Deserts Dry
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Table of Contents Introduction.
导言表。
4 The Sahara.
4 撒哈拉地区。
5 The Gobi.
5"戈壁报".
8 The Atacama.
8 阿塔卡马。
12 Conclusion.
12 结论。
15 Glossary.
15 词汇。
16 Index.
16 指数。
16 Introduction Shut your eyes and imagine that you are standing in a desert.
导言 闭上你的双眼 想象你站在沙漠里
What kinds of things do you see around you?
你周围是什么样?
Camels, cactuses, and sand dunes?
骆驼,仙人掌,还有沙丘?
This is what most people think of when they imagine the desert.
这就是大多数人想象沙漠时所想到的.
But deserts are far more rich and varied than the sandy landscape you might imagine.
但沙漠比你们想象的沙地要丰富多彩
A desert is any area where more water evaporates, or dries up, than falls as rain.
沙漠是水蒸发或干涸的地区, 而不是雨地。
Deserts can be hot, cool, or cold.
沙漠可以是热的,凉的,也可以是冷的.
In fact, both the North and South poles are considered deserts because all of the water there is frozen.
事实上,南北两极都被认为是沙漠,因为那里所有的水都结冰了.
Deserts make up almost one-third of the land on Earth, covering mountains, canyons, and glaciers.
沙漠几乎占了地球上陆地的三分之一,覆盖了山地,峡谷和冰川.
In this book, you will find out more about the surprising inhabitants of three amazing deserts: the Sahara, the Gobi, and the Atacama.
在这本书中,你会发现更多关于三个惊人沙漠的令人惊讶的居民:撒哈拉,戈壁和阿塔卡马.
Dunes are actually found in only a few deserts.
沙丘实际上只存在于少数沙漠中.
The Sahara On many maps of Africa, the entire top third of the continent is colored yellow or pale beige.
撒哈拉 在非洲的许多地图上,整个大陆上位列前3位的有色黄或苍白的相色.
This color represents the vast, dry land of the Sahara Desert—by far the largest desert in the world.
这种颜色代表了撒哈拉沙漠广阔而干燥的土地——迄今为止是世界上最大的沙漠.
This is where we get many of our images of the desert.
我们从这里得到许多沙漠的影像。
Great, ocean-like landscapes of yellow sand dunes cover one- fifth of the Sahara.
黄色沙丘的海洋般地貌覆盖了撒哈拉的五分之一。
The Tuareg people, in their blue, flowing robes and turbans, lead caravans of camels across the sandy desert to trade salt.
图阿雷格人穿着蓝色,流出长袍和头巾,带领骆驼行走于沙地沙漠以换取盐.
But the Sahara is much more than sand.
但撒哈拉远不止是沙地。
It might surprise you to learn that the world’s largest desert contains one of the world’s longest rivers.
世界上最大的沙漠包含着世界上最长的河流之一,
The Nile flows along the eastern edge of the Sahara, bringing life-giving water to crops and cities along its banks.
尼罗河沿撒哈拉东部边缘流出,给沿其岸的农作物和城市带来给活水.
This river allowed the great civilization of ancient Egypt to survive among the dunes.
这条河流使古埃及的伟大文明得以在沙丘中生存.
In ancient Egypt, as today, people carved irrigation, or watering, channels to carry water from the riverbed to thirsty crops, animals, and people.
在古埃及,像今天一样,人们会雕刻出灌溉,或取水,渠道来从河床取水到渴的农作物,动物和人.
There is also water hidden deep underground in the Sahara.
撒哈拉也有隐藏在地下深处的水.
In some places, it seeps close to the surface, creating an oasis, or a small spot of green land.
在一些地方,它渗出地表靠近地表,形成绿洲,或绿地小地.
But don’t get the idea that the Sahara is moist and pleasant.
但不要认为撒哈拉是湿润而愉快的。
In some areas, no rain falls for years, the temperature can get as high as 136°F (58°C), and powerful winds whip up sun- blocking dust storms.
