英语听力：自然百科 西撒哈拉的列车
时间：2014-04-23 05:46:57
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（单词翻译）
An iron ore（铁矿)train operating across the northwest African nation of Mauritania(毛里塔尼亚) forms a striking image sneaking1 its way through the Sahara desert. This desert train has had to be adapted to suit the harsh conditions that make it one-of-a-kind railway service.
“If we consider the train with all the locomotives(火车头) at the front, we have the longest and heaviest train in the world. That's for sure.”
But it is the
modifications2 to suit local conditions that make it a truly unique railway. The train, in operation since 1963, begins its 700-kilometer journey deep in the Sahara desert in the mining town of Zouérat. Here iron ores are loaded onto the approximately 210
wagons4. 6 trains are operating both directions everyday between Zouérat and the port city of Nouadhibou. With temperatures reaching and sometimes exceeding 122 degrees
Fahrenheit5， as well as problems associated with the sand, the train services had to adapt.
“There's a technique used to fix the dune(沙丘) problem. After bulldozing(轧平) the
dunes6, dead palm tree branches are planted into the sand dunes, making the dunes stable. After that, the dunes don't move any more. And we don't have a problem with sand drifting onto the railway tracks any more.”
The railway service also uses a second system-- sand ploughs（铲沙机), based on snow ploughs used on North American trains, can clear sand that drifts onto the standard
gauge7 tracks.
Another challenge with this desert train is preventing sand from entering the General Motor's locomotive engines. In the diesel-electric(柴油电动的)locomotives first used here in 1982, sand quickly worked its way into the engines and destroyed them. As a result, the National Mining Industry Company, working with General Motors, devised a filtration system using an additional 36 filtering units per locomotive.
“Since we installed this extra filtration system, the problems with filtering the sand from the motors have been eliminated.”
While the train service is primarily for the transport of iron ore, there are limited passenger facilities, too.
“People take the train because it's cheaper than traveling by vehicle; however, we don't enjoy it because it's uncomfortable. There's a lot of dust, the
wagon3 is in poor condition, and it's not clean.”
According to the National Mining Industry Company, the iron ore sales accounts for 40% of Mauritania's total exports. It's no surprise that every effort is made to ensure a reliable train service through the extreme conditions of the Sahara desert.
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