N: Far ____ the rest of the world lies a distant desert land: Badain Jaran. It is ____ by some of the world’s tallest sand dunes. For ____ of years, the land here was very ____, but it is now being threatened. ____ Gobi Desert is the fourth largest desert in the world. It’s ____ larger by hundreds of kilometres every year. The desert’s fast and ____ growth may soon change the lives of everyone around it. Two National ____ explorers, Don Webster and George Steinmetz, have ____ in the urban bustle of modern China. ____, they’re still far from their destination. The two ____ are travelling ____ to the small, untouched part of the Gobi desert called Badain Jaran. It’s a region that some people ____ the rest of the world forgot. Steinmetz and ____ travel as far as the edge of the desert. Here, they must wait for a camel ____ to guide them farther into the Gobi. They wait, but the team doesn’t come. Finally, they decide to ____ for the night and hope that the team will arrive ____. Early next ____, their guide, Lao Ji, and his camels finally arrive. Lao Ji has 22 ____ and they know the desert well. He was born and raised in the arid ____, so he’ll be able to take the explorers safely into the desert. The group carefully ____ their route. This is important, because the ____ is huge and it can get very hot. It could be easy to get lost in this dry, empty place. The ____ needs to work with one another to ensure that they can ____ reach their ____. As the group begins their long trek deep into the ____, the dunes slowly rise beside them. The ____ rises too. By noon, it reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and there’s no shade ____ the sun. GS: I think that ____ lost here, it could be bad, or it could be very bad. Beautiful, absolutely ____. It’s amazing; this is like the result of 40 million ____ of winds. N: By day three, the dunes are ____ than 1,000 feet high. It takes one ____ day to climb a single sand mountain. GS: I think this is ____ as ‘inner’ as you get to the Inner Mongolia; four days by camel through thousand-foot dunes. This ____ time forgot. It’s just beautiful. N: At last, the ____ reach Badain Jaran. Steinmetz plans to meet his friend Alain Arnoux here, so they can ____ over the Gobi. Finally, Arnoux arrives. AA: Ah, bonjour, ____ N: The men are happy to see each other. GS: Great to see you. ____ definitely. We have a lot of stories to hear. AA: Sure, sure. N: When darkness comes, the ____ gathers to have a good time. GS: It’s nice to ____ a full tent. N: In Mongolia, this often ____ eating mutton and listening to music. DW: She’s ____ them off, isn’t she? N: After all the wonderful food and drink, it’s not easy to get up early. ____, Steinmetz and Arnoux must prepare ____ for their first paraglide. ____, one of the best paragliders in the world, has ____ to help Steinmetz. AA: This lake, this ____, this lake, this lake, and come back. N: The two ____ plan to fly over a number of different lakes and then ____. Steinmetz is going first. AA: His engine… ____ don’t work so well. GS: I just didn’t have ____ power, and going towards these dunes, I just ____ want to do a… AA: Yeah, yeah, yeah sure. GS: …a chance, so… N: They try ____ and again. GS: When I try to go now, the ____ has less power than when we were ____ still. AA: This lake, this ____, this lake, this lake, and come back. N: The two ____ plan to fly over a number of different lakes and then ____. Steinmetz is going first. AA: His engine… maybe ____ work so well. GS: I just didn’t have ____ power, and going towards these dunes, I just ____ want to do a… AA: Yeah, yeah, yeah sure. GS: …a chance, so… N: They try ____ and again. GS: When I try to go now, the engine has less power than when we were ____ still. GS: The picture… the view I ____ want, is being able to really understand what ____ this place so unique. There’s no other ____ in the world that has this size of a dune and with lakes in ____. It’s the most beautiful place in the world to me. N: From above, the photo ____ can see how small the desert makes people ____. He says that it’s difficult to believe that people can actually live in it. The view also ____ him of another fact that’s not so pleasant; the growing desert may soon completely change the ____ of everyone around it. After his ____ trip, Steinmetz goes up to take one last picture. In his ____, he wants to show the relationship between the ____ and its people. For him, flying ____ the Gobi makes him feel closer to the desert itself. It also helps him to better understand the ____ who live there. For Steinmetz, gliding ____ the Gobi has been an experience he won’t ____ forget.

24. Gliding Across the Gobi

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