Juno

维多利亚瀑布位于津巴布韦和赞比亚之间的赞比西河沿岸。它具有令人敬畏的宏伟和美丽，是世界上唯一长度超过1000米的瀑布，被联合国教科文組织列入《世界遗产名录》，也是世界七大自然奇观之一。本篇文章就带你走进这壮观的维多利亚瀑布。

One of the greatest attractions in Africa and one of the most lspectacular waterfalls in the world， Victoria Falls is located on the Zambezi River， the fourth largest river in Africa， which is also defining the 2border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Victoria Falls is the only waterfall in the world with a length of more than a kilometer and a height of more than hundred meters. It is also considered to be the largest fall in the world.

The noise of Victoria Falls can be heard from a distance of 4O kilometers， while the 3lspray and 4mist from the falling water is rising to a height of over 400 meters andcan be seen from a distance of 5O kilometers. No wonder that the local tribes used to call the waterfall Mosi-o-Tunya “The smoke that thunders"

1） spectacular 【pek'taekjele（r）】 adj.壮观的

2） border 【bo：da（r）】n.边界

3） spray 【sprel】 n.水花

4） mist 【mst】n.雾

维多利亚瀑布是非洲最大的景点之一，也是世界上最壮观的瀑布之一，位于非洲第四大河流赞比西河上，该河也界定了赞比亚和津巴布韦之间的边界。

维多利亚瀑布是世界上唯一长度超过1000米，高度超过100米的瀑布。它也被认为是世界上最大的瀑布。

从40公里外可以听到维多利亚瀑布的声音，而落水的喷雾和雾气则上升到400米以上的高度，并且可以从50公里外看到。难怪当地部落曾经称瀑布为“雷鸣般的烟雾”。

HISTORY历史

Scottish 5）missionary and famous explorer of Africa David Livingstone （1813- 1873） named it after Queen Victoria. Livingstone who was the first European to cross Africa from south to north discovered this awe-inspiring waterfall in 1855， while 6preaching Christianity in Africa.

In 1851， Livingstone first heard of the great waterfall， butit was only in 1855 that he set out to visit it. He spent the night on Kalai Island a few kilometers 7upstream of the Falls， having come down river on foot， and the next morning set off in a small canoe to approach the thundering smoke. He landed on the biggest island on the lip of the falls， now called Livingstone Island and from there obtained his first view of the Falls.

“8）Creeping with awe to the 9verge， I peered 10 peered down into a large rent which had been made from bank to bank of the broad Zambezi， and saw that a stream of a thousand yards broad leaped down a hundred feet and then became suddenly compressed into a space of fifteen to twenty yards.. the most wonderful

sight I had witnessed in Africa." In 1857 he wrote，“No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes， but scenes so lovely must have been l2）gazed upon by angels in their flight."

5） missionary 【'm fenri】 n.牧师

6） preach 【pri：t】v.传教

8） creep 【kri：p】v.爬

9） verge 【v3：d3】 n.边缘

11） compress 【kem'pres】v.压缩

7） upstream 【，Apstri：m】adv.向上游

10） peer 【ple（r）】v.凝视

苏格兰传教士和非洲著名探险家戴维。利文斯通（1813-1873）以维多利亚女王的名字命名该瀑布。利文斯通是第一个从南到北横穿非洲的欧洲人，于1855年在非洲传教的同时发现了这座令人敬畏的瀑布。

1851年，利文斯通第一次听说了大瀑布，但直到1855年，他才看到了瀑布。他在瀑布上游几千米处的卡拉岛上度过了一整夜，沿河步行往下游走。第二天早晨，他乘小独木舟出发，驶向瀑布。他停靠在瀑布边缘的最大岛上，现在被称为利文斯通岛，从那里可以看到瀑布的景象。

“我战战兢兢地爬到悬崖边缘，看到一个巨大的峡谷，把那条1000码宽的河流拦腰截断，使河水下坠100英尺，突然压缩到只有15至20码宽...是我在非洲目睹的最美妙的景象。”他在1857年寫道，“没有人能想象到这种美景，它与英格兰的任何景色都不同。欧洲人从未见过它，但是飞行的天使一定注视着如此动人的景象。”

TOURISM旅游业

The waterfall was hardly visited by people until 1905， when a railway to Bulawayo was constructed. Since then Victoria Falls quickly gained l3popularity until the end of the British colonial rule. At the end of the 1960s the number of tourists started to 14）decrease due to the struggle in Zimbabwe. After Zimbabwe gained independence the region has been in relative peace and Victoria Falls started to attract a new wave of tourism.

By the end of 1990 nearly 300，000 people were visiting the falls each year. VictoriaFalls is a UNESCO World Heritage Site， and the citizens of both Zambia and Zimbabwe no longer have fear of the “the smoke that thunders"， and are successfully developing the tourism on both sides of the river.

12）gaze 【gelz】 v.注视

13） popularity 【，popju'laerati】 n.流行;声望

14） decrease 【d'kri：s】v.下降

人们很少参观瀑布，直到1905年，修建了通往布拉瓦约的铁路。从那时起，维多利亚瀑布名声大噪，直到英国殖民统治结束。20世纪60年代末，由于津巴布韦的抗争，游客人数开始减少。津巴布韦获得独立后，该地区一直处于相对和平的状态，维多利亚瀑布开始吸引新的旅游热潮。

到1990年底，每年有将近30万人参观瀑布。维多利亚瀑布是联合国教科文组织认定的世界遗产赞比亚和津巴布韦的公民也都不再担心“雷鸣般的烟雾”，并成功地在河两岸发展旅游业。

WHEN TO VISIT何时参观

Different times of the year will provide completely different experiences of the Falls region. 15）Peak flood season is around March and April when the full power of the Falls can be experienced in all its glory. Due to the masses of spray rising from the fallen water， the full width of the Falls cannot be seen on foot. The l6aerial view at this time is spectacular， with clouds of spray rising high into the sky. As the floods abate the view of the Falls gets better and better through the year， but atit's lowest， around November and December the Falls become little 17rivulets running over the edge and in some places along the 1，7 km width， no water falls at all. The delight of visiting the Falls in this season is the view of the impressive cliffs that form the Falls wall， and the magnitude of the abyss can be fully appreciated.

15） peak 【pi：k】 adj.最高的

16）aerial 【earial】 adj.空中的

17）rivulet 【'rvjelat】n.小河

瀑布地区在一年中的不同时间将提供完全不同的体验。洪水季节大约在三月和四月，在此期间，瀑布的所有力量都可以发挥出来。由于大量的喷雾从下落的水中升起，因此徒步无法看到瀑布的整个宽度。此时的鸟瞰图非常壮观，大量的云雾喷洒在空中。随着洪水的减弱，全年瀑布的景色越来越好，但在11月和12月降水量的最低点，瀑布变成了小溪沿着边缘延伸，在1700米宽的某些地方，根本没有水落下。在这个季节参观瀑布的乐趣在于可以欣赏到形成瀑布墙的令人印象深刻的悬崖的景色，悬崖的壮观可以得到充分的欣赏。