Wild Africa - Deserts 浩瀚沙漠 - 8
Within a month, the spring blooms are finished. The plants now set their seeds, taking advantage of the warm summer winds which sweep the desert.
For a while, the karoo just glows.
But trouble is stiring. Triggered by the rains, an all-devouring army-- locusts 2.
Millions emerge from eggs buried in the sand, gathering 3 into columns which may stretch for ten kilometers. At this stage, they can't fly, only hop 4, but it doesn't hinder their progress. These sweeping 5 hordes devastate 7 any fresh growth in their path.
After five weeks of steady munching, the infantry 9 becomes airborne. These breeding swarms 10 can cover up to 80 kilometers a day, but only while the food and moisture last.
So how do you define a desert in Africa? They are places where less than 50 centimeters of rain falls a year. Neighbouring the karoo is a desert which gets the maximum, in brief, but intense summer monsoons.
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words and expression:
1.karoo: an arid 12 plateau of southern Africa非洲干旱的南方
2.locust:any of numerous grasshoppers 13 of the family Acrididae, often migrating in immense swarms that devour 1 vegetation and crops蝗虫
3.horde:swarm群
4.munch:to chew food audibly or with a steady working of the jaws发出声音或高兴地吃
5.infantry becomes airborne:步兵变成空降兵
6.monsoon:a wind system that influences large climatic regions and reverses direction seasonally季风
- Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
- Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。
- a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
- In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
- He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
- The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
- How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？
- The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
- Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？
- There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
- Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- A few days before,a fire had devastated large parts of Windsor Castle.几天前，温莎城堡的大部分被一场大火烧毁。
- Earthquakes can also cause tsunamis,which devastate coastal regions.地震还引发海啸，它直接破坏海岸地区。
- He was munching an apple. 他在津津有味地嚼着苹果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Munching the apple as he was, he had an eye for all her movements. 他虽然啃着苹果，但却很留神地监视着她的每一个动作。 来自辞典例句
- The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
- We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。
- They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
- On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。
- In Ban-gladesh, the monsoons have started. 在孟加拉，雨季已经开始了。 来自辞典例句
- The coastline significantly influences the monsoons in two other respects. 海岸线在另外两个方面大大地影响季风。 来自辞典例句
- These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
- There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
- Grasshoppers die in fall. 蚱蜢在秋天死去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- There are usually a lot of grasshoppers in the rice fields. 稻田里通常有许多蚱蜢。 来自辞典例句