Wild Africa - Deserts 浩瀚沙漠 - 14
The Arabian camel--not even a native , was domesticated 1 in the deserts of Asia and brought to Northern Africa as a means of transport. In the past , Tuareg nomads 2 used camels to move slaves, gold and ivory between West Africa and the Mediterranean 3. Today their caravans 4 still trade in salts, dates and millet 5.
The Sahara has long been a frontier between Asia and Africa. But there are European pioneers here too--red foxes, which scrape a living
on the Northern fringes of this vast desert.
Though much of the Sahara is uninhabitable, there are a few special places where life can thrive. The Ennedi Mountains in Chad harness a little more moisture from clouds than lower-lying areas enough to support tiny pockets of Savanna 6. Here rock hyraxes survive on the leaves of acacia trees, a scene more typical of the African plains. These green islands are relics 7 of an older world, one which is slowly vanishing with the march of the desert sands.
The Sahara , as we know it today, is only 2, 000 years old, the product of a rapidly drying climate in North Africa. But our ancestors also had a hand in this change. By over-cultivating marginal lands, and intensively grazing livestock 8. Before, things were very different. Try to imagine this land flooded by the ocean, swathed in forest and savannah, swept by mighty 9 rivers.
Ennedi Gorge 10 once fed a vast tributary 11 of the Nile. Today all that remains 12 are a few precious pools, crucial watering holes for passing caravans of camels. In just 10 minutes of drinking , these remarkable 13 animals can put on a third of their body weight in water. It's enough to carry them for well over 100 kilometers to the next oasis 14.
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Tuareg:西撒哈拉和中撒哈拉的柏柏尔人
trade in :a method of buying something new by giving an item you own as part of the payment for it 抵价购物
scrape a living :to only just earn enough money to provide yourself with food, clothing and a place to live 勉强够维持生活
hyraxes: a kind of animal 蹄兔
have a hand in: 干予, 参与, 插手
- He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
- Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
- Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
- Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
- Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。
- Millet is cultivated in the middle or lower reaches of the Yellow River.在黄河中下游地区，人们种植谷子。
- The high quality millet flour was obtained through wet milling.采用湿磨法获得了高品质的小米粉。
- The savanna is also the home of meat-eaters--the lion,leopard,and hyena who feed on the grasseaters.大草原也是食肉动物的家乡--狮子、豹、鬣狗--它们都是以草食动物维持生命的。
- They sped upon velvet wheels across an exhilarant savanna.他们的马车轻捷地穿过一片令人赏心悦目的大草原。
- The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
- Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。
- Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
- The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。
- A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
- The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
- East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
- It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。
- There was a tributary road near the end of the village.村的尽头有条岔道。
- As the largest tributary of Jinsha river,Yalong river is abundant in hydropower resources.雅砻江是金沙江的最大支流，水力资源十分丰富。
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
- She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
- These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。