Wild Africa - Deserts 浩瀚沙漠 - 1

Africa is dominated by deserts, from the Kalahari in the south to the mighty¹ Sahara in the north. These are fascinating worlds, each one unique, all a challenge. Yet life can conquer them and in the most surprising ways. This is an epic² journey across Africa's magnificent deserts, a story of survival against the odds³.

Africa. Seen from space, great swathes of sand and rock cover more than half the continent. In the far south, bordering the Atlantic is the world's most ancient desert, the Namib. For eighty million years, cold, dry winds have swept in from the ocean, denying the land moisture and piling enormous sand dunes⁴ against the shore.

Beautiful but impossibly dry, in a good year, the Namib gets just five centimeters of rain; in a bad year, it rains only sand. But buried within the dunes, there is treasure. Fragments of dead animals and plants swallowed long ago by the sand are swept to the surface, offering a crucial lifeline.

Beetles⁵, many different species have found ways to harvest this bounty⁶. Along with termites⁷ and lizards⁸, they're the foundations for a delicate chain of life in the Namib.

against the odds:very unexpectedly 非常出人意料的
dune:a hill made of sand near the sea or in the desert 沙丘
swathe:a long thin area of something, especially land 大区域 地带
bounty:literary food or wealth that is provided in large amounts 丰富食物

Kalahari:喀拉哈里沙漠,覆盖赞比亚 博茨瓦尔 南非
Namib:纳米布沙漠 以月牙形的沙丘为特征

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 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。

5 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

7 termites   

n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Termites are principally tropical in distribution. 白蚁主要分布在热带地区。 来自辞典例句
• This spray will exterminate the termites. 这种喷剂能消灭白蚁。 来自辞典例句

8 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句