环球英语 — 19： Marathon Des Sables

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹. I’m Rebekah Schipper.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 1
The Sahara desert. It is the world’s largest desert. It covers a third of the African continent--an area about the size of the United States. The Sahara desert is one of the hottest, driest places on Earth. Temperatures may rise over fifty-seven [57] degrees Celsius². And it receives less than eight [8] centimetres of rain a year.
Voice 2
Over thousands of years, rising and falling winds created the desert. The winds evaporate⁴ water from the sand. But these winds rarely bring rain. Natives to the Sahara have given some of the winds special names. “Haboob” is the Arabic name for a wild sand carrying wind. “Khamsin” means fifty [50] days. This wind blows across the Sahara from March through May. The Khamsin wind fills the air with sand.
Voice 1
The Sahara’s climate is unkind⁵ and cruel. Not many people can survive in such extreme conditions. So, imagine racing⁶ two hundred forty-three [243] kilometres across the Sahara sand. Imagine fighting the hot sun, the dry air and the high winds - all while running! Today’s Spotlight is on the Marathon Des Sables⁷.
Voice 2
The Marathon Des Sables is an extreme race. It started in 1986 in Morocco, in Africa. Since then over six hundred [600] people compete in the race each year. And they come from over thirty [30] different countries. But, only those people seeking a great challenge enter the race. And only those in the best physical condition finish it. People call the Marathon Des Sables the “world’s toughest footrace.” And it is easy to understand why!
Voice 1
The Marathon Des Sables is a seven [7] day race. The race is separated into six [6] different parts. The first three [3] parts involve running about thirty-two [32] kilometres each day. In the fourth part people run about eighty [80] kilometres. The people get forty [40] hours to run these eighty [80] kilometres. The fifth part is a full marathon. The people must complete just over forty-two [42] kilometres. And finally, in the sixth part, runners must run fourteen [14] to nineteen [19] kilometres to the finish line. In all, runners complete a total of five [5] marathons.
Voice 2
People competing in the race must run across all kinds of land. They must run up sand dunes⁸, or hills. They must run over salt flats and dried up river beds. They must run through rocky, flat desert fields and ancient dried up lakes. Sometimes the runners may even pass through a small desert village.
Voice 1
The people competing in the race must also carry all of their own supplies. They carry a backpack filled only with things they may need. The runners do not want to bring too much. They want the backpack to weigh as little as possible. Many of the runners carry food, a sleeping bag and clothing for the week.
Voice 2
The runners also carry a snake bite kit⁹, to treat snake bites. They carry an emergency blanket. It is not always hot in the desert. At night temperatures can quickly drop to three [3] degrees! Runners also bring a signal mirror and distress¹⁰ flare¹¹. They use these things if they get lost. The mirror catches the light of the sun. It shines the light back up so other people may see it. The flare is a fire. Runners can shoot it high into the air.
Voice 1
Finally, and most importantly, the runners also carry their own water. The race officials supply the water. They give the runners only nine [9] litres of water each day. That is not a lot of water, especially if you are running through the desert! But, the runners do not want to carry much more than that. Water adds a lot of weight.
Voice 2
The Marathon Des Sables is truly the world’s toughest footrace. Each year many runners must stop early. Their feet are too swollen¹² and painful. Many runners become dehydrated. Their bodies lack enough water to go on. Some runners lose their toe nails. Other runners lose their minds. Their minds just stop working. It becomes dangerous for them to stay in the desert. The heat of the desert is too much for some runners. Other runners do not prepare enough for the cold desert nights. And some runners just give up.
Voice 1
However, many runners do make it to the end of the race. And they have stories to share about their experiences. Here are a few runners with their experiences running the Marathon Des Sables.
Voice 3
“When we set off on the first (part) of the race, the first shock was the heat. By nine [9] a.m., it was over thirty-two [32] degrees. It reached fifty-two [52] degrees when we were running across the sand (hills). (In the beginning) I did not drink enough water. I finished the (first) day with a headache. I could not imagine six [6] more days of this.”
Voice 4
“The land is bad. Really bad. Hard, rocky, sandy, and never-ending. The size of the Sahara desert will scare you if you are smart.”
Voice 5
“The wind was (blowing). I could barely¹³ see anything. And I was surrounded by ninety metre high sand (hills)...That is when I had (a little) mental breakdown¹⁴.”
Voice 6
“I did the Marathon Des Sables because I thought it would be a (hard) race. I was wrong. It was nearly impossible. Everything (about the marathon) is the (hardest), longest, coldest, hottest.”
Voice 1
Not everyone can run in the Marathon Des Sables. But some people believe we are all running a hard race - the race of life! Some people compare life to running a race. We are all running our own races. Sometimes the race is easy. And sometimes the race can be very difficult. We may even feel like we are running the Marathon Des Sables! We may feel like giving up.
Voice 2
The Bible¹⁵ speaks of this race, the race of life. In the Bible it says that when the race gets difficult we should not give up. Instead, we should look to Jesus for help. It says,
“Let us throw off any sin³ that holds on to us so tightly¹⁶. Let us keep on running the race marked out for us. Let us keep looking to Jesus. He is the creator and perfecter of our faith. He suffered on the cross because of the joy he was looking forward to. Then he sat down at the right hand of God. He put up with attacks from sinners. So think about him. Then you will not get tired. You will not lose hope.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• 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。

3 sin   

n.罪，罪孽，过失；vi.犯罪，违反

参考例句：

• It's a sin to waste food.浪费食品是一种罪过。
• It's a sin to be indoors on holiday.假期中待在家里实在是罪过。

4 evaporate   

vi.蒸发，挥发，消失；vt.使蒸发，使挥发

参考例句：

• Clearly,the star wars problem was not going to evaporate.显然，星球大战问题并没有不了了之。
• It will evaporate like a spirit.它将来总要像幽灵一样化成云烟。

5 unkind   

adj.不仁慈的，不和善的

参考例句：

• He was never unkind to her.他从未亏待过她。
• Unkindness often reacts on the unkind person.恶人有恶报。

6 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

7 sables   

n.紫貂( sable的名词复数 )；紫貂皮；阴暗的；暗夜

参考例句：

• Able sables staple apples on stable tables. 能干的黑貂把苹果钉在牢固的桌子上。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

10 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

11 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

12 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

13 barely   

adv.仅仅，几乎没有，几乎不

参考例句：

• The male bird is barely distinguishable from the female.雄鸟和雌鸟几乎无法辨别。
• He took barely enough money to keep the children in bread.他赚很少的钱仅够孩子们勉强糊口。

14 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

15 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

16 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。