国家地理 唐家山堰塞湖排洪成功

Chinese soldiers used anti-tank weapons to blast away rocks and mud, holding back waters in an earthquake-formed lake that threatens more than 1 million people living downstream. Soldiers fired at rocks to dislodge enough debris¹ to speed the drainage of waters in Tangjiashan Lake in Sichuan Province. CCTV reported that the runoff channel was getting wider and deeper, helping² to reduce the water level in the lake that was formed after last month's devastating³ earthquake.

中国士兵使用反坦克武器炸掉岩石和泥土，把水流阻挡在了地震形成的湖泊里，它威胁着下游100多万老百姓的生存安全。士兵们向岩石开炮来除去足够多的碎石，目的是加快四川省唐家山湖湖水的排干速度。中央电视台报道，径流渠道正变得越来越宽、越来越深，有助于减少上个月灾难性地震发生后形成的湖泊的水位。

We fired at the rock from a closer distance to make sure that the water gets through the channel. Usually we shoot from about 100 meters away, but this time we did it from 50 meters, gives a better result than shooting from further away.

我们在更近的地方向岩石开炮来确保湖水流经渠道。通常我们是在一百米开外开炮，而这次在50米开外，得到的结果比从更远处开炮要更好。

Other troops have been deepening the channel and digging on a second spillway. Officials fear that the so-called quake lake could burst its banks and cause catastrophic flooding if the water level is not brought down soon. Authorities were on alert both for increased rainfall and new aftershocks that could weaken the dam, or send more debris plunging⁴ into the lake.

其它部队一直在挖深渠道并在挖掘第二条泄洪道。如果水位没有很快下降，政府官员担心这所谓的堰塞湖会决堤并引发灾难性洪水。有关当局在警惕可能损坏水坝、或使更多碎石冲进湖中的不断增加的降雨量和新的余震。

More than 250, 000 people downstream have been evacuated⁵ in recent weeks, adding to the turmoil⁶ created by last month's massive earthquake in Sichuan Province. Government officials have downplayed the threat of imminent⁷ flooding, though a variety of factors such as rain and aftershocks could set off a dam collapse⁸.

最近几周，已有二十五万多名下游人民群众撤离，加剧了上个月四川省大地震造成的混乱程度。政府官员对迫在眉睫的洪水威胁轻描淡写，尽管种种因素如降雨和余震都可能会引发溃坝。

The Tangjiashan Lake is the largest of more than 30 created by last month's quake. The lake was formed when rubble⁹ from a massive landslide¹⁰ set off by the deadly May 12th earthquake, blocked the flow of the Tongkou River, also known as the Jianjiang.

唐家山湖是上个月地震产生的30多个湖里面最大的一个。5月12日，致命的地震引发了大规模山体滑坡，碎石堵住了通口河，又名湔江，从而形成了该湖泊。

1 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

6 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

7 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

10 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。