国家地理:Survive the Sahara 走险撒哈拉

For centuries, nomads¹ and traders have made their way here. George is determined² to follow in their footsteps. 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. George is drawn⁴ deeper and deeper into the canyon⁵ by the sound of bellowing⁶ camels.

It's a world-class beautiful place and all the camels are communicating. You could hear their voices echoing off the walls. It's kind of like being in a, in a cathedral.

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

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.

There are other reasons to watch your step when wading¹¹ through these dark waters. Reasons that have teeth: there are crocodiles here, another vestige¹² of a wetter time. Unlike their much larger cousins along the Nile, these crocs are only five feet long and at least for now, not very aggressive. 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.

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

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

Who were these ancient people? What were their lives like? 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. 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. It's kind of like a window into an ancient dream.


wail: (n.) A long, loud, high-pitched cry, as of grief or pain. 嚎啕声
opaque: (a.) Impenetrable by light; neither transparent¹³ nor translucent¹⁴. 不透光的

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。

13 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

14 translucent   

adj.半透明的；透明的

参考例句：

• The building is roofed entirely with translucent corrugated plastic.这座建筑完全用半透明瓦楞塑料封顶。
• A small difference between them will render the composite translucent.微小的差别,也会使复合材料变成半透明。