It was the middle of July. I had spent two days exploring a bat cave in the desert in southern New Mexico. The cave was part of an ancient flow of lava（熔岩流），now hardened into rock. I had left the cave and was driving my pickup truck on a rough（高低不平的）track across the 1surface of the lava flow.
Suddenly, the truck came to a stop, caught on a black lava rock.
A quick check of the underside 2the worst: the truck's axle（车轴）was bent，nearly broken in two. I couldn't 3 help in such faraway country. I put the food and cans of water into my backpack and set off on foot, going north, the direction of the main highway. I was low on water. Too little food did not matter much, but hiking across the desert in July without water could be dangerous. As I set out, unreasonable 4 came over my mind. I was afraid of everything around me. Each creature made my heart jump. In my mind, every movement was a scary animal about to strike and kill me.
I walked for hours and cried until I 5that nobody was around to hear me. Complaining was useless. A change came over me. I began to feel less afraid. Fear was replaced by curiosity. I went on, and slowly but surely began to see the desert world differently, through 6 eyes, not frightened ones.
That night I lay on the warm sand, using my backpack as a pillow. The sky went dark. The stars began to shine in the hugeness of the heavens. With a smile I thought how little there was to fear, after all. By noon the following day I 7north. I began to think how lucky I was to see the wild desert world. A wrecked truck and a forced hike across the desert gave me an/a 8 to see what few others ever saw
Late in the day, I came to a farmhouse. I drank all the lemonade that the farmer and his wife had in their refrigerator. "I liked it out there," I told them when we got to talking. "I just wish I had been less frightened. I would have noticed more that way "I know what you mean," the man said thoughtfully.
"It's a rare sight, that desert wilderness, a rare sight'
