英语听力：自然百科 徒步南非：喀拉哈里大沙漠—6

 Well, there it is, Molopo Gorge¹. And that has got to be Norbert’s little project tucked away. 

 

The hot springs were largely funded by a private benefactor² and designed to draw all Green Kalahari visitors to Riemvasmaak. Ironically, the town with inconsistent water can now boast bathing as its number one attraction. The setting is undeniably jaw-dropping, 150-metre cliffs that glow red in the afternoon sun. 

 

This place is a bit of a ghost town. I can see why it’s not quite fulfilling Norbert’s expectations and dreams. I mean it would make a brilliant base camp for hiking or for climbing, but it seems to be a victim of mismanagement or no management, which is a shame. 

 

Rather like the Tourist Office, the stunning³ springs let the support and infrastructure⁴ to match the ambition. They lie largely unused, unmanned, and alarming inaccessible⁵, some 30 kilometres from the nearest tarmac road. Bu the springs do mark the point where my walk joins the Molopo River. For those of us from greener or wetter climes, the idea of a waterway with no water is a little odd. But thousands of years ago, this was one of Southern Africa’s great rivers, running for 960 kilometres from its origins on the Botswana border. The river hasn't flowed here for at least a century. Lands upstream are simply too arid⁶ and plant life clings to what moisture remains⁷ on the riverbed. 

 

I’ve been with enough experts and know that, is a leopard⁸ print and this is known as leopard country. So it’s not completely unfeasible.

1 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

2 benefactor   

n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人

参考例句：

• The chieftain of that country is disguised as a benefactor this time. 那个国家的首领这一次伪装出一副施恩者的姿态。
• The first thing I did, was to recompense my original benefactor, my good old captain. 我所做的第一件事, 就是报答我那最初的恩人, 那位好心的老船长。

3 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

6 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。