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Danger in the desert

That day we were deep in Chile’s Atacama Desert. There the 1．   could often be compared to Mars. Our team of four female microbiologists watched as a car full of curious men pulled up beside us. Because we were strangers in a(n)   2． place, our minds immediately jumped to ways we could protect ourselves. So, 3． , our Chilean fellow guide lifted the strong tool she’d been using to dig up plant roots. The rest of us tried to look braver than we felt.

We had come to this desert to conduct DNA studies on giant horsetails that somehow grow well in one of Earth’s driest places. We were searching for plants in the most remote locations, where they would be 4． by human activities such as mining and agriculture.

We’d been warned that the trip could be dangerous. Because we were traveling so far from fuel sources, we were told to take along a can of gas. Our destination was at the end of a(n) 5．   single-lane dirt road lined with burned-out vehicles that had not successfully negotiated the steep downslope. Our sample site was near a village, and the people might not, we were told, 6． positively to us. We were instructed to report our travel plans at the nearest police station so that search parties would know where to look for us if we disappeared.

We had found the amazing plants and their bright green stocks   7．   over our heads. They aroused the 8．   of ancient wetland plants. The men approached as we finished collecting our samples. We waited tensely as a man 9．   the car and walked toward us. To our surprise and relief, he politely invited us to visit their village—they wanted to show us a lovely church of which they were proud. That day, we learned about more than the microbiomes that help desert plants grow well. We also met a(n)   10．   community who had likewise beautifully adapted to their challenging home.