纪录片《我们的地球》 第313期 极端沙漠(4)

It does, sometimes, rain in the desert.

沙漠地区偶尔也会降雨。

Here, in the American West, storms can strike with devastating¹ force.

在美国西部地区，暴风雨会带来灾难性的影响。

After ten months of drought,

十个月的干旱以后

millions of tonnes of water are dumped on the land in under an hour.

百万吨降水在一小时内倾泻而下。

Over millions of years, sand and gravel² carried by the rampaging floods

数百万年来，挟带着砂石的湍急洪水，

have carved channels through the solid rock.

在坚硬的岩石上切割出凹槽。

Slot canyons³, 150 feet deep.

形成狭缝谷，深达46米。

In some places, these canyons have widened

一些地方的峡谷不断侵蚀扩张，

until the land between them is sculpted⁴ into tablelands and isolated⁵ pinnacles⁶,

最终形成桌状高地和高耸的石塔，

some of the most dramatic landscapes on the planet.

这是地球上最激动人心的自然奇观。

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

3 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

4 sculpted   

adj.经雕塑的

参考例句：

• a display of animals sculpted in ice 冰雕动物展
• The ladies had their hair sculpted by the leading coiffeur of the day. 女士们的发型都是当代有名的理发师做的。

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 pinnacles   

顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔

参考例句：

• What would be the pinnacles of your acting and music? 对你而言什麽代表你的演技和音乐的巅峰？
• On Skye's Trotternish Peninsula, basalt pinnacles loom over the Sound of Raasay. 在斯开岛的特洛登尼许半岛，玄武岩尖塔俯瞰着拉塞海峡。