12．How the Falls of Iguassu Was Discovered

In 1542，Alvar Cabeza de Vaca and his small band of soldiers guided their boats down a jungle river．It was the Iguassu，which now marks the boundary between Brazil and Argentina．Never had the explorers seen a river so beautiful．

At one point the men heard a strange rumble in the distance．It grew louder as they went on．Puzzled and afraid，they rounded a bend．Directly ahead of them the river vanished，plunging with a roar over the brink of a great chasm．

The men fought the swift current and managed to reach shore just in time to keep from being swept over the brink．Then they crept out on the wet rocks and looked into the churning caldron below．They had discovered the greatest waterfall that had ever been seen by white men－the falls of Iguassu．

12．伊瓜苏瀑布是怎样被发现的

1542年，阿尔瓦·卡维萨·迪·威卡和他的一小队士兵驾船来到一条丛林河的下游，这就是伊瓜苏河——现在巴西和阿根廷之间的边界河。这些探险家们从未看到过这样美丽的河流。

这时，士兵们听到远处传来一种奇怪的隆隆声，越往前走，响声越大。士兵们感到迷惑和恐惧，于是转弯绕行。就在他们的正前方，那条河却越过一个巨大断层的边缘，咆哮着急降而下，消失不见了。

士兵们与激流搏斗，及时到达了岸边，从而免遭被冲刷出断层边缘的厄运。然后他们爬到湿漉漉的岩石上，看着下面那口奔突翻滚的“大锅”。他们终于发现了白人从未见过的最大瀑布——伊瓜苏瀑布。