VOA常速英语2007-Iron Train a Lifeline for Rural Mauritania

By Naomi Schwarz
Northern Mauritania
17 October 2007

In arid¹ Mauritania, where Sahara desert meets Sahel grasslands², a train stretching up to two and one half kilometers snakes along the northern border. Built to carry iron ore from mines in the northeast to the coastal³ port city, Nouadhibou, it has developed an equally important second function. It connects far-ranging villages to each other and to the city, where no road has ever been built. Naomi Schwarz has this story from Northern Mauritania.

Wind whistles through the empty landscape. Only a small shack⁴, a road and a train track interrupt the dusty, brown expanse.

A distant rumbling⁵ turns into thundering crashes of train cars straining against each other at their joints⁶. The wheels screech⁷ on the metal tracks as the train begins to slow.

Hundreds of freight cars pass. The head of the train is long out of sight when the final car appears on the horizon. The train is more than two kilometers long. Once the world's longest train, it has been surpassed by freight trains in Australia that can be twice as long.

But the train seems unaware⁸ of its novelty or that the novelty has worn off. It simply continues its business of running, three times a day, between the Atlantic port of Nouadhibou and the mining city of Zouerate, 700 kilometers to the northeast.

On its journey towards the west, the train carries up to 25,000 metric tons of iron ore for export. Heading back east, the freight cars, built like giant, rectangular buckets, are empty, ready to be refilled.

But in both directions the train carries a second cargo⁹. Passengers board the train at both ends of the route and during stops along the way.

Lala Abbas fusses with her cell phone as she waits in the small shack that serves as a train station near Nouadhibou. She is traveling to Zouerate with her two small children to stay with her brother for an upcoming Islamic holiday.

She has paid about $10 for each ticket and will sit in the passenger car attached at the very tail of the train.

But Abbas' father, who is waiting to see his daughter off, says he worked for the mining company since before the train began running until he retired¹⁰ in 2002.

He says the train was not intended for passengers.

But he says, from the start, passengers started boarding the freight train.

It is economic for people, he says, because between Zouaret and Nouadhibou, there is no other way.

There is no road that connects the far away cities or the dispersed¹¹ villages in between.

When the train began running, passengers began climbing into the freight cars. They perched on top of the iron ore or sat in the empty buckets for the hours-long journey.

Although the mining company eventually added a passenger car, people continue to climb into the freight cars all the same.

Mustafa Taher is a young man from a village near Mauritania's border with Mali. He is traveling east on the train, along with two colleagues from the mining company, and one of the men's sons. They are riding in a freight car near the train's tail.

Taher gestures at the case of tomatoes, sac of potatoes, and giant suitcases the men have hoisted¹² on board. He says they have too much baggage to fit in the passenger car.

Others choose to take the freight cars because they cannot afford the ticket.

The train offers an essential lifeline to the communities along its route, Taher says.

Although seemingly entirely¹³ cut off, with no neighboring communities for kilometers in any direction, Taher says they are not isolated¹⁴, because the train connects them to each other and to the coast.

Even in villages where the train does not stop, people take advantage. Passing through one such village, a young man races alongside, eventually leaping up to climb aboard the still moving train.

Traveling in the iron cars is not luxurious¹⁵, says Taher, but it is not too bad, especially when you finally arrive.

It is no big deal, he says. When he arrives, he will take a good shower, eat a hot meal, and head to bed.

Taher and his colleagues are clearly veterans of the journey. They quickly change into ratty clothes and cover their suitcases with garbage bags to protect them from the barrage¹⁶ of Saharan sand to come. They wrap turbans around their heads and across their faces, and one, Mohammed Sidi, sports plastic goggles¹⁷ to keep the sand out of his eyes.

And as soon as the train starts moving, they begin brewing¹⁸ Mauritanian tea traditionally served in three rounds. The small kettle boils on a charcoal¹⁹ fire perched on a pile of sand they have spilled in the corner.

1 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

2 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

5 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

6 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

7 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

8 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

9 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

10 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。

11 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

12 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

15 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

16 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

17 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

18 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

19 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。