在一些地区,多年没有降雨,气温可高达136°F(58°C),强风会刮起阻挡太阳的尘暴.
The Sahara is home to thorn trees, shrubs, and low-growing grasses.
撒哈拉有荆棘树,灌木和低生长的草地.
Several kinds of antelope survive here, as do many rodents, birds, and reptiles.
有几种羚羊生存在这里,许多啮齿动物,鸟类,爬行动物也一样.
One kind of reptile, a skink, is known as a sandfish because it can “swim” through the sand.
一种爬行动物是皮克,被取名为沙鱼,因为它能从沙子中“游出”。
Many people in the Sahara Desert still rely on camels.
撒哈拉沙漠的许多人仍然依靠骆驼.
People have lived in the Sahara for centuries.
人们在撒哈拉生活了几个世纪。
Northern Africa is a natural trading area for people from Africa, Europe, and Asia.
北非是非洲、欧洲和亚洲人民的自然贸易区。
Rich ancient cities survived on irrigated crops and the wealth of spices, fabrics, and precious metals and gems passing through.
富有的古代城市依靠灌溉作物和丰富的香料,织物,以及经过的贵重金属和宝石活了下来.
During the Middle Ages, northern Africa was a center of art, writing, science, and learning.
在中世纪时期,北非是艺术,写作,科学和学习的中心.
Today, a treasure lies hidden under the Sahara.
今天,一个宝藏藏在撒哈拉之下。
The desert holds the world’s largest reserves of oil, a liquid that many people depend on heavily for fuel and energy.
沙漠蕴藏着世界上最大的石油储备,这是许多人严重依赖的燃料和能源的液体。
Some countries of the Sahara have become incredibly wealthy from selling oil.
撒哈拉的一些国家靠出售石油变得非常富有。
Unfortunately, many nations have fought wars over this valuable resource.
不幸的是,许多国家为了这一宝贵的资源而进行了战争。
The Gobi Mongolia and northern China, which lie deep within the immense continent of Asia, are home to the high, dry Gobi Desert.
位于亚洲巨大大陆深处的戈壁蒙古和中国北部是高干戈壁沙漠的家园.
It might surprise you that the Gobi is cold— it can get as low as –40°F (–40°C).
Gobi很冷, 可能会低至-40°F( -40°C),
Like the Sahara, the Gobi Desert was often crisscrossed by traders bringing goods to and from Asia.
与撒哈拉一样,戈壁沙漠也经常被运入和运出亚洲的货物的贸易商挤出.
But unlike the Sahara, the Gobi is too harsh and remote to support cities.
但与撒哈拉人不同,戈壁人过于苛刻和偏僻,无法支持城市.
A worker walks through a plant where gas is made from oil in Algeria.
一名工人走过阿尔及利亚用石油制造天然气的工厂。
The Gobi is more remote than the Sahara.
戈壁人比撒哈拉更偏远.
Many parts of the Gobi are high, dry, and mountainous.
戈壁多地地处高地,干燥多山地.
The soil is rocky and salty, so there are few plants other than tough grasses and shrubs.
土壤多岩石而咸生,因此除坚硬的草本和灌木外,植物很少.
But these grasses are enough to support grazing animals such as Mongolian horses, antelope, and gazelle.
但这些草地足以支撑蒙古马,羚羊,瞪羚等放牧动物.
Also feeding on the grasses are many kinds of gerbils and another small rodent called the jerboa.
以草地为食的还有多出出类拔萃活鼠和又出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出
Most of the people who inhabit the Gobi are nomads, people who move from place to place, often in search of food.
居住在戈壁地上的人多为游牧民,常为找活口而从地而来.
Some of these nomads rely on horses for almost everything they need to live—meat, milk, hides for tents, and transportation.
其中一些游牧民几乎依靠马匹生活,
These nomads, who live in Mongolia, are excellent horse trainers who rope and race horses as well as any rodeo rider.
这些游牧民居住在蒙古,是出色的马训师,他们绳索和骑马以及任何骑马者。
Horses drink from salt pans in the Gobi Desert.
