时间:2018-12-07 作者:英语课 分类:浩瀚沙漠


英语课

In this barren sea of sand, it's harder for larger animals to find enough to eat. You've got to be a real specialist, like the Namib sand snake. By sidewinding, it can swim its way up the dunes 2. But in such an open arena 3, ambush 4 is tricky 5, it's speed that counts. The wedge-snouted lizard 6 can afford to be blase 7. It has a secret weapon, rocket propulsion. Then it's under the sand as fast as you can , the best place to escape predators 8 and the sun.

Here in the Namib, shelter is sparse 9. What little there is, is fiercely protected. Colonies of dune 1 ants monopolise the tough Namib grasses. Though aggressive to most invaders 10, the ants do tolerate the presence of small sap-sucking bugs 11 which they get to milk for precious sugary water. In their grassy 12 home, the ants are shaded from the worst of the sun. But out on the surface of the sand, the temperature can reach a blistering 13 60 Celsius 14.

Spoor spiders have an extraordinary survival strategy. With nowhere to hang their webs, they spin their silk on the ground, meshing 15 sand grains together. The result: a mini blanket which serves as a sunscreen. But these sandy blankets do more than shelter. They are beautifully camouflaged sticky traps.

Dune ants get most of the food they need on their doorstep. But to supplement their diet they must also venture out onto the sand. Their long legs lift them above the baking ground to where the temperature is slightly cooler. But they must still tread carefully, it's a minefield out there.
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propulsion:the force that drives a vehicle forward 推进力
monopolise:to have complete control over something so that other people cannot share it or take part in it 垄断 独占
camouflage:the way that the colour or shape of an animal protects it by making it difficult to see in the area in which it lives 伪装 拟态



1 dune
n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘
  • 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。
2 dunes
沙丘( dune的名词复数 )
  • The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
  • Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。
3 arena
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台
  • She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
  • He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。
4 ambush
n.埋伏(地点);伏兵;v.埋伏;伏击
  • Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
  • Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。
5 tricky
adj.狡猾的,奸诈的;(工作等)棘手的,微妙的
  • I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手,你能帮我吗?
  • He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题,只做了个笼统的表述。
6 lizard
n.蜥蜴,壁虎
  • A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
  • The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。
7 blase
adj.厌烦于享乐的
  • She's very blase about parties.她非常腻烦聚会。
  • The film star is blase about endless flattery now.那位电影明星现在对无休无止的吹捧已经厌烦了。
8 predators
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 );奴役他人者(尤指在财务或性关系方面)
  • birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
  • The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 sparse
adj.稀疏的,稀稀落落的,薄的
  • The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区,那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
  • The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。
10 invaders
入侵者,侵略者,侵入物( invader的名词复数 )
  • They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
  • The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。
11 bugs
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误
  • All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞,都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 grassy
adj.盖满草的;长满草的
  • They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
  • Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。
13 blistering
adj.酷热的;猛烈的;使起疱的;可恶的v.起水疱;起气泡;使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡
  • The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
  • This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿,是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句
14 Celsius
adj.摄氏温度计的,摄氏的
  • The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
  • The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。
15 meshing
结网,啮合
  • The modification of gear is a principal method for improving performance meshing. 齿面修形是提高齿轮副啮合性能的重要手段。
  • Exact modeling of gear teeth is based on meshing theory. 摘要根据齿轮啮合原理,建立了轮齿的精确齿形。
16 camouflaged
v.隐蔽( camouflage的过去式和过去分词 );掩盖;伪装,掩饰
  • We camouflaged in the bushes and no one saw us. 我们隐藏在灌木丛中没有被人发现。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • They camouflaged in bushes. 他们隐蔽在灌木丛中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
-centesis
a-throng
active trustee
affibody
anhepatic phase
Arisaema dracontium
artron
awe-band
ballabile
bandwidth shaping
benedict cot chamber
bird's-eye view map
blooths
board of administration
bouillon spoon
calculus of prepuce
centuply
ceorls
cervero
chemical absorbent
chymodenin
city punch
comparative genemics
dance party
dead soul
diatonic modulation
differential piece rate system
diversifolius
DMCTC
donella
double state
East Coast Bays
effective gamma-ray activity
Elatostema pergameneum
entropy increase principle
ethnoregional
existing business
Fraser Lake
froissement
genus Nyctereutes
gold - mining town
golden monkey
help key
high temperature physiology
hillbilly heroin
igniter gas
inductor generator
intergovernmental oceanographic commission (unesco) (ioc)
ion pumping technique
irhabi
joint disease
jumeirah
Kolliker's membrane
land-based prototype reactor
law of guarantee
load rate prepayment meter
maladaptive behavior
malignant lymphoma
market charge
maximum system deviation
moistness
Neospirifer
nougat wafer
novi-
order of consideration
pay-day
peoplish
pick dressing
pireneitega taiwanensis
protoplasmic poison
pyrocarbonic acid diethyl ester
qualifiably
quartz trachyte
Rangli
reaches out to
REIMS
remobilize
remote control system for controllable pitch propeller
respond with
sandbeck
sarcomatous myoma
Saxony yarn
seal cavity pressure rise
sedimental
seedling stump
shrinkage glaze
slavis
slit-lamp examination
state constitution
staying away from
subprogram
swinepox
system status
Taconic Mountains
Tiptopite
tole
unanesthetised
vacuum pencil
visual isopter
volume flow density
witchety grub
Yumesaki