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The River Thames runs over 200 miles through the British countryside and on to the city of London. Each day, thousands of visitors enjoy the pleasures of just being on the river. But as little as 40 years ago, this body of water had become one of Europe's most polluted rivers with a noxious1 legacy2.
In 1858, the British Houses of Parliament were evacuated3 when the stench from the River Thames had become unbearable4. Untreated sewage had been leaking straight into the Thames. Victorian engineer Joseph Bazalgette remedied the situation by designing an extensive network of sewers5. However, a century later, the growing population has stretched it to the limit. The majority of the old system is still in use today. It's simply too expensive to replace it, and it's still causing big problems.
"And that's Western Pumping Station. It's part of the original Victorian sewage system for London. When the system is overloaded6 by rainfall, we have this problem again with overflowing7 sewage, and that pumping station can discharge up to about 50 thousand tons an hour with mixture of untreated sewage and urban run-off."
The sewage causes oxygen depletion8 in the river, killing9 fish and other marine10 life. Enter one of these vessels11. This is the Vitality12, and it can pump up to 30 tons of oxygen into the water in a day. The whole process of injecting river water with pure oxygen takes only a few minutes. The irony13 is that the only reason a system like this is necessary is because the Thames is now so much cleaner than it was even 50 years ago. Fish have returned. It's one of the most important fish nurseries in Britain with around 120 species.
"The Thames is fantastic asset. It's a flood defense14 mechanism15 and drains the whole basin. It supplies, for instance, 2/3 of London's drinking water. I really like it to be a busy, active river which is sort of appreciated and enjoyed by all types of people, yet one which is still renowned16 as being a haven17 for wildlife."
The regeneration of this river is a wonderful success story. But it will be a constant battle to keep it that way.
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1 noxious | |
adj.有害的,有毒的;使道德败坏的,讨厌的 | |
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2 legacy | |
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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3 evacuated | |
撤退者的 | |
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4 unbearable | |
adj.不能容忍的;忍受不住的 | |
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5 sewers | |
n.阴沟,污水管,下水道( sewer的名词复数 ) | |
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6 overloaded | |
a.超载的,超负荷的 | |
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7 overflowing | |
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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8 depletion | |
n.耗尽,枯竭 | |
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9 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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10 marine | |
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵 | |
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11 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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12 vitality | |
n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
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13 irony | |
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄 | |
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14 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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15 mechanism | |
n.机械装置;机构,结构 | |
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16 renowned | |
adj.著名的,有名望的,声誉鹊起的 | |
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17 haven | |
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所 | |
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