纪录片《我们的地球》 第16期 从南极到北极(16)

Without water, there can be no life,

没有水就没有生命

but its distribution over the land is far from even.

不过，水在陆地上的分配极不平均

Deserts cover one third of the land's surface and they're growing bigger every year.

沙漠覆盖了地球表面的1/3，而且面积每年都在增大

This is the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa.

这里是南部非洲的卡拉哈里沙漠

It's the dry season and thousands of elephants have started to travel in desperate search for water.

现在是旱季，数千头大象开始长途跋涉，不顾一切地寻找水源

All across Southern Africa animals are journeying for the same reason.

所有横穿南部非洲的野生动物都怀有同样的目的

Buffalo¹ join the great trek².

非洲水牛也加入了这支浩大的队伍

Nowhere else on Earth are so many animals on the move with the same urgent purpose.

如此之多的动物出于同一个紧急目的而进行大规模迁徙，这在地球上其它地方可看不到

They're all heading for the swamps of the Okavango, a vast inland delta³.

它们的目的地是奥卡万戈大沼泽，一片巨大的内陆三角洲

At the moment it is dry, but water is coming.

这时它仍处于旱季，可是水马上就要来了。

The travellers are hampered⁴ by dangerous dust storms.

肆虐的沙尘暴困住了这群迁徙的动物。

1 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

2 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

3 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

4 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。