Wild Africa - Deserts 浩瀚沙漠 - 13

But this hasn't always been so. Over the last 15 million years, Africa's climate has repeatedly swung from wet to dry and back again as Ice Ages have come and gone.

At times the Kalahari has been much drier than it is today, its sands stretching as far as the equator, linking it with the largest desert in the world--the Sahara.

Covering 9 million square kilometers , the Sahara is so vast, the whole of Australia could comfortably fit into it. It is bleak¹, inhospitable, and compared to Southern Africa's deserts, very new. Few animals have had time to get to grips with this mighty² wilderness³, a place where only the hardiest⁴ can get by. Scimitar-horned oryx are true desert nomads⁵ , wandering for hundreds of miles across the Sahara in search of sparse⁶ shrubs⁷. They've lived long enough in other dry regions of Africa to tackle the hardships of this fierce young desert.

Oryx are unusual among antelopes⁸ in that females have horns as long as males. They use these formidable weapons to aggressively deter⁹ outsiders from joining their group, especially, when food is limited. Scimitar-horned oryx are among a handful of tough African mammals able to cope with the Sahara. Only one other creature is tougher.

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fit into:适合
get to grips with : 认真处理
Scimitar-horned oryx：弯角剑羚
deter:to prevent or discourage someone from doing something by making it difficult for them to do it or by threatening bad results if they do it. 阻止，威慑

1 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

2 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

3 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 hardiest   

能吃苦耐劳的，坚强的( hardy的最高级 )； （植物等）耐寒的

参考例句：

• This trip will season even the hardiest traveller. 这个旅行会让最坚硬的旅行者适应。

5 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

7 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

8 antelopes   

羚羊( antelope的名词复数 )； 羚羊皮革

参考例句：

• One jump, and you're out, and we'll run for it like antelopes.' 你只要一跳就出来了，我们可以像羚羊那样飞快地逃掉。”
• Most antelopes can withhold their young for weeks, even months. 绝大部分羚羊能把分娩期推迟几个星期，甚至几个月。

9 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。