Wild Africa - Deserts 浩瀚沙漠 - 4
With the spider exposed, it's now a battle between the wasp 1's paralyzing sting and the spider's jaws 2. But the wasp has quick reflexes. Cornered, the spider now plays its trump 3 card. Hurling 4 itself down the dune 5, it flips into a wheel. Traveling at over 40 turns a second, it makes a dizzy dash for freedom. Safe, at last.
Back up the dune, the wasp is left standing 7, chasing the scent 8 of its vanished meal.
Instinct honed over time, governs much of the life in the Namib. But some creatures also have to learn how to conquer these sands, using knowledge passed down over generations.
African elephants are so resourceful, they can survive even here in the heart of the desert.
Elephants have remarkable 9 powers of memory. Though this desert is more than 2 million square kilometers in size, 100 or so elephants it supports know precisely 10 where to find enough to eat and drink. It takes a lot of food, up to 300 kilos a day to feed the world's largest land animal. And all of that -from a desert.
But there's one plant here, the Nara, whose roots draw water from deep underground. Each year it produces a bumper 11 crop of melons. Elephants just love them.
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words and expressions:
1.paralyzing:使瘫痪的
paralyze: make powerless and unable to function(eg.:The bureaucracy paralyzes the entire operation.)
2.reflex:mental reaction反射，反映
3.flip:翻跳
(eg.:The car flipped 12;The fish flipped on the deck.)
4.Elephants have remarkable powers of memory.
Often,when we describe someone's amazing memory capacity, we always say:"You have an elephant's memory."
5.bumper:1.缓冲器
2.丰盛的(eg.:a bumper harvest/year)
- A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
- Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。
- The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
- The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。
- He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
- The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。
- The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The sand massed to form a dune.沙积集起来成了沙丘。
- Cute Jim sat on the dune eating a prune in June.可爱的吉姆在六月天坐在沙丘上吃着话梅。
- Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
- He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
- The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
- The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
- 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。
- It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
- The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。