Lesson 53 Hot snake
What caused the fire?
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 firemen 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.
ˈlɛsn 53 hɒt sneɪk
wɒt kɔːzd ðə ˈfaɪə?
æt lɑːst ˈfaɪəmən hæv pʊt aʊt ə bɪg ˈfɒrɪst ˈfaɪər ɪn ˌkæləˈfɔːniə.
sɪns ðɛn, ðeɪ hæv biːn ˈtraɪɪŋ tuː faɪnd aʊt haʊ ðə ˈfaɪəbɪˈgæn.
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
知识笔记：
forest 英 /'fɒrɪst/ vt. 植树于，使成为森林 n. 森林
carelessly 英 /'kɛəlisli/ adv. 粗心地；不注意地；无忧无虑地
accidentally 英 /æksɪ'dent(ə)lɪ/ adv. 意外地；偶然地
remain 英 /rɪ'meɪn/ vi. 保持；依然；留下；剩余；逗留；残存 n. 遗迹；剩余物，残骸
examine 英 /ɪg'zæmɪn; eg-/ vt. 检查；调查； 检测；考试 vi. 检查；调查
exam 英 /ɪg'zæm; eg-/ n. 考试；测验
wound 英 /wuːnd/ n. 创伤，伤口 vt. 使受伤 vi. 受伤，伤害
“wind”的过去式和过去分词（此时读音为：[waʊnd]）
wind 英 /wɪnd; (for v.) waɪnd/ n. 风；呼吸；气味；卷绕 vt. 缠绕；上发条；使弯曲；吹号角；绕住或缠住某人 vi. 缠绕；上发条；吹响号角
volt 英 /vəʊlt; vɒlt/ n. 伏特（电压单位）；环骑；闪避
accidentally 英 /æksɪ'dent(ə)lɪ/ adv. 意外地；偶然地
explanation 英 /eksplə'neɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 说明，解释；辩解
mystery 英 /ˈmɪst(ə)ri/ n. 秘密，谜；神秘，神秘的事物；推理小说，推理剧；常作 mysteries 秘技，秘诀
snatch 英 /snætʃ/ n. 抢夺；抓举；小量 vt. 夺得；抽空做；及时救助 vi. 抢走；很快接受
spark 英 /spɑːk/ n. 火花；朝气；闪光 vt. 发动；鼓舞；求婚 vi. 闪烁；发火花；求婚
discover the cause 发现了原因
mystery 英 /ˈmɪst(ə)ri/ n. 秘密，谜；神秘，神秘的事物；推理小说，推理剧；常作 mysteries 秘技，秘诀
练习感情：
wound 查的发音是 英 /wuːnd/，但读的发音是 /waʊnd/
原因是此处的wound它是 “wind”的过去式和过去分词（此时读音为：[waʊnd]）
有时发音转不过来，fire wire， wound round
