一處地下湖里。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

They plunged into the lake, and after loading their gear on an inflatable rubber dinghy, let the current carry them to the other side.

他們跳入湖中，把各種器具裝上一只充氣的橡皮艇，聽任水流將他們帶往對岸。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

To protect themselves from the icy water, they had to wear special rubber suits.

湖水冰冷刺骨，他們必須穿上一種特制的橡皮服以保護自己。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

At the far end of the lake, they came to huge piles of rubble which had been washed up by the water.

在湖的盡頭，他們見到一大堆一大堆由湖水沖刷上岸的碎石。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

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.

在這兒，他們可以聽見一種連續不斷的轟鳴聲。后來他們發現這是由山洞頂部的一個小孔里噴出的水柱跌落到水潭中發出的聲音。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

Squeezing through a cleft in the rocks, the pot-holers arrived at an enormous cavern, the size of a huge concert hall.

洞穴探險者從巖石縫里擠身過去，來到一個巨大的洞里，其大小相當于一個音樂廳。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

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.

他們打開強力弧光燈，看見一株株巨大的石筍，有的高達40英尺，像樹干似地向上長著，與洞頂懸掛下來的鐘乳石相接。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

Round about, piles of limestone glistened in all the colours of the rainbow.

周圍是一堆堆石灰石，像彩虹一樣閃閃發光。

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

In the eerie silence of the cavern,

洞里有一種可怕的寂靜，

Lesson 42 Modern cavemen

the only sound that could be heard was made by water which dripped continuously from the high dome above them.

唯一的可以聽見的聲響是高高的圓頂上不間斷地滴水的嘀嗒聲。

Lesson 43 Fully insured

Insurance companies are normally willing to insure anything.

保險公司一般說來愿意承保一切東西。

Lesson 43 Fully insured

Insuring public or private property is a standard practice in most countries in the world.

承辦公共財產或私人財產保險是世界上大部分國家的正常業務。

Lesson 43 Fully insured

If, however, you were holding an open air garden party or a fete it would be equally possible to insure yourself in the event of bad weather.

如果你要舉辦一次露天游園會或盛宴，為避免碰上不好的天氣而遭受損失也同樣可以保險，

Lesson 43 Fully insured

Needless to say, the bigger the risk an insurance company takes, the higher the premium you will have to pay.

不用說，保險公司承擔風險越大，你付的保險費也就越高。

Lesson 43 Fully insured

It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for cost of salvaging a sunken ship.

航運公司為打撈沉船而提出索賠，這是常有的事，