国家地理 走险撒哈拉

For centuries, nomads¹ and traders have made their way here. George is determined² to follow in their footsteps.

几世纪以来，游牧民和贸易商都来到了这里。乔治决定追随者他们的脚步。

There is a timelessness about this place. And desert ghosts seem to haunt the hills. But that's not the wail³ of lost souls echoing through the cliffs.

这是一个不受时间影响的地方。沙漠中的亡灵似乎常出没于山间。但是响彻悬崖的并非这些迷失灵魂的哀嚎。

George is drawn⁴ deeper and deeper into the canyon⁵ by the sound of bellowing⁶ camels.

乔治被吼叫着的骆驼拉入峡谷中，越走越深。

It's a world-class beautiful place and all the camels are communicating.

这里拥有世界级的美景，所有的骆驼都在交流

You could hear their voices echoing off the walls. It's kind of like being in a, in a cathedral.

你可以听到它们的声音在山壁间回响，点像是在大教堂里一样。

This is Gilt⁷ Arshell, a water pool visited by the ancients and a kind of grand central station for nomads and their camels.

这是Gilt Arshell，古人们曾光顾过这个水池，这里像是游牧民和他们骆驼的中央车站。

Gilters are like highway rest stops for those who travel in the desert. Here they can fill their goatskins with water, swap⁸ news and rest their animals.

Gilters就像沙漠游人的高速公路休息站。在这里他们可以往山羊皮补满水、交换新闻，让他们的动物休息。

This wind-scoured canyon catches and holds rainfall like a barrel. Water in the desert is a rare gift and the much-trafficked reservoir is opaque⁹ with use.

被风磨平的峡谷像桶一样聚集着雨水。沙漠中的水是稀有的礼物，行车蓄水池在这里使用普遍

They're not really going to tell you about the peril¹⁰ of the walk through the water that's black with the dung of 10,000 camels.

他们并不会真的告诉你穿过水中的危险，那些黑乎乎的是一万只骆驼的粪便。

There are other reasons to watch your step when wading¹¹ through these dark waters.

当你涉入这些黑水时，还有其他原因让你不得不注意脚下。

Reasons that have teeth: there are crocodiles here, another vestige¹² of a wetter time.

原因在于：这里有鳄鱼，多雨季节的另一个遗迹。

Unlike their much larger cousins along the Nile, these crocs are only five feet long and at least for now, not very aggressive.

和尼罗河中的鳄鱼不同，这些鳄鱼仅有5尺长，至少现在还不那么具有攻击性。

George and Dan count only 6, though there may be a few more around. It's a mystery how such a small population manages to survive here.

乔治和丹只数了六只，虽然周围或许还有更多。这些小物种如何在此生存是个谜。

This is very strange seeing these pre-historic creatures that are, are trapped there like there, stuck on a little desert island if you will.

看到这些史前生物被困在这里，就像是人类被困在小荒岛中是件奇怪的事。

In the desert, the islands are the water. And they are just got trapped there by the time.

在沙漠中，小岛上有水，它们被困在这里有些时候了。

Later, in the upper reaches of the narrow canyon, George gets another surprise---cave art from thousands of years ago.

之后，在狭窄峡谷的上游，乔治得到了另一个惊喜—来自于千年前的洞穴壁画。

Who were these ancient people? What were their lives like?

这些古人是谁？他们的生活是什么样的？

You, when you are sitting there, you know you are sitting in exactly the same place as people did three, four, five thousand years ago.

当你坐在这里时，你知道你和那些三四千年前的古人坐在同一个地方。

You don't know what they saw at their cave, but you can see what their impressions of that world were on the walls behind you.

你不知道他们在自己的洞穴中看到了什么，但是你可以看到他们对于这个世界的印象—全部呈现在了你身后的墙上。

It's kind of like a window into an ancient dream.

这有点像是通往古代梦境的一扇窗户。

1 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》

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

6 bellowing   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• We could hear he was bellowing commands to his troops. 我们听见他正向他的兵士大声发布命令。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He disguised these feelings under an enormous bellowing and hurraying. 他用大声吼叫和喝采掩饰着这些感情。 来自辞典例句

7 gilt   

adj.镀金的；n.金边证券

参考例句：

• The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
• The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。

8 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

9 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

10 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

11 wading   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The man tucked up his trousers for wading. 那人卷起裤子，准备涉水。
• The children were wading in the sea. 孩子们在海水中走着。

12 vestige   

n.痕迹，遗迹，残余

参考例句：

• Some upright stones in wild places are the vestige of ancient religions.荒原上一些直立的石块是古老宗教的遗迹。
• Every vestige has been swept away.一切痕迹都被一扫而光。