纪录片《我们的地球》 第88期 奇幻沙漠(05)

As the winds rise and fall, swirl¹ and eddy², so they pile the sand into dunes³.

随着风的起落、侵蚀和旋绕，沙子被堆成了一座座沙丘

These sand seas can be hundreds of miles across.

这些沙漠布景可宽达数百英里

In Namibia, the winds have built some of the biggest dunes in the world.

在纳米比亚，风塑造了一些世界上最大的沙丘

Star dunes like these can be 300 metres high.

这些巨型沙丘高达300多米

Grains swept up the flanks are blown off the crests⁴ of the ridges⁵

斜坡上吹起的沙粒，在沙丘顶部的边棱处飞扬

so it's only the tops that are moving.

所以沙丘移动的部分只是顶部

The main body of these dunes may not have shifted for 5,000 years.

这些沙丘的主体可能已有5000多年未曾移动

Few rocks can resist the continuous blast of the sand-carrying wind.

岩石很难抵挡风沙持续不断的摧残

These outcrops are standing⁶ in Egypt's White Desert.

这些石头如今矗立在埃及的白色沙漠中

But they will not do so for much longer.

但它们也坚持不了多久

They are being inexorably chiselled⁷ away and turned into more sand.

它们正被无情地凿碎，变成更多的沙粒

Now lumps of heavily eroded⁸ rocks have been marooned⁹ in a sea of sand.

现在，这些严重侵蚀的石块已被放逐在沙海之中。

1 swirl   

v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形

参考例句：

• The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
• You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿，看着雪花飘飘。

2 eddy   

n.漩涡，涡流

参考例句：

• The motor car disappeared in eddy of dust.汽车在一片扬尘的涡流中不见了。
• In Taylor's picture,the eddy is the basic element of turbulence.在泰勒的描述里，旋涡是湍流的基本要素。

3 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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。

4 crests   

v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了，他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句

5 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• 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。

7 chiselled   

adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A name was chiselled into the stone. 石头上刻着一个人名。
• He chiselled a hole in the door to fit a new lock. 他在门上凿了一个孔，以便装一把新锁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

9 marooned   

adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的

参考例句：

• During the storm we were marooned in a cabin miles from town. 在风暴中我们被围困在离城数英里的小屋内。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks. 埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。 来自辞典例句