英语听力：自然百科 当青草殆尽

 Famed as nomadic¹ herders and warriors², the Massai people once dominated the plains of East Africa, migrating from one place to the next, seeking pastures for their cattle. But climate change is causing severe droughts and traditional sources of water are drying up and disappearing, threatening to wipe out the Massai way of life.

 

Herding³ cattle has been the main source of food and income for these nomads⁴ for decades. The droughts are killing⁵ off cattle and affecting the environment and livelihoods⁶ of the Massai people. The early hours of the morning are the busiest as people from far and wild arrive for the early morning milk market. For now they survive on their traditional diet of milk and blood, which they mix into a rich protein diet that has kept them going for centuries.

 

But the drought in Magadi is reaching radical⁷ levels never witnessed before, leaving little or no vegetation for the cattle to feed on.

 

“I remember when the grass was very tall, I could not be seen when taking a nap on the ground, and if a cow gave birth, the calf⁸ survived. But now, there is no grass, there is no water, no rain, and the drought is increasing. We are forced to take cows far away for pasture.”

 

Nowadays, the only way for these herders to survive is to travel hundreds of kilometers out of their traditional grazing lands to seek new pastures for their cattle, or risk losing their only means of survival.

 

Massai herders try to escape the drought by streaming into the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, letting their cattle feed on the city’s garbage disposal sites, and anywhere else they can salvage⁹ a meal for their livestock¹⁰.

 

“I came to Nairobi to look for grass for my cattle because there is no grass back home, and even here in the city outskirts¹¹, the grass is getting finished and we are now forced to take the cows into the middle of the city.”

 

According to environmental experts, climate change is rapidly changing sub-Saharan Africa.

 

“Africa is a continent least responsible for climate change, only 3 or 4 percent of the global emissions¹², yet it is probably the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change. There are many reasons for this. One is that your, uh, climate is already extreme. You get extreme droughts, extreme floods, and climate change is like a hammer on top of that. It’s like an engine driving those extreme weather events to become ever more frequent, and ever more extreme.”

 

Years of drought and over-grazing combined with climate change has left a dreadful impact on the Massai community. The United Nations Climate Panel states that Africa could be hit hard by climate change in the coming century, with tens of millions facing food and water shortages.

1 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

2 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

3 herding   

中畜群

参考例句：

• The little boy is herding the cattle. 这个小男孩在放牛。
• They have been herding cattle on the tableland for generations. 他们世世代代在这高原上放牧。

4 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

9 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

10 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

11 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

12 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。