Both animals and people were gasping for breath in the rarefied air.动物和人在稀薄的空气中都大口喘着气。It's difficult to breathe in the rarefied air near the mountain's peak.在山顶附近，空气稀薄，呼吸困难。It is important for the state's future administrators to get out of the rarefied air of the capital.对国家日后的统治者来说，摆脱首都过于清高的氛围是很重要的。