英语听力：自然百科 徒步南非 喀拉哈里大沙漠(3)

Long before this was a national park, it held the fascination¹ of a man who wrote this rather lovely old book,Mr. G.A.Farini.

这里成为国家公园很久以前,它特有的魅力擒获了一个写出这本相当可爱旧书的男人法尼的心。

And he fell in love with this place when it was undiscovered, wild frontier land.

于是他爱上了这个地方，那时候这里还未被发现,是野生的边境土地。

The Great Farini, otherwise known as William Hunt, was a famous Canadian showman, best known for crossing Niagara Falls on a high wire in the 1860.

法尼或者被人们熟知为威廉?亨特,是一位加拿大最出名的表演者,以1860年钢丝跨越尼亚加拉瀑布而闻名。

Having retired² from acrobatics³, the intriguing⁴ Farini continued his waterfall interests by coming here, an adventure that probably made him the first white man to cross the Kalahari.

在退出杂技界后, 好奇心十足的法尼来到这里继续醉心于他的瀑布兴趣，一次冒险就可能让他成为穿越喀拉哈里沙漠的第一个白人。

My expedition has completely disproved the long-prevailing notion that Kalahari is a barren wildness.

我的探险已经完全否定了长期以来喀拉哈里沙漠是贫瘠荒凉之地的说法。

Well, I completely agree.

嗯,我完全同意。

Now there's just a small matter of finding those falls, and I think it's gonna get a bit tougher.

现在找到那些瀑布只是一个小问题,我认为这要有一点点困难。

Farini's drive to explore the Kalahari on foot was revolutionary.

法尼醉心于徒步探索喀拉哈里沙漠具有革命性的意义。

Today, walkers come here all the time, but the area still has to be respected.

今天,步行者所有的时间都会来这里,但是该地区仍受到保护。

1 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 acrobatics   

n.杂技

参考例句：

• Acrobatics is hard to learn but beautiful to watch.杂技不好学，但很好看。
• We watched a performance which included a puppet show and acrobatics.我们观看了一场演出，内容有木偶和杂技。

4 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》