VOICEOVER: It looks like a paradise, but it is in fact the most treacherous desert in the world: The Kalahari.
After the short rainy season, there are many water holes, and even rivers. But after a few weeks, the water sinks away into the deep Kalahari sand. The water holes dry up and the rivers stop flowing. The grass fades to a beautiful blond colour that offers excellent grazing to the animals.
But for the next nine months, there'll be no water to drink. So, most of the animals move away, leaving the beautiful blond grass uneaten.
Humans avoid deep Kalahari like the plague because man must have water to live. So the beautiful landscapes are devoid of people, except for the little people of the Kalahari-- pretty, dainty, small and graceful -- the Bushmen.
While any other person would die of thirst in a few days, they live quite contentedly in this desert that doesn’t look like desert. They know where to dig for roots and bugs and tubers and which berries and pods are good to eat.
And of course they know what to do about water.
For instance, in the early morning, you can collect dewdrops from leaves that were carefully laid out the previous evening.
Or a plume of grass can be a reservoir.
lf you have the know-how, an insignificant clump of twigs can tell you where to dig and you come to light with an enormous tuber. You scrape shavings off it with a stick that is split for a sharp edge. You take a handful of the shavings, point your thumb at your mouth and squeeze.
They must be the most contented people in the world.
They have no crime, no punishment, no violence, no laws, no police, judges, rulers or bosses. They believe that the gods put only good and useful things on the earth for them to use. ln this world of theirs, nothing is bad or evil.
類似用法：be devoid of ability 碌碌無(wú)為，be devoid of common sense 缺乏常識(shí)，be devoid of concern or sympathy 不關(guān)心的，不同情的, devoid of brightness 缺乏明亮或者吸引力
來(lái)看例句：
The house is totally devoid of furniture. 這所房子里什么家俱都沒(méi)有。
The team is devoid of alternating attacks. 這個(gè)隊(duì)缺少交叉進(jìn)攻。
4. know-how: 專業(yè)技能，知識(shí)。這里指的是在沙漠中生存的技能。
5. clump of twigs: 一叢枝葉。clump是“一叢，一團(tuán)”的意思，如 a clump of earth（一團(tuán)泥土），a clump of bushes （一叢灌木）。twig是“小枝, 嫩枝”的意思，如snap off a twig （啪地一下折斷一根樹枝）。
6. come to light: 字面意思是“變明亮”，引申為“被發(fā)現(xiàn)，眾所周知， 變得明確，使人知道”，這里可以譯成“如果你有常識(shí)，這種不起眼的樹叢會(huì)讓你發(fā)現(xiàn)一塊極大的塊莖?！?/p>
來(lái)看例句：
New evidence has recently come to light. 新證據(jù)最近才為人知。
A political scandal has recently come to light. 最近一樁政治丑聞暴露出來(lái)。