马从戈壁沙漠的盐锅喝来.
Do You Know?
你知道吗?
Normally, naturally occurring salt in the soil gets dissolved by rainwater and carried in rivers to the ocean.
通常,土壤中自然产生的盐会被雨水溶解并被带入河流到海洋.
This is why the ocean is salty.
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But in the desert where there is little rain to dissolve the salt and the rivers dry up before reaching the ocean, salt is abundant in the soil.
但在沙漠中,几乎没有雨水来溶解盐分,而河流干涸后再到达海洋中,土壤中盐分丰富.
In some places, rivers carry salt into temporary marshes or lakes that dry in the desert air, leaving behind huge areas of white, crystallized salt.
在一些地方,河流将盐运入沙漠空气中干燥的临时沼泽地或湖泊,留下了巨大的白色,结晶的盐地.
These areas are known as salt pans.
这些地区被称作"盐锅".
A Mongolian horseman herds his horses.
一个蒙古骑手将他的马赶来.
The Gobi has very few natural resources such as oil.
戈壁人几乎没有石油等自然资源.
But there is a fascinating sort of treasure here—fossils.
但这里有种令人着迷的宝藏 化石
The dry climate and lack of humans have preserved delicate fossils for millions of years.
干燥的气候和人类的缺乏保存了数百万年的微妙化石.
Today, scientists flock to the Gobi for new discoveries.
今天,科学家们聚集到戈壁 寻找新的发现
It was here that the first dinosaur eggs were found, and where the fossil of a feathered reptile led scientists to believe that birds may be related to dinosaurs.
正是在这里发现了第一颗恐龙卵,而一只羽毛爬行动物的化石使得科学家们相信鸟类可能与恐龙有关.
The Atacama Just west of South America’s Atacama Desert is the largest body of water in the world—the Pacific Ocean.
南美洲阿塔卡马沙漠以西的阿塔卡马是世界上最大的水体——太平洋。
The Atacama lies along the Pacific Coast, squeezed in a narrow band between the ocean and the high Andes Mountains.
阿塔卡马地处太平洋海岸一带,被挤入海洋和安第斯山脉高地之间的狭长带.
Temperatures in the Atacama are pleasant, between 50° and 70°F (10°–20°C).
阿塔卡马的气温令人愉快,在50°至70°F(10°–20°C)之间.
One would think that being near the ocean would give the Atacama some moisture, but this desert is possibly the driest place on Earth.
人们会认为靠近海洋会给阿塔卡玛人一些水分,但这个沙漠可能是地球上最干燥的地方.
In some places in the Atacama, it may have never rained in human memory.
在阿塔卡马的一些地方,它可能从未在人类记忆中下过雨.
Archaeologists dig for fossils in the Gobi.
考古学家为戈壁出土了化石.
The Atacama is one of the highest deserts.
阿塔克马是最高的沙漠之一.
Some moisture does visit the Atacama.
有些水分的确会去阿塔卡马
In the spring, snow on the Andes melts and flows in rivers across the desert to the Pacific.
在春季,安第斯山脉上的雪会融化并流入横穿沙漠的河流去太平洋.
But these rivers don’t fill with water often, and they are usually steep, narrow, and quick-moving, so the water does not have a chance to spread out and sink in.
但这些河流并不常被水所淹没, 它们通常陡峭、狭窄和快速移动,
The only other reliable form of moisture is fog that rolls in off the cold ocean.
唯一可靠的水分形式是雾卷入寒冷的海洋。
Many plants have developed ingenious ways to catch this fog.
许多植物发展出能捕捉这种雾的巧妙方法.
Some plant leaves gather droplets of fog and direct them toward their roots.
有些植物叶子会聚集出雾水 把它们引向根部
Small “cloud forests” of these plants can grow in sheltered areas along the coasts where the fog is thick enough.
这些植物中的小 " 云雾 " 可以生长在雾足够浓厚的沿海保护区。
Other than the cloud forests, almost no plant life grows in the Atacama.
除了云雾森林,阿塔卡玛几乎没有植物活生生.
