VOA慢速英语:Another World, Underground: Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

短语讲解：

1. Most are closed to the public.

close to离…近；与…关系密切
例句：His house is close to mine.
他的房子靠近我家。

2. An elevator lowers you into the world of Carlsbad Cavern, the big cave at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.Silent, except for the voices of guides and visitors.

except for 除了…之外
例句：His composition is excellent except for some grammatical mistakes.
他的作文写得很好, 只有几处语法错误。

3. People are free to explore the lit formations in the Big Room.

be free to do 自由做…
例句：Everyone is free to express himself.
每个人都可以畅所欲言。

4. Stalactites have to hang on "tight"/ /to the ceiling or they might fall off.

hang on 紧紧抓住
例句：He hung on until the rope broke.
他紧握着绳子, 直到绳子断了。
fall off 跌落，滚落下
例句：When you are learning to ride a bicycle, you often fall off.
初学骑自行车时, 常会从车上掉下来。

5. And be careful about stalagmites -- you "might" trip over one on the floor.

trip over 被…绊倒
例句：You'll trip over the stone if you don't mind out. 
如果你不当心，你会被石头绊倒的。 

6. Guides explain that it did not result from the action of water and streams like other limestone caves. Instead, it was created by the action of sulfuric acid.

result from 由…引起，产生于…
例句：Nothing will result from their airy plans. 
他们那些不切实际的计划不会有什么结果。 

7. The hydrogen sulfide reacted with oxygen in rainwater moving through the rock.

react with 与…发生反应
例句：They react with many metals to form a salt and give off hydrogen. 
它们能和许多金属起反应，生成盐并放出氢。

8. The freshwater left behind minerals.

leave behind 留下，丢弃，忘带
例句：The luggage has been left behind.
行李忘了带。

9. BARBARA KLEIN: People are not the only ones who visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park. About four hundred thousand Mexican free-tailed bats come to the big cave from Mexico each summer to give birth.

give birth 生，产，孵
例句：Mother koalas give birth to babies only every other year. 
母无尾熊每两年才生产一次。 

10. While the adults go out at night for food, the young bats hang out in the cave for four or five weeks.

hang out 居住
例句：He hangs out in an old house.
他住在一栋旧房子里。

11. During my life on the range I’d seen plenty of prairie whirlwinds -- but this thing didn’t move; it remained in one spot, spinning its way upward.

plenty of 许多，大量
例句There is plenty of coal in this area.
这个地区有丰富的煤。

12. And in another one, scientists are studying microbes in search of a cure for cancer.

in search of 寻找
例句：They set off in search of the lost child. 
他们出发寻找失踪的孩子。