Wild Africa - Deserts 浩瀚沙漠 - 9

It’s the wettest of all African deserts, the great Kalahari.

The sands of the Kalahari cover more of southern Africa than any other desert. But the higher rainfall here gives it a very distinctive¹ appearance. More like a savanna², its sandy ridges carpeted with grasses and a scattering⁴ of trees. In the wet season, the Kalahari sands are loosened by the rain, making them easier to excavate⁵.

Damara mole⁶-rats who spend their lives underground are now at their most active, hunting for roots and bulbs. But digging takes one thousand times more energy than traveling on the surface. And even in this greenist African deserts, the bulbs can be widely spread.

Living on its own, a single mole rat would never find enough to eat. So these small rodents⁷ have evolved a cooperative life style with up to forty family members working together. Like ants or bees, only the queen mole rat breeds and all her workers are sterile⁸ females. But everybody will benefit from the extra mouths who eventually join in the hunt for food.

Damara mole rats are unusual in that their lips are actually behind their front teeth. It helps them to avoid swallowing sand while digging. But it also stops them drinking. So they must extract all the moisture they need from the bulbs.

During the wet season, the bulbs are gathered quickly before they germinate⁹ and lose their goodness. The mole rats store them in special larders¹⁰ as insurance against the dry months ahead.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------words:
1.ridge:any long raised strip脊

2.scattering:stretch长长的分散的带

3.excavate:to dig挖掘

4.extract:disinter...out of from...挖出

5.germinate:to sprout from a seed发芽

1 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

2 savanna   

n.大草原

参考例句：

• The savanna is also the home of meat-eaters--the lion,leopard,and hyena who feed on the grasseaters.大草原也是食肉动物的家乡--狮子、豹、鬣狗--它们都是以草食动物维持生命的。
• They sped upon velvet wheels across an exhilarant savanna.他们的马车轻捷地穿过一片令人赏心悦目的大草原。

3 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

4 scattering   

n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散

参考例句：

• The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒，把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

6 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

7 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

8 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

9 germinate   

v.发芽；发生；发展

参考例句：

• Seeds will not germinate without water.没有水，种子是不会发芽的。
• Can thin and hollow seeds germinate?瘦瘪的种子能够发芽吗？

10 larders   

n.（家中的）食物贮藏室，食物橱( larder的名词复数 )

参考例句：