托福閱讀材料之澳洲殺人松果

　　傳說澳大利亞是一個危機(jī)四伏的地方，那里有致命的毒蛇，海灘里潛伏著蜇人的水母和吃人的鯊魚。倘若說動物很可怕也就算了，在澳大利亞松果也能殺人!開始看題目，我覺得這不是扯淡嗎?北京的松果大了去了也就半個拳頭大，就算美國大松塔也就是一個拳頭左右，可是看了澳大利亞的松塔，我徹底折服了。

　　As travel writer Bill Bryson pointed out in his book In a Sunburned Country, Australia “has more things that will kill you than anywhere else” —including poisonous snakes and jellyfish, crocodiles, and sharks. If you’re traveling to the Land Down Under, be wary of those things —but now add pine cones to that list. That’s right; according to Australia’s ABC News, there are huge pine cones dropping from above in the town of Warragul, Victoria (about 65 miles east of Melbourne), just outside the Courthouse Hotel where travelers should be finding refuge.

　　“These things are enormous,” said Warragul Mayor Diane Blackwood, describing the potentially lethal pine cones of the Bunya pine tree on the hotel grounds, which is 120-years-old and on their historical heritage list. “They are the size of a watermelon, falling literally out of the sky from potentially 20 meters high… So you wouldn’t want to be under one, I tell you.”

　　The watermelon-sized pine cones weigh up to 22 lbs. each, which is heavier than most bowling balls. Try to imagine one of those falling on your head and cracking your skull; it won’t be pretty. So be careful when traveling to Warrugul; it may be a good idea to look up when you’re walking down under.