desert ['dezət] n.沙漠；不毛之地
He was injured and lost his way in the desert. 受伤的他在沙漠中迷路了。
From the moon you can see the full extent of the Sahara desert. 从月球上能看到撒哈拉沙漠的全貌。
adj.沙漠的，荒芜的
a desert island（荒岛）, a desert plant（沙漠植物）
Here I am stuck on a desert island. 我被困在这个荒芜的小岛。
你能区分 desert, wasteland, wilderness 吗？
wasteland 通常指荒原、荒地，侧重表示荒，即这片区域没有任何资源。
This beautiful forest has been reduced to a wasteland. 这片美丽的森林被毁，变成了一片荒地。
Ten years of drought had left the area a wasteland. 十年的干旱已让这片土地变成了荒地。
wilderness 多指荒野、原野，侧重指地球上尚未受到大规模人类活动改造的自然地带。
Living in the wilderness for a week was challenging to me. 在荒野里生活一星期对我来说极具挑战。
desert [dɪ'zɜːt] 注意重音发生变化了
v.舍弃；抛弃
The village had been hurriedly deserted, perhaps because terrorists were in the area. 全村人匆匆逃走了，或许因为该地区有恐怖分子。
It’s despicable to desert your country as a soldier. 作为一名军人，舍弃你的祖国是可耻的。
deserted [dɪ'zɜːtɪd] adj. 被抛弃的；空寂无人的
These deserted orphans lived happily ever after. 此后，这些被遗弃的孤儿一直过得很幸福。
She led them into a deserted side street. 她带着他们走进一条空寂无人的小巷。
Walking down the silent deserted street late at night, I felt extremely lonely. 深夜里，走在空寂无人的大街上，我感到极度的寂寞。
deserts [dɪ'zɜːts] n．除了指沙漠的复数形式，还可以表达应得的赏罚
get /have one’s deserts 受到应有的赏罚
give someone his deserts 给某人应有的赏罚
Some people failed to get their deserts. 有的人没有得到应得的赏罚。
小彩蛋：歌曲欣赏
下面这首歌中出现了三次desert，你能听出来吗？一起让耳朵动起来吧。（歌曲来自Laura Pausini的“I need love”）
开篇的录音你听懂了吗？
When God first created the world, there was no desert. The whole world was filled with fertile lands full of beautiful gardens. 上帝最初创造世界时，没有沙漠，相反那时的世界满是遍布着美丽花园（比如伊甸园）的肥沃土地。
God created man in order to maintain the world. He said to man, “Every time you commit a sin, there will be a peck of sand falling on the ground”. 上帝为了维持这个世界（的秩序）创造了人，他对人说道：“每当你犯下罪行，就会有一撮沙子落到地面。”
Man thought, “What harm will a peck of sand do? Let me live as I please”. 当时的人想：“一小撮沙子能有多大危害？我还是随心所欲地生活吧。”
He started committing wicked sins and pecks of sand started falling on the ground. 人便开始邪恶地犯罪，于是一小撮一小撮的沙子落到地面。
Still man continued sinning. 人并不在意，一意孤行地继续犯罪。
And the effect is that today there are many deserts around us. 结果是什么呢？就有了现在的沙漠。
当然，这只是个宗教故事，真正影响沙漠形成的是气候、地形、人类活动等因素。
今日词汇
dessert [dɪ'zɜːt] n. 甜点
fertile [ˈfɜːtaɪl] adj. 肥沃的
maintain [meɪnˈteɪn] v. 维持；保护
commit [kəˈmɪt] v. 犯罪
sin [sɪn] n. 罪行；罪恶
a peck of 一小撮
please [pliːz] v. 使高兴；讨人喜欢
wicked [ˈwɪkɪd] adj. 邪恶的
continue [kənˈtɪnjuː] v. 持续