纪录片《我们的地球》 第101期 奇幻沙漠(18)

The elephants have found some of their favourite food.

大象找到了一些它们最喜欢吃的食物

Grasses are the staple¹ diet of all elephants,

草是所有大象的主食

but this herd² concentrates on digging up the roots,

但这群象却忙着挖掘草根

which have more nutrition and moisture than the stems.

因为草根中的营养和水分比茎干多得多

It's the sort of behaviour that can make all the difference in a place of serious shortages.

这一举措在这个资源严重匮乏的地方显得极为重要

Yet all this can change in an instant.

然而所有这一切即刻就将发生改变

The fortunes of many deserts are ruled by distant rains.

许多沙漠的命运都由远方的雨水决定

This water fell as rain in mountains more than 1 00 miles away.

这些水来自100英里之外的山地降雨

It's known as a flash flood and called that because the water may run for just a single day.

它叫做“瞬时洪水”，之所以这么叫是因为这些水可能仅仅流淌一天左右。

It's an event that only happens once or twice a year at the most.

而且一年最多也只发生1至2次

The sandy riverbed acts like a giant strip of blotting³ paper, sucking up the water as soon as it appears.

布满沙子的河床像是一张巨大的吸水纸，水一边流淌一边被它吸去。

But every square metre of soil moistened by this river will increase the chances of survival for those that live here.

这里的每一寸土壤都已被河水润湿，为生活在这里的动物们带来了生机。

1 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

2 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

3 blotting   

吸墨水纸

参考例句：

• Water will permeate blotting paper. 水能渗透吸水纸。
• One dab with blotting-paper and the ink was dry. 用吸墨纸轻轻按了一下，墨水就乾了。