Some plants exist as dormant, or inactive, seeds that spring to life after a rain shower, which may come only once every ten years.
有些植物是雨后春起生的休眠或活生生的种子,每十年可能只有一次。
There are few animals in the Atacama besides rodents and insects.
除了啮齿动物和昆虫之外,阿塔卡马岛几乎没有动物.
The chinchilla, a popular new pet, lives here.
卡奇拉,一个受欢迎的新宠物,住在这里.
Llamas and alpacas, furry relatives of the camel, can also be found in damp areas near rivers and high in the mountains.
Llamas和alpacas是骆驼的毛发亲属,也见于河流附近的潮湿地段和高山地.
But what the Atacama lacks in animals, it makes up for in minerals.
但阿塔卡玛族在动物体内所缺少的,在矿物中弥补.
The Andes are volcanic mountains, and their volcanic activity brought copper, nitrates (an ingredient in fertilizer and explosives), and sulfur to the surface.
安第斯山脉是火山山脉,其火山活动将铜,硝酸盐(化肥和炸药中的一种成分)和硫磺带入地表.
Salt is also abundant here in marshy lakes.
这里沼泽多的湖泊中也有大量的盐.
Mining companies build entire towns for workers who dig up these minerals.
矿业公司为挖掘出这些矿物的工人建造了整个城镇.
Port cities spring up along the shore where the minerals are shipped around the world.
港口城市沿海岸涌出 矿物质被运往世界各地
All food and water must be trucked in or shipped by boat.
所有食物和水必须用卡车运入或用船运出。
Because of the desert’s unforgiving climate, miners are some of the very few people who have ever made their homes in the Atacama.
矿工是少数在阿塔卡马建造家园的人。
Trucks carry ore out of a mine in the Atacama desert.
卡车从阿塔卡马沙漠的矿中运出矿石。
Conclusion So, what can you find in the desert that you might not have expected?
结论 那么,在沙漠里你能发现什么 你可能没有预料到的?
Lakes of salt, dense fogs, and underground oceans of oil?
盐湖、浓雾和地底下的石油?
Ancient civilizations, expert horse herders, and mining towns?
古代文明,专家马牧民,和采矿城镇?
You may have thought of deserts as empty, lifeless places.
你可能以为沙漠是空的,没有生命的地方
But for thousands of years, plants, animals, and humans have known deserts as sources of life, riches, and wonder.
但几千年来,植物、动物和人类 将沙漠视为生命、财富和奇迹的来源。
Glossary dormant inactive but able to become active (adj.)
休眠不活动但能够活化的词汇表(adj.)
again (p.
页:1
13) evaporates changes from a liquid to a gas; (v.)
13)蒸发从液体变为气体; (五.
dries up (p.
干燥 (p.
4) irrigation describing the practice of supplying (adj.)
4) 描述供应做法的灌溉(adj.
water to land or crops to promote growth (p.
水到地或作物,以促进增长(第2页)。
6) minerals solid, natural materials that do not (n.)
6) 矿物固体,天然材料非(n.
come from a plant or animal (p.
来源于植物或动物(p.
14) moisture a small amount of water in the (n.)
14) 在(n.)中水分为少量.
form of a liquid or a vapor (p.
液体或蒸气的形式(p.
12) nomads people who move from place (n.)
12)游牧民迁出地(n.
to place with no permanent home (p.
无永久住所(p.
10) oasis (n.)
10) 绿洲 (n.
a fertile place in a desert where there is water (p.
沙漠中有水的肥沃地(p.
6) resource a supply of something valuable (n.)
6) 提供有价值的物品(n.
or very useful (p.
或非常有用(p.
7) Index Andes Mountains, 12, 13, 14 camels, 4, 5, dunes, 4, 5, 6, Egypt, 6 The city of Tucson, Arizona, lies in the Sonoran Desert.
7) 指数安第斯山脉,12,13,14骆驼,4,5,沙丘,4、5,6,埃及, 6 亚利桑那州图克森市地处索诺兰沙漠.