新东方背诵50篇——托福听力专用(14)

cohesive strength permits columns of water to be pulled to great heights without being broken.

大气压能够支持10米高的水柱，但植物可将水送得更高。美洲红杉就能把水泵到地面以上100多米高的树顶。直到19世纪末，水在树木和其它高大植物中的输 送还是一个谜。一些植物学家假定植物中的活细胞充当了水泵的角色。但许多实验表明细胞都已死亡的植物茎干仍能将水输送到相当可观的高度。对于植物中输送水 的其它解释都基于根压--植物底端的根对水的推动。但根压完全不足以将水推到树顶。况且，最高树木中的松柏只有很低的根压。

如果水不是被泵到高树的树顶，也不是被推到树顶，那么我们会问：它是怎样到达树顶的呢根据目前为人们所接受的内聚压力的理论，水是被拉到上面去的。一株植 物中作用于一个正在升高的水柱之上的拉力来自该植物顶部水的蒸发。由于水从叶子表面丧失，一个负压力，或张力就得以产生。蒸发出去的水被植物里流动的水代 替。这些水形成水柱从植物顶端一直延伸到根部。在任何水样中造成表面张力的力支持着这些不断的水柱。当水被限制在内径很小的管道中时，内聚压力(水分子之 间的相互吸引力)是如此之大以致一支水柱的强度相当于一根直径相同的钢丝的强度。这种内聚压力使得水柱被拉到非常高的地方而不会断裂。

The Salinity of Ocean Waters 海水盐度

2009-09-30 来源: 【大 中 小】 我要投稿 下载音频

If the salinity of ocean waters is analyzed, it is found to vary only slightly from place to place. Nevertheless, some of these small changes are important. There are three basic processes that cause a change in oceanic salinity. One of these is the subtraction of water from the ocean by means of evaporation--- conversion of liquid water to water vapor. In this manner the salinity is increased, since the salts stay behind. If this is carried to the extreme, of course, white crystals of salt would be left behind.

The opposite of evaporation is precipitation, such as rain, by which water is added to the ocean. Here the ocean is being diluted so that the salinity is decreased. This may occur in areas of high rainfall or in coastal regions where rivers flow into the ocean. Thus salinity may be increased by the subtraction of water by evaporation, or decreased by the addition of fresh water by precipitation or runoff.

Normally, in tropical regions where the sun is very strong, the ocean salinity is somewhat higher than it is in other parts of the world where