胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇117

living at the edge of the desert

住在沙漠边缘

You don’t need a humanistic education in order to become a herdsman. Tending camels is a humble¹ occupation, not at all well suited to hypersensitive individuals, such as myself, camels are quite arrogant² beasts, only too ready to try and humiliate³ those who care for them, for example, by spitting at them.

As a herdman, there is no need to hypothesise on the meaning of life, what you do need, though, is a well-balanced nature, plus a fair amount of humility⁴, living at the edge of the desert presents a great many hurdles⁶ to economic survival, clearly, herding⁷ camels must be one of the most difficult forms of animal husbandry.

Still, camels are well-adapted to life around the desert, they drink lots of water when they find it and store it in their humps, for when conditions are more precarious⁸, likewise, they do not have much of a problem with the sand storms that rage like hurricanes in springtime, hurling¹⁰ clouds of dust and clods of earth over long distances, hustling¹¹ anyone in their path to look for shelter, the howling of the wind alone is enough to hypnotise humans and animals alike.

New breeds of hybrid¹² grains have been developed that thrive under conditions that are less than humid, these grains are easy to husk, while the husks themselves can be used as fodder¹³ for the camels, that leaves the problem of personal hygiene¹⁴. How do you keep yourself clean and healthy in conditions of such severe shortage of humidity, let alone in the middle of a dust storm?

Living at the edge of the desert is tough, to say the least. My hypothesis is that I would not last longer than a week under such conditions of hardship.

要成为一个牧人，你不需要接受人文主义的教育。照料骆驼是一份微贱的工作，一点也不适合高度敏感的人，比如我自己。骆驼是很高傲的野兽，随时准备好试图羞辱照顾它们的人，比如朝他们吐唾沫。

作为牧人，没有必要假设生命的意义。然而，你确实需要平衡的天性，再加上一定程度的谦卑。住在沙漠边缘给经济的维持造成很多障碍。显然，放牧骆驼肯定是畜牧业中最困难的行当之一。

尽管如此，骆驼很适应沙漠的生活。它们发现水时会喝很多，并且贮藏在驼峰里，以防遇到更危险的情况。同样，春天像飓风一样肆虑的沙尘暴对它们来说也算不上什么问题，沙尘暴把灰尘和土块投掷到很远的地方，粗野地推搡那些正在找庇护所的人。大风的咆哮声就足以把人和动物都催眠了。

新品种的杂交谷物已经研制出来，能在不太潮湿的环境下茂密生长。这些谷物很容易去壳。外壳可以作为骆驼的饲料。剩下的问题就是个人卫生。如何让自己在这种严重缺少湿气的条件下保持清洁健康呢，更何况在沙尘暴中呢？

至少可以这么说，住在沙漠边缘是艰苦的，我的假设是我在这种艰苦的条件下，只能坚持不超过一个星期的时间。

Humble adj.微贱的，谦逊的

Humid adj.潮湿的

Humidity n.湿气，湿度

Humiliate vt.羞辱，使丢脸

Humility n.谦卑

Hump n.驼背，峰，圆形隆起之物

Hurdle⁵ n.篱笆，障碍

Hurl⁹ vt.用力投掷

Hurricane n.飓风，暴风雨

Husbandry n.节俭， 耕种，务农 ，农牧业

Husk n.外壳，皮 vt.剥….的壳。 削皮

Hustle¹⁵ n.拥挤喧嚷，催促，粗野地推

Hybrid n.杂种，混血儿

Hygiene n.卫生

Hypersensitive adj.高灵敏度的，感觉过敏的

Hypnotise vt.催眠

Hypothesis n.假设，假说

Hypothesise vt.假设，假定。

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

3 humiliate   

v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace

参考例句：

• What right had they to bully and humiliate people like this?凭什么把人欺侮到这个地步呢？
• They pay me empty compliments which only humiliate me.他们虚情假意地恭维我，这只能使我感到羞辱。

4 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

5 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

6 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

9 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

10 hurling   

n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

12 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

13 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

14 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

15 